nitrite levels wont come down

[patrickfox4@msn]

hi guys and gals i was wondering what might help my nitrite levels to get to zero i have been cycling my tank for about a month i have live rock and a live sand bed all my levels are good except the nitrite which is really high i done a 20 percent water change twice during the cycle and that dont seem to help should i add a shrimp or two to help the cycle i thought with the live rock and sand that would help speed up the cycle well any help would be great like i said all my other test are great just the nitrite is high thanks

 

[beaslbob]

Originally posted by patrickfox4@msn
hi guys and gals i was wondering what might help my nitrite levels to get to zero i have been cycling my tank for about a month i have live rock and a live sand bed all my levels are good except the nitrite which is really high i done a 20 percent water change twice during the cycle and that dont seem to help should i add a shrimp or two to help the cycle i thought with the live rock and sand that would help speed up the cycle well any help would be great like i said all my other test are great just the nitrite is high thanks
NitrAte is 0 because you have not finished the nitrIte part of the cycle. At this point it is extremly important to do nothing. Well not exactly nothing. For instance you still need to empty a skimmer if you are running one or replace filter media each week. And, of course, replace water that evaporates. But other that that do nothing. No fish feeding, no water changes, basically nothing. nitrItes will drop in a day or two, once the bacteria has caught up with the bioload.
And I recommend you add macro algae/marine plants now. they will help control the ugly algaes and make the tank much better

 

[crazy8]

I personally recommend that you go through and just read a lot of the posts on this site. That way you get the opinion of many.
That being said, your cycle has not finished so don't do a water change. Patience is the key here. I know it took my tank over 4 weeks to cycle completely. Don't know what kind of test kit you have, but nitrItes (remember diff from nitrAtes) are the easiest thing to test because when they get to 0 (and they will) it is an obvious blue color vs any shade of red/purple as they are higher.
Be patient. Also, it is a good idea to posts your other specs -- temp, ph, nitrAtes, salinity when asking for advice. These guys that have been around a while will usually need them to help you the best.
Just so you know, doing a water change has probably slowed your cycle down. Did your ammonia spike from adding LR/LS? And is it back to zero now? If so, then you are doing fine. Wait for your nitrIte to go to 0 and then your nitrates will follow behind (maybe another week or two though so be patient).
If your ammonia never spiked at all then yes you could add a shrimp. But because your nitrItes are up, you probably did have ammonia which has now been converted to nitrItes, which then will be converted to nitrAtes. Then you could do your water change to reduce your nitrAtes. But not till nitrItes are 0.
Sorry I ramble, but just in case you didn't search another board and didn't know nitrogen cycle I figured I would try to list a bunch. Read read read.