Nitrites In My Tap Water

[rhostog]

I've been testing the tank water daily since adding my second batch of fish, and while the ammonia never went above zero, I was seeing this trace of nitrite, never more than 0.1, just this hint of pink. I assumed it was a little mini-cycle, as you might expect, and waited for it to go, doing regular water changes to make sure it didn't build up. It stayed below 0.1, the lowest measure on the scale, but still that faint pink tinge. More than 2 weeks later, it's still there, and it finally occurred to me to check the tap water - and that's LOADS WORSE THAN MY TANK! About 0.2!

I looked up the local water authority stats, and sure enough, average nitrite in 2007 was around the 0.1 mark.

So I've been conscientiously changing the water, trying to keep this nitrite down, and all I've been doing is topping it up! My tank is healthier than my tapwater! Those little bacteria have been working away, removing the nitrites, only for me to add a load more every time I do a water change.

Anyone else get this problem? I know there's resin you can get to remove nitrates, but is there anything I can use to treat my tapwater so I'm not adding nitrites every time I do a water change?

 

[gaz gun man]

I dont think its too much to worry about though, if you arent overstocked then weekly water changes should give you a happy medium.
The experts will be along soon i'm sure, new to all this myself

 

[Miss Wiggle]

no you don't need to worry over it too much, just do regular weekly water changes, you may see a blip of nitrite for a day or so after water changes at first as the tank is fairly newly cycled, however once the tank mature's the bacteria will grow to suppor this little extra blip and you should see the nitrite dissapear almost immediatley after a water change.

 

[rhostog]

Thanks for the support. What gets me is that I thought I was doing my fish a favour by increasing water changes, and I was actually making things worse!
I left it for 3 days without changing the water, and presto, nitrites are gone. At least now I know what's happening and I'll know to expect nitrite traces after a water change. Thanks again - and if anyone hears of a way of removing nitrites from my tapwater, I'd be very grateful!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Thanks for the support. What gets me is that I thought I was doing my fish a favour by increasing water changes, and I was actually making things worse!
I left it for 3 days without changing the water, and presto, nitrites are gone. At least now I know what's happening and I'll know to expect nitrite traces after a water change. Thanks again - and if anyone hears of a way of removing nitrites from my tapwater, I'd be very grateful!

no problem, i can understand how frustrating that would be. But such is life.... and fishkeeping!!

I seriously would not worry about trying to remove them, the filter will do a plenty good enough job long term.

That being said there is a way to sort it but it's expensive and wasteful. You could use an RO unit, you basically run your tap water through it, it filters it down and leaves you with (as close as is possible to) pure H20. You do however have to remineralise this water before adding it to the tank. Like I said though, I really wouldn't bother, it wastes a lot of water and they're fairly pricey to set up. You'll find when the tank has matured fully that the blip of nitrite just lasts a few hrs at most.

 

[Nicolas]

While .1 ppm is NOT a GIGANTIC problem; use Amquel+. Amquel+ removes Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrate, Chlorine, and Chloramines in Tap Water. I haven't lost a fish since I switched.