Water source contains Nitrite

[Holyship26]

Hi guy,

I just finished cycling my tank after close to 90 days. At the end of it with nitrate levels of 80ppm I conducted a 100% water change.

After the water change I re-tested the parameters and everything looks good except for Nitrite levels showing at 0.25ppm.

So I tested my water source (tap water) and it showed the exact same nitrite reading.

What can I do in this case??

 

[mcordelia]

Bummer. I'm not sure if it possible to filter out nitrites with a tap water filter, I have a feeling @AbbeysDad might know. Another approach is to mix in RO/DI water to decrease the concentration of nitrites going in, but that can be tricky/a lot of work. I wonder how it would play out if you planted the crap out of your tank with nitrite loving species and never did large water changes? This is all speculation, I'm sure you will get actual advice from people smarter and more experienced than I

 

[mcordelia]

Look at this thread: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/ammonia-in-tap-water.466220/ some of the advice can also pertain to your situation.

 

[seangee]

Hi guy,

I just finished cycling my tank after close to 90 days. At the end of it with nitrate levels of 80ppm I conducted a 100% water change.

After the water change I re-tested the parameters and everything looks good except for Nitrite levels showing at 0.25ppm.

So I tested my water source (tap water) and it showed the exact same nitrite reading.

What can I do in this case??

Were your nitrites zero at the end of the cycle? If so don't worry about it your filter will deal with it.

 

[Holyship26]

Were your nitrites zero at the end of the cycle? If so don't worry about it your filter will deal with it.

Yep 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite after 24 hours of adding a full ammonia dose up to 3ppm.

 

[seangee]

Should be fine. If you are showing 0.25 after a 100% water change it may even be undetectable after a 50% change. In any event you already have the bacteria in your tank to deal with it - which is why we do the cycle in the first place.

 

[Holyship26]

Should be fine. If you are showing 0.25 after a 100% water change it may even be undetectable after a 50% change. In any event you already have the bacteria in your tank to deal with it - which is why we do the cycle in the first place.

Awesome, thanks for confirming this

 

[AbbeysDad]

Bummer. I'm not sure if it possible to filter out nitrites with a tap water filter, I have a feeling @AbbeysDad might know.

As documented in My Nitrate Fight, I pre-filter using API Nitra-Zorb inside a now discontinued API Tap Water Filter. API Nitra-Zorb traps and removes ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates and is rechargeable many, many times with ordinary salt water. Nitra-Zorb comes in pouches intended for filter use.
Then again, As @seangee points out, at very low levels, it would likely be undetectable with modest water changes and your bio-filter should handle it just fine.