What reading of nitrite does this appear to be?

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

That could well be it! How many tabs have you put in? They'll be throwing out ammoniacal nitrogen so your stage1 BB will be busy converting any that your plants dont use to nitrite.. I couldn't say why nitrosomonas are taking so long..

Just checked, and I added root tabs on the 4th September. Would have taken a day or two for the clear capsule to dissolve, but even so, didn't start getting nitrites until after I removed the first canister filter on the 14th.

Not sure what to do except move some fish out, especially the young ones so I can try fasting and see if that impacts results, or... uproot all of the plants, comb through the sand and remove as many of the tiny fertiliser balls as I can... eek!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Ideally and none of us do it. The tube and cap should be cleaned with distilled water and dried between each test. I encourage people if they get an unusual result always retest.

Oh I've been re-testing, a lot.

I don't use distilled water, but I clean them in tap water, and dip them, the caps and the syringe I use several times in the tank water I'm testing, so droplets of tap water don't contaminate results. Then I use the syringe to draw water from low down in the tank so I'm not taking a potentially contaminated sample from the surface.

I'm as methodical as I can reasonably be, and mainly i have the other tanks as a control. I'm not getting results like this from the three other tanks, only this one.

But you're right to check testing methods, user error is often the problem!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I don't think it's a false test. I think something weird is going on with your substrate. I wouldn't dig up the cheap fert pellets, but I wouldn't use any more, either. Like I said, I've had some ammonia/nitrite spikes in my 150g when the substrate (which is soil under sand) got severely disturbed. Once this was done by an over-enthusiastic pair of burrowing hoplo catfish, and once by a powerhead that popped loose and dug a hole. That sudden release of organic matter into the water column sent the water chemistry all kinds of wonky. I suspect something similar is going on with yours.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I don't think it's a false test. I think something weird is going on with your substrate. I wouldn't dig up the cheap fert pellets, but I wouldn't use any more, either. Like I said, I've had some ammonia/nitrite spikes in my 150g when the substrate (which is soil under sand) got severely disturbed. Once this was done by an over-enthusiastic pair of burrowing hoplo catfish, and once by a powerhead that popped loose and dug a hole. That sudden release of organic matter into the water column sent the water chemistry all kinds of wonky. I suspect something similar is going on with yours.

Makes sense, thank you!
I don't think it's the sand itself, or muck in the substrate, since I only set the tank up August 25th, it really hasn't had time to build up a lot of rubbish, and it's the same sand @seangee uses. I can totally believe that it's the cheap root tabs though, and makes more sense why the nitrites are getting so crazy high so fast, the bioload doesn't account for that.

Thank you guys!! I think the mystery might be solved. I won't dig everything up, but I might move the youngsters out so I can feed them a decent amount again, and gently stir the sand without uprooting the plants and remove as many fert balls as I can, see if that helps. I'd like to remove what I can, since i don't really want to be changing water daily for the next three months until they've all dissolved

 

[Ch4rlie]

How long do these last?
Does the cheap root tabs give instructions when to replace tabs, like every two or three months?

If it’s recommended every 1 month or so thenmaybe leave them as it’s a lot of trouble digging around to find every root tab as this makes the water dirty and stresses livestock out.

But if it’s every 3 months then hmm, up to you

If remember right the Seachem flourish root tabs are to be replaced every approx 3 months.

 

[Fishmanic]

Nitrites appear to be around .5 ppm

 

[WhistlingBadger]

@AdoraBelle Dearheart The other thing to remember is that you're cycling; your filter bacteria will eventually catch up, probably long before the offending fert tabs are dissolved and gone. It sounds like maybe your fert tabs are just releasing their goods way too fast, faster than your current bacteria colony can process.

Of course, ideally these nutrients don't go into the water column; they stay in the substrate and feed your plants. For whatever reason, yours aren't working that way. Adding a bunch of ferts to the water column is essentially the same as adding a bunch of fish: It takes time for your filter/substrate bacteria to catch up with the larger amount of "nutrients" (I love that euphemism; it sounds so...scientific!). In the presence of all that food, though, their numbers will rise to the occasion.

Sorry, that was long-winded, and you already know all of that. The point: It seems to me that digging out the pellets will just dislodge a bunch more nutrients, and you'll almost certainly miss a bunch. If 'twere me, I would push any pellets I can see as deep into the sand as they'll go to slow the release of nutrients. I bet it won't take long before those beneficial microbes kick in and do their little detoxifying thing.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

How long do these last?
Does the cheap root tabs give instructions when to replace tabs, like every two or three months?

If it’s recommended every 1 month or so thenmaybe leave them as it’s a lot of trouble digging around to find every root tab as this makes the water dirty and stresses livestock out.

But if it’s every 3 months then hmm, up to you

If remember right the Seachem flourish root tabs are to be replaced every approx 3 months.

@AdoraBelle Dearheart The other thing to remember is that you're cycling; your filter bacteria will eventually catch up, probably long before the offending fert tabs are dissolved and gone. It sounds like maybe your fert tabs are just releasing their goods way too fast, faster than your current bacteria colony can process.

Of course, ideally these nutrients don't go into the water column; they stay in the substrate and feed your plants. For whatever reason, yours aren't working that way. Adding a bunch of ferts to the water column is essentially the same as adding a bunch of fish: It takes time for your filter/substrate bacteria to catch up with the larger amount of "nutrients" (I love that euphemism; it sounds so...scientific!). In the presence of all that food, though, their numbers will rise to the occasion.

Sorry, that was long-winded, and you already know all of that. The point: It seems to me that digging out the pellets will just dislodge a bunch more nutrients, and you'll almost certainly miss a bunch. If 'twere me, I would push any pellets I can see as deep into the sand as they'll go to slow the release of nutrients. I bet it won't take long before those beneficial microbes kick in and do their little detoxifying thing.

I don't know how long these ones are meant to last, it's this brand:https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B083LZ23RC/?tag=
Cheap Chinese product, everything in the bottle is in Chinese. The ad says "The outer capsule is a plant capsule that dissolves itself after a few hours in water.(Use it once a half a month.)"

So perhaps they'll finish releasing so much soon, and the nitrifying bacteria will catch up soon too. I'm just dreading how much longer these large daily changes are going to be needed, especially since I need to go away for a few days soon for work training.

 

[Ch4rlie]

The ad says "The outer capsule is a plant capsule that dissolves itself after a few hours in water.(Use it once a half a month.)"

Once half a month, sounds like that means to replace them every two weeks or so?
So its like it recommending to replace root tabs a twice a month?

That sounds like a lot when thats compared to Seachem which recommends adding a root tab every 3 months, a little confusing.

But if thats the case, then theres hardly any point in removing all the root tabs if the affects are going to wear off soon and the nitrite bacs will soon catch up or increase in numbers to deal with the remaining nitrites, if that makes sense.

Personally, I would leave the root tabs where they are as its likely to be more counterproductive than productive to sift through the substrate and make a mess hunting for the remaining root tabs.

Even though you need to leave for a few days soon, would continue to monitor the water parameters for nitrite and change water when required and see if the nitrites will start go down every 24 hours, so keep testing up to the day before you leave and hope the numbers will continue to go down and hopefully that will be the case so then you won't need to worry when you do leave.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Nitrite test just now is somewhere between 0.25 and 0.50, so less than previous days. Hopefully that means they're already wearing off and/or the bacteria are catching up, at last. Hopefully.

It does seem that the root tabs are the most likely culprit for these results though, right? Since the tank was cycled before, and this is too long for a mini cycle to drag out, with nitrites getting that high especially?

@AilyNC thank you so much, it was you mentioning the plant growth that made me think of the plant growth and ferts! And go "wait a minute, ferts... could it be?" so you helped solve the riddle!

 

[AilyNC]

Yay a use to all my waffle

Hopefully things stabilise soon - definitely heading that way.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Test results today before and after 75% water change.

Yesterday I did comb through the sand a bit and remove a whole load of fertiliser pellets before doing a big water change. I found some that were small and had dissolved a lot, and a lot that were still as large as when they went in there. Even if they were weren't potentially skewing my water parameters, I wouldn't replace these every two weeks, there was still a lot there, wonder if the instructions were a mis-translation for "replace every two months".

So I've removed a load, maybe even most, but not all. Won't be using these again obviously, and won't add any other ferts for a while, but when things are stable again maybe I'll spring for the flourish root tabs. They're expensive, but if they last for three months, ain't the end of the world. Those of you who use the seachem flourish root tabs, how many do you usually use in what size tank?

Or I've used the tetra root tabs before without a problem, which are cheaper, but don't last that long I don't think.

 

[AilyNC]

I read about putting one next to each plant. I space them out but close to plants. I've 10 in my 58L and 20 in my 127l.

 

[Ch4rlie]

maybe I'll spring for the flourish root tabs. They're expensive, but if they last for three months, ain't the end of the world. Those of you who use the seachem flourish root tabs, how many do you usually use in what size tank?

Or I've used the tetra root tabs before without a problem, which are cheaper, but don't last that long I don't think.

Looks like between 0.25 to 0.50ppm nitrite, not too bad at all, good to see the water change reset that to zero.

Yep, the Seachem Flourish root tab do cost a little more but when you realise they should be replaced every three months or so, compared with other brand who recommend tabs to be replaced every one or two months, it kinda of balances out to be the same or cheaper actually, depends how much you put into the substrate.

I find that the Seachem Flourish root tabs have extra certain nutrients that are more beneficial for root feeders as well as the fact these won’t leach into the water column once buried into the substrate counts for a lot.

I’ve used Seachem flourish root tabs in all of my tanks in the past and not once did I actually have any issue with them, so on these basis that’s why I recommend these time and time again.

Never tried or used any of Tetra or API branded root tabs though have heard the API root tabs are quite good as well but, for me, Seachem are amongst the best to use.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Haven't done an in depth comparison against seachem, but I go for TNC plugs. They're British, as a company they concern themselves with only plant fertilisers, and the dosage is to replace every 6 months