Impending sense of doom?

maleficent

maleficent

Member
I have a problem with my nitrite level. This week it is 0.3! I have had my tank up and running for approx. 8 months. I test my parameters weekly and have never had a problem with Nitrite. I originally had a very elevated phosphorus at 3.0(ouch) and have gotten it down to 0.05-0.07 with frequent water changes and the addition of Phos-sorb in a media chamber of my filter. I had an algae bloom(that was when I discovered the phos prob.). I have had a problem with Nitrate and have dealt with that by water changes and I added Nitrate sponge to the other media container of my filter. My nitrate fell from 20 to <5. Now I have a Nitrite problem and my Nitrate is back up tp 15-20. I lost a Sally Lightfoot today, (coincidence?). I was using RO water and I use Instant Ocean Salt. I dose with 1L kalkwasser at night dripped in via IV bag at night,(it helps to be a nurse). Everyother day I add Reef Iodide, twice a week I add Reef Calcium, Reef Strontium, Reef Vital DNA and Coral-Vital. I added kent Tech-M once when my Mg was low(has been normal since.) My test results yesterday were: pH 8.0(down from 8.3), Ammonia=0, Calcium=360(down from 420), Mg=1125, KH 13(down from 16), Phos=0.06, Nitrite 0.3(was 0), Nitrate 20(was <5), Temp 78F, SpecGrav1.025. Does anyone have any ideas about how to fix this? I am afraid that I am going to lose some animals. Is my bio-load too high? Do I need more biological filtration? I am about a week away from having a 10g below tank sump/refugium up and running. I know this is wordy but I am trying to be thorough. Thanks for any help.:confused:
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
First before you panic go out and get another new nitrite test kit and test it again. It would be very odd for an established tank to have no ammonia and a high nitrite level. The Nitrite is harmless but Ammonia is very toxic.
 
david s

david s

Member
check all your spounges and stuff make sure they are clean the ones on your pumps. do you have any scum on your surface of water what color is your sandbed and how deep is it either you have some sort of nitrate factory going or your sandbed is not working corectly or bad gas exchange all can be fixed and you can save your livestock by doing another water change and get another trate spounge till you find and fix problem
 
barracuda

barracuda

Active Member
Maleficent, i cannot really help you to solve your problem, but with one thing i will try. I had my nitrite became high about a month ago, i could't even find the reason. I guess i added too many fish to the one month old tank. So there is a product called Ammonia detox by Kent Marine. This stuff can bring high ammonia and nitrite down to 0 within 10 minutes. Yes, it's real!!! I checked it in my tank. This will reduce the shock for tankmates. Then start monitoring nitrites on daily basis and see if it rises again. Mine never rised.
Good luck!!!
 
maleficent

maleficent

Member
Anybody? Will a massive water change help or will it just compound the problem of my dropping calcium, KH and pH? I have lost 2 Sally lighfoots,a peppermint shrimp, and an emerald crab in the last three weeks. I am puzzled because my more fragile animals are OK. How can I reduce Nitrate and eliminate Nitrite without changing pH and alk and shocking my other tank inhabitants? Anybody have any specifics on doing a major water change without wreaking havoc?
 
saltyrich

saltyrich

Active Member
Relax a little. How long have you been using the Reef Vital DNA? Are you aware that it clearly states on the back of the bottle that it can sometimes cause false high readings on some tests? They give a correction factor for you to figure out what the levels really are if they seem whacked. This could be some of the problem. Regardless, I'd take all the precautions anyway. Water changes. Definately use Kent's detox., etc...
 
maleficent

maleficent

Member
I have been using the coral-vital and reef-vital for months. (Yes I read the package.) After the algae bloom I had I did some major cleaning, filters and all. I wonder if I could have cleaned too much and disrupted my denitrifying bacteria. Could a huge algae die-off raise Nitrite?
 
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