They Are Something Weird

[Angel Lady]

I have 15 tanks going most of them are 55 gallon tanks and I have a nitrite reading of 3 this morning on all of my tanks but three.The 180 gallon is normal and the two in my bedroom are normal also. So it isnt a room thing, Or something I have used issue. Can someone please help me figure out what is going on. I have done several water changes this morning trying to get it down but it still shows the same reading after I change the water....

 

[SkiFletch]

how old is your test kit?

 

[WILDER]

How old is the test, are the test tubes clean, test your tap water.

How many gallons is the tank showing a nitrite reading, as i'm wondering if the tap water has a nitrite reading and showing in the smaller tanks, but not the bigger tanks.

 

[Angel Lady]

Well to tell you the truth I thought the same thing so I just returned home with new ones just a minute ago. And they have the same readings. It doesnt seem to be bothering the fish just yet., I cant stand any reading what so ever in ammonia or nitrites, Wonder what could be happening with my tanks. I change out the water just like you are supposed to, I cant figure out what is the wrong..

 

[Luke_e]

15 55gallon tanks..........WOW

 

[prankster705]

15 55gallon tanks..........WOW

No some are smaller, some bigger, she said that her 180 gal was fine... ... so now that's WOW

 

[Angel Lady]

I have 8 55 gallon tanks. Each one of them has only one or two fish in them because they are to stubborn to live with anything else....

 

[daddyfish]

How old is the test, are the test tubes clean, test your tap water.

How many gallons is the tank showing a nitrite reading, as i'm wondering if the tap water has a nitrite reading and showing in the smaller tanks, but not the bigger tanks.

Exactly what I was "THINKING" test your water supply.

Often times they'll change just a minute Chem in their mix that throws everything outta whack.

I had this happen to me once, they changed the mix and it Cost me a tank of BEAUTIFUL Angelfish, all Palm Sized, that I'd Raised from just above Fry stage, Not to mention I was heart broken.

Check with your Water Company, and see It doesn't Hurt to ask, and it Might just save You and your fish a whole LOTTA Trouble...

Also if they just started Pumpin from a different Source, Lets say from a Creek to a River, this could cause the Problem as well.

 

[Angel Lady]

you know something you could be right, i know i havent done not one thing different. the lady at the lfs uses the the same kind of water as me i will see if she is having any trouble

 

[Tcian]

My kind of Lady! If she ever gets into ponds I can just imagine.

 

[Angel Lady]

well I talked to the city water company and they stated that the same thing has been used as usual. They havent changed a thing. But I still cant help but think that they have something to do with it. The nitrites is still very high almost 4. the fish are starting to show stress, I have changed 20 percent of the water two times a day. and it still isnt coming down not one bit. It raised one more point...

 

[lljdma06]

I'm not sure what's up with your water, that is so odd. I'm not convinced that the Water company is being straight with you.

What is important, now, however, is to get your tanks' nitrite levels to a point where your fish aren't stressing. Did you ever test your tap water?

The only thing I can suggest is to perhaps get a water conditioner, say for example Amquel +. I don't like using it personally, especially for my planted tanks, since it removes the Nitrates the plants need, or as a permant solution, but it does remove Nitrite. According to the label, it supposedly removes 2ppm of Nitrite per dose. I use it for my betta bowls, since they don't have filtration. This is only a temporary solution, but it may reduce stress on your fish, until you can figure out what's truely wrong.

One word of caution. Because it only converts these substances to a harmless form, you will get positive results for ammonia tests if your test kit uses Nessler reagents.

I hope this helps a little until you can find a permanent solution. I hope your fish pull through alright. You also might want to try check if a water main broke in your area. But your water company would have told you that if that were the case. I really think something's up with your tap and the water company hiding something (cue X-files music).

 

[blue_ram]

Temporary solution, at least for now, is to add small amount of salt to the aquarium. You don't need a lot. 1tsp/10gal. would do it. You may have to add more salt if nitrite level exceeds 5ppm.

BTW, are there live plants in the tank? I've seen some cases where live plants actually causes the nitrite level to go up. Don't know why though.

 

[lljdma06]

Temporary solution, at least for now, is to add small amount of salt to the aquarium. You don't need a lot. 1tsp/10gal. would do it. You may have to add more salt if nitrite level exceeds 5ppm.

BTW, are there live plants in the tank? I've seen some cases where live plants actually causes the nitrite level to go up. Don't know why though.

If plants are decomposing then yes that could be possible. But healthy plants would not do this. My tanks test 0 nitrites, 0 ammonia, and unfortunately 0 nitrates, because they consume it so rapidly, that I have to consider dosing. If there are live plants in the tank, however, adding salt could compound the situation, as they tend to not like it.

 

[WendyinWichita]

A few weeks ago I also had a spell with high Nitrates in my tanks. I figured out why, half was me, half was the water. I have well water, and I am surrounded by crop land. In the last 6 weeks the farmers are planting and fertilizing. My water had 40ppm Nitrates. I went to Walmart and bought about 100 gallons of Reverse Osmosis water (several trips) It didn't cost much because I had my own containers, but it was a pain in the rear. I was able to get the Nitrates down to 20 (it started over 160). I also had been lax in completely changing my filter media. I had been rinsing, then replacing the carbon, but not replacing. I know you have many tanks, but if you want to help your fish quickly you can buy water, or get your own RO system ($150 at Home Depot, and I bet I could install one myself). My research led me to believe the only way to reduce Nitrates was to do water changes (not helping you) or use RO water. Regular filters or chemicals don't work. You can buy Nitrate sponge at a place that carries Marine things, but even the LFS people say it won't help much.

My signature only lists 4 tanks I think. I also have a 29 gal and 2- 20 gal. Yes, MTS to the max. It took me two days to get the water all changed.

Good luck

Well for pity sakes. You can ignore that last post because you are having problems with Nitrites, not Nitrates. As someone sais earlier, if you have live plants that have dead leaves etc. that can cause it. One of my tanks did the Nitrite only spike and it was because of the under story with the plants. Once cleaned, with a couple of water changes, the tank was back to normal Good luck again.