High Nitrite!

[RedestWing]

Hello everyone ;) just decided to check my water conditions and seen I have high Nitrites ( NO2 ) .08 mg/l whats the deal? I do W/C twice a day, I always wipe down sides of tank, have a prefilter on my filter, and always keep up maintainance on my filter every 3 days. I have my Discus in a 30 gallon temp tank due to a seal breaking in my 75. Any ideas whats goin on?

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Do you mean you clean your filter every 3 days?? If so, then you may be cleaning it to often. That frequently will not allow the biological bacteria to recolonize the filter media, which will lead to a nitrite spike. What are the ammonia and nitrate levels?

-Ryan

[RedestWing]

Ammonia and Nitrate is 0. I have to clean the filter every 3 days .... tis a Magnum 350 .... I use only Micron Carts.... plus could not be that cause I never had the problem before :-\

[jeep]

tis a Magnum 350 .... I use only Micron Carts.... plus could not be that cause I never had the problem before :-\


Is this your only filtration?

[Tad]

Ammonia and Nitrate is 0. I have to clean the filter every 3 days .... tis a Magnum 350 .... I use only Micron Carts.... plus could not be that cause I never had the problem before :-\


ReDestWing when are you taking your test for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, was it after Water changes were done or prior to WCs?...if just after WC it maybe the reason that your showing Zero on ammonia but still signs of nitrites. IMO it appears that you really dont have adequate biofiltration for the fishload in that 30 your using....
If prior to WCs:
Test indications finding nitrites and Zero ammonia IMO, indicates inadequate nitrobactor or the possiblity of a bad test kit. If there is no signs of ammonia it would indicate that you do have adequate nitrosoma bacteria but have an unbalanced bio filtration system to handle the conversion or oxidation of the nitrites in your tank....

Im thinking along the lines with Jeep that you should have,additional biofiltration capability like a hydro sponge as using the magnum 350 with every three day rinsing will not allow adequate bacteria to grow to deal with the bio load.

if your lacking adequate nitrobactor then higher water changes will be necessary to control the nitrites until the bacteria has a chance to grow, Also how are your fish acting..are they eating well, skittish etc?

JMO
Tad

[Anonapersona]

0.08 mg/l = 0.08ppm

How the heck do you measure to that accuracy?

[tgomearajr]

"...just decided to check my water conditions and seen I have high Nitrites ( NO2 ) .08 mg/l whats the deal? "

The deal is that it sounds, unfortunately, like you are on your way to killing your fish. :(

You said you have your discus in a 30 gallon tank, but you did not say how MANY discus there were, nor how long they have been subjected to the nitrite level you quote. By the way, nitrite exposure (damage) is somewhat cumulative, so long exposure to low levels can damage your fish almost as badly as short exposure to high levels.

You also do not say what you are using in the way of biological filtration. In a 30 gallon tank, more than 2 or 3 adults will almost be guaranteed to be a biological overload, especially with an aggressive feeding program.

More information is needed before any accurate advice can be given, but it sounds like you need WAY more biological filtration and a lower fish load in the tank. Of course, if the tank experiences a large nitrite/ammonia spike, the fish load will be self adjusting... they will just die. Probably not the most desirable outcome though. :P

Tom

PS: I initially misread your levels as .8 (almost toxic), not .08 so the situation is not as acute at this point as I thought, but it needs to be zero if possible. Carol also brings up a good point about your tap water.

[Tad]

Tom,
Some valid points, As this is a beginners section I fully agree,its imperative that ReDestWing provides as much information as possible in what his parameters are, total fish load in the 30, amounts of feeding etc so we all could, come up with some help or remedy preventing any loss of his fish...

Thanks for your input,
Tad

[Carol_Roberts]

Did you test your tap water to see if you have nitrItes fromthe tap?

[Anonapersona]

Well, in the meanwhile, you can use Prime to detox the nitrite or just add salt to the tank which will prevent the uptake of nitrite.

And slow down on feeding, until you have the fish back into a bigger tank.

And increase water changes, after you make certain the nitrite is not in the tap water. If it is then use Prime.

[RedestWing]

Sorry it has taken so long for me to reply to you guys, I am going through some ruff times right now :( and have been terribly busy. I have not tested my Tap yet, but I will Carol, as for Bio-filter I have Hydro Sponges and I have the Mag on it to keep excellent water. When I did the Tests was before w/c ... thanx for the info and I will let you guys know soon as possible. If it is the tap then it has just began cause I never had a problem Before! >:(

Steve

[RedestWing]

As for the comment about On my way to killing my fish, thats not true >:(..... I have had my fish for almost a year and there is only 4 as of now due to a seal letting lose on my 75 gallon ... this will be until next week when I put them in a 55 gallon! As I said in previous post I am going through some bad times and my mind is not functioning like it should right now :P Sorry for not giving as much info as I should of! As for the Nitrite, it has not been like this long cause I do check as often as I can ;)