Dead Fish ... High Nitrite ??

[wxman2]

I went on vacation for a few days and when I came back I had 2 fish dead at the bottom of the tank. BEFORE, I went on vacation, the fish were doing great.
Anyway, after 'fishing' the dead fish out of the tank, I noticed my nitrites were very high. I test my water just about every 3 days and the nitrites have ALWAYS been fine. I have a 48 gallon oceanic and 20 gallons gets changed every 2 weeks or so. AND I do NOT overfeed.
The question is: Will nitrites go up with a dead fish or two lying at the bottom of the tank for a day or two? Just curious about this.
Thanks.
wxman

 

[fshhub]

yes, any decaying matter will affect your trates. and 2 dead fish is alot of decaying matter.

 

[beaslbob]

to answer your question the only safe way--- nitrItes could go up.
the dead fish will create a very large jump in the bioload. And usually that would mean that nitrItes will start to go up about two days later.
But then if you have a mature system with plenty of plant life they may not. The reason is that plant life consumes ammonia as well as phosphates and nitrAtes. So the plant life will kick in and start consuming ammonia limiting the nitrItes spike. It's just a matter of if there is sufficient plant life to prevent or at least greatly limit the nitrIte spike.
With limited plant life, the effects of a fish dieing can last several weeks. With the nitrAtes finally return to normal levels.
With any mature system the adverse adverse reaction should only last a few days.

 

[fshhub]

hey bob, did you ever post any pics to show NM and the others how nice your system works?
Or are you not willing to prove your theories that we are all questioning? I am sure if you posted some, not only would the others get off your back, but you may even get a few converts as well.

 

[drakken]

Originally posted by fshhub
hey bob, did you ever post any pics to show NM and the others how nice your system works?
Or are you not willing to prove your theories that we are all questioning?
They are not theories they are facts. Plants consume ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Of the 3 ammonia is the easiest for plants to consume and nitrites are the hardest. An adaquate ammount of plant life will comsume ammonia spikes which will prevent the nitrite from ever happening.

 

[beaslbob]

Originally posted by Drakken
They are not theories they are facts. Plants consume ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Of the 3 ammonia is the easiest for plants to consume and nitrites are the hardest. An adaquate ammount of plant life will comsume ammonia spikes which will prevent the nitrite from ever happening.
thanks. I knew about the ammonia but was not sure of the order of the nitrItes/nitrAtes.
this does agree with what happened when a new batch of macros died or went sexual. The ammonia spike only last hours. but nitrAtes went down faster than nitrItes. the macros were introduced to my macro algae culture tank that initially has 0.0 nitrates. the existing macros all survived and were doing their thing.
It may also explain some deviation from the ammonia-nitrItes-nitrAtes cycle when using live rock that has extensive plant life.
Again thanks.

 

[buzz]

Plants help to create a more stable system long term, however they are not a quick fix to a problem, and are not a guarantee of complete tank stability.
A dead fish will create ammonia - the amount depending on how large the fish and how long it has been in the tank dead. If that amount is high, unless you have wall to wall plants, you can expect a spike regardless of plants.
As you know from a cycle, ammonia is converted to nitrite, and so on...so yes, your nitrite readings are to be expected.

 

[fshhub]

dont get me wrong, I strongly advocate using a fuge, they are GREAT tools.
but like any other tool, it can never see a job thru to the end without the use of other tools.
and i added a little extra to my previous post, which you may have missed.

 

[nm reef]

agree with beaslbob or disagree with him...accept his views and his methods or offer objections....but the circussurrounding his posts needs to stop.
Plants are good...they can provide filtration benefits...but the circus needs to stop...thread closed!