nitrite and nitrate ?????

[bzolnowski]

i have had an elevation of nitrite and nitrate in the past few weeks. i have cut down on the food. i think that might of been part of my problem. my question is, if i cut down the food to once every other day like many people do, will that force my nitites to turn into nitrates quicker? is it possible that this transformation does not occur?

 

[michaeltx]

no its a biological function the only thing that will speed it up is an increase in the bacteria that eat nitrites and then produces nitrates as a waste product.
Mike

 

[bzolnowski]

i have added the cycle product but i dont think it has done a thing. what else could i try? any thoughts would be very much appreciated! brian.

 

[michaeltx]

water changes are about the only thing other than time that I know of that will lower them. I dont like the cycle products some use but I never had any sucess with it.
Mike

 

[escape2thewater]

How old is the tank? Also what are the water params?
( It will help determine your problem with this data....)
Kyle

 

[bzolnowski]

i would say time is better then water changes though, dont you think? if i do water changes, i am just extending the process even further. the fish seem like they are doing well. i have cut down the food a lot. i took your advise on that mike, that should help me out.

 

[michaeltx]

yeah it should how high are the nitrites I forget long day from last night LOL
Mike

 

[bzolnowski]

the nitrites are on the high end of the charts. the tank has been set up for about four months. trying to figure out why i cant get the numbers down after it was at zero and now it wont go back down.

 

[michaeltx]

this is what I would start with I cant remeber if I said it last night or not. take a water sample to your LFS and have them do the battery of tests on the water and see what they come up with. if they get the same as yours the go ahead and do a water change every couple fo days or so to try to lower the nitrites. nitrites can cause fish stress if it is on the high side of the scale.
but I think if the tests are right its probable from the excess foods decying and until the are all gone you still have nitrites showing up.
also see if there are any dieing sponges on you rock that you can see. the will usually be black when they start dieing.
Mike

 

[bzolnowski]

you are always good to me mike, i will get a sample and do that tomorrow. i dont see any black on my rock but i do see a lot of white. i need to get it identified. i am curious how much crap is under my rock. my two shrimp and various snails and crabs have been doing quite well keeping the bottom clean. i have seen some crabs killed in the past few weeks from fighting. my other issue is that i am on the high end of bioload and need to get a few damsels out. i keep trying and just not lucking out. i think i might be hitting a point where i have to take all the rock out, get the few damels out, clean the bottom very good, and then put the rock back in. i think that might do it. thanks mike. brian.

 

[michaeltx]

do you have a camera or can you borrow one to take a picture of what is on the rocks if so post a pic and maybe we can get an id for it.
Mike

 

[bzolnowski]

is excessive food decay the biggest culprit of nitrites? any other obvoious things to make sure i am not doing? brian.

 

[bzolnowski]

good camera idea, i will do that this weekend, i will post pics by sunday, you will then see what i mean by the white stuff. brian.

 

[michaeltx]

if your overfeeding it can be there are many things that can cause it though.
here is the way the biological process works.
food-detrius-other dieing matter is turned into ammonia
ammonia is broke down by bacteria to nitrite that kicks another type opf bacteria in that starts to break down nitrites into nitrates thoughs are either exported by water changes or by macro algae or another biological process that happens in the lower layers of the DSB (the DSB part is my understanding f it)
Mike

 

[bzolnowski]

thank you mike, is it possible that maybe there are some dead snails or crab under the rock in which i cant see? the amon is very low, its the nitrite and nitrate numbers that are bad! just a thought. thanks for the explanation.

 

[michaeltx]

dead snails in a new tank are a culprit. I didnt think about it till you said that. snails when they die have a habit of closeing up tight as the literaly rot in the shell the can realease the ammonia into the water so thats another cause that could be going on. and added with the overfeeding can cause the problems.
NP
Mike

 

[bzolnowski]

wow, glad i thought about that. not positive that is the case but i do know that i lost some of my cleanup crew due to fighting, etc. maybe breaking down the rock to catch the damsels and check for dead snails is my best choice at this point. thanks so much for all your help mike, i hope you know i really appreciate it! brian.

 

[michaeltx]

glad I could help. let meknow what the results are tomorrow as suggestions can change with new test results. and good luck and those darned damsels LOL
but if you have to take the tank apart to catch them them its a good time to change those little things that you wish you would have done different.
Mike