Nitrites In A Week?!

[Naringlo]

Is it possible to get nitrites in a week?

Recently everything died in my tank due to a silly mistake I made. I cleaned it out by constantly adding chlorinated water and just waiting for it to empty to 20% then fill it back up. The water was constantly being syphoned out through the window. Anyway I did that for about 5 hours till I got all the dirt out of the sand and the water was clear.

I then dechlorinated it and went to bed and the next day I added ammonia. I think it's been roughly a week now since I dosed 5ppm and now it says 0.25ppm and nitrites are 5ppm. I'm using the API Master Freshwater Kit. Is this correct? I remember it taking a lot longer. Nitrates are about 5ppm or a bit less but there are already signs. Tested twice too. Possibly some clinging bacteria to the rocks I took out and the plants?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

That amount of chlorine for that amount of time will not wipe out your established bacteria but may kill some. And if your filter media was not replaced and not subjected to the process, then what you see is even more possible, It might have happened faster and the nitrites would not have gotten as high as they will for you had you dosed less ammonia. There rarely is a need to dose beyond the 3 ppm level.

Note: established bacteria is much more resistant to the effects of drinking water treatment levels of chloramine or chlorine than fish and other tank creatures are.

 

[Naringlo]

The filter wasn't in the tank when I was doing the chlorinated water changes. It was in a dechlorinated bucket with the plants and rocks. I did wash the filter pad a bit because of gunk but not thoroughly. I would of thought it would of just killed it all.

So basically you're saying some of the bacteria survived and is speeding up the cycle process?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Yes. Chloramine treated drinking water is much less toxic to bacteria than was first thought. Chlorine will work more slowly than chloramine but will be more fatal. If you are really curious and can handle reading research, there is a Ph.D. thesis that deals with this that is interesting reading. It is way to long to read in its entirety, but you can read the more salient points Development and Use of Microelectrodes to Evaluate Nitrification within Chloraminated Drinking Water System Biofilms, and the Effects of Phosphate as a Corrosion Inhibitor on Nitrifying Biofilm The index will help you find the relevant info (look in the 194 page range for the conclusions).

 

[Naringlo]

Actually yes, that would be a very informative and interesting read. Thanks for the link!