NITRITE QUESTION???

[dnorton1978]

CHecked Nitrite on Thursday and it was 0, just like always. Never until today have i had even a trace of nitrite. Today i did my normal water change, but moved all my rocks to clean under them. Man it got messy!!!!!!!! So i changed 10 gallons out of my 55 gal. I also added 10 more pounds of live rock today. That brings me up to about 55 - 60lbs. After cleaning up my mess i checked the tank for my normal stuff. Everything normal except Nitrite. It is about .15%. Not much to be concerned with, but more than i ever had.


Question is, is this because i stirred everything up.... I am hoping when i check it later it will be back to normal after the filters do their job. What is your feedback on this???????????????????

 

[Anonymous]

A little advice if you want us to help you effectively around here...

Provide us with information about your system - is this a new tank for instance?

We don't all have time to search back through your other posts to glean the history or other specs of your tank.

Having said that, adding uncured live rock to a tank will always cause a spike.

Jim

 

[dnorton1978]

NO it has been running for 8 months JIM... Do me a favor be a little nicer to the new people JIM. The rock was cured, at least that is what the LFS said. It did not stink or anything. Aside from that i do not really know what to look for. So i take peoples word for what it is. I like honest people who have time to help, if you dont, dont bother..... thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm simply requesting for your own sake that you provide all pertinent information when you post a question, if you don't then the quality and quantity of your responses will suffer. Again, we're not all inclined to go searching through your past to posts to learn about your setup.

Now, if you had a nitrite spike then you had an ammonia spike, if you had an ammonia spike, it was from the new live rock - period. Ammonia and nitrite do not spike from stirring up detritus already in the system. Of course if I knew anything about the size of your tank, I could recommend the max amount of uncured (despite what your LFS says) live rock to add in the future to avoid such a spike. Or, I could go looking through your other posts and learn about your tank for future reference...but I'm not going to.

 

[dnorton1978]

alright alright.. Just kidding. Info for you JIM. 55 gal. semi reef tank. Running for 8 months. Currently has abou 55 - 60 lbs of live rock. & fish total. 2 are very small damsels. I have 3 cleaner shrimp a lot of sand sifting snails, and atleast 35 blue legged hermit. I have a fluval 404 filter, and i still use my general over the back filter that i started with. Rated for 30 - 60 gallon tanks. I use a sea clone 100 for my skimmer and it works great for me. I normally check my water every 3 - 5 days, and everything always checks out normal. So after doing my routine weekly water change and adding the rocks, i was quite suprized to see nitrite in my water. I have been freaking out ever since. Mainly do to the fact my tank has been so perfect for so long..

If this is a spike do to the live rock, how long will it last, and what can i do(if anything) to make this as compfortable as possible for my marine life. I plan to do another water change tomorrow of about 7 - 10 gallons. Oh yeah as for my corals i have a long tentacle plate coral, small green star polyp, a group of 4 green hairy mushrrom, and a galaxia coral. Oh yeah and the location of my tank is in my formal dining room right hand corner of the wall, and it sits about 6 inches away from the wall......( is that helpful))) just kidding again, hopefully this will help you to help me. If i left off anything pertinent let me know..

 

[dnorton1978]

that was 7 fish total.. not &..

 

[Anonymous]

Water changes are your best friend right now, 10 to 15 gallons. Some fish can handle a huge spike over a short duration, others will succumb to various maladies including bacterial infections. The best way for you to mitigate this right now is a water change, then maybe another depending on where the parameters are in another day or two.

Also, aside from an event such as this where they may come in handy, once your tank is cycled you don't need to be testing for ammonia and nitrite.

Jim

 

[dnorton1978]

Thanks JIM.. I appreciate all of your input. What do you check on a regualr basis as far as chemicals...Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

I only check calcium and alkalinity myself, and these only in SPS tanks.

 

[cindre2000]

What sort of filtration is in the fluval and the hang on? Do you still have the filterfloss/sponges in them? Do you have a sump, or is it all hang on? What lighting? What substrate and depth? What circulation do you use? Oh, and what is your maintinance schedual?

Those are all information that will help anyone trying to help you out. After all, many tank problems are from filtration, lighting, and circulation. Mainly, what sort of filtration system did you set up? You still have a hang on and canister filter, not exactly what is considered "hip" or "up to date". I was wondering if you run a Berlin or other "mainstream" system.

 

[dnorton1978]

Okay as for what type of filtration that is a confusing question Will try to answer. I do have the sponges and filter floos in both. I clean it with saltwater every couple of weeks. Basically put it in the water and give it a few squeezes. So my fluval is my main source of filtration it has charcoal and some bio stuff. And the sponge of course. The over the back as old as it may be and out dated,,, i just kept it because i thought it could not hurt. THe media inside is established and i can run charcoal in it much easier thatn the fluval. I do not have a sump. THe way my tank is set up i cant fit a sump. Did not fully research everything on initial purchase. Made many changes since, but wasted a lot of money.. Lighting is (2) 54wt blue (2) 54wt white they are all T5's. Total wattage is 216. For circulation i have 2 maxi jet 900's. My san bed is 2-3 inches deep and the sand is carib see argonite stuff. (i believe that is what it was). Lastly, my maint. schedule is something like this.

Every 3 - 4 days i check all chemicals
Every Saturday i change about 10 gallons
Every other saturday i clean filter floss in over back
every 3 months i change carbon and clean floss in fluval.
every 6 months i move rocks and clean under.

I also have a lot of tank janitors .. 3 cleaner shrimp. Atleast 30 hermit. some are blue legged the rest are algae eaters. Sand sifting snails, and sand sifting starfish.
THis is roughly how it goes.

 

[dnorton1978]

Okay as for what type of filtration that is a confusing question Will try to answer. I do have the sponges and filter floos in both. I clean it with saltwater every couple of weeks. Basically put it in the water and give it a few squeezes. So my fluval is my main source of filtration it has charcoal and some bio stuff. And the sponge of course. The over the back as old as it may be and out dated,,, i just kept it because i thought it could not hurt. THe media inside is established and i can run charcoal in it much easier thatn the fluval. I do not have a sump. THe way my tank is set up i cant fit a sump. Did not fully research everything on initial purchase. Made many changes since, but wasted a lot of money.. Lighting is (2) 54wt blue (2) 54wt white they are all T5's. Total wattage is 216. For circulation i have 2 maxi jet 900's. My san bed is 2-3 inches deep and the sand is carib see argonite stuff. (i believe that is what it was). Lastly, my maint. schedule is something like this.

Every 3 - 4 days i check all chemicals
Every Saturday i change about 10 gallons
Every other saturday i clean filter floss in over back
every 3 months i change carbon and clean floss in fluval.
every 6 months i move rocks and clean under.

I also have a lot of tank janitors .. 3 cleaner shrimp. Atleast 30 hermit. some are blue legged the rest are algae eaters. Sand sifting snails, and sand sifting starfish.
THis is roughly how it goes.

 

[cindre2000]

Well, your setup is run a bit more like a nano tank than a larger tank. But it is a bit between sizes, maybe. What is everything that you test for? I personally test Specific Gravity and that is it, though I check nitrates every once in a while. I really should have more tests on me.

I am sure you have been told that sponges/filterfloss can lead to higher nitrates if you do not have an equally fast export method. The two, "outdated" filters do probably provide good flow, which is good.

If your tank is doing well, except for a nirate spike due to new live rock, all I can say is keep it up, and maybe think about gradual replacements of "outdated" equipment. Though it is true sometimes it works if the balance is right; you never know when that balance might kick it. The more "advanced" methods allow a bit more leeway in some respects.

 

[dnorton1978]

ready to hear how new i am to this.. WHat is a NANO tank?

 

[Anonymous]

Nano is usually 30ga or less size tank.

 

[cindre2000]

They also usually run skimmer-ess, with the rock and sand doing most of the work. Possibly macro algae. Since they are so small, water changes are the #1 filtration system in terms of effectiveness. However, as long as they are not overstocked, the rock can easily keep the balance since the rock to water ratio is much higher than a larger aquarium.