nitrite spike- PLEASE help

[dperna]

last time i checked my water quality on feb. 1 everything was fine, but i just checked tonight and my nitrite was high. What caused this, how do i fix it, how big of a problem is it?
my levels were:
PH - 8.2
Ammonia-0
Nitrate-1
Phosphate-.2
Nitrite- in betwen 2 & 4
SG-1.022
also to my knowledge all the other levels are right, is this corect. its a 58g FOWLR

 

[sepulatian]

Your nitrite is reading between 2&4 and your nitrate is 1? Those are the correct readings?

 

[dperna]

yeah, is that unlikely?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by DPerna
yeah, is that unlikely?
No, not realy, but the nitrites are very high. Have you had an ammonia spike recently? How often do you test your tank? You may want to start mixing some water so you can do a water change tommorow night.

 

[dperna]

i have not had an ammonia spike recently, and i usually test my tank every 2-4 weeks. should i just do a normal 20% water change or does it have to be a larger one? also, will this take care of it or just help it?

 

[dperna]

:help:

 

[acrylic51]

What type of filtration? Anything change suddenly with the tank? I'd do a regular water change and test the following day.

 

[dperna]

the only thing that changed was that i let the water sit for a couple of hours without any movement, because i turned off the pump so i could correct my bulkhead for the last time. that was yesterday right before i took my tests. i dont know if that has anything to do with it but thats the onlything different that happend, as for filtration i have a berlin classic turbo protein skimmer in my sump

 

[dperna]

besides this nitrite be ing off is the sg right, i will soon have these inverts:
Scarlet Hermit Crab:10
Blueleg Hermit Crab:10
Nasssarius Snail:10
Brittle Starfish:2
Coral Banded Shrimp:1
Emerald Crab:3
Turbo/Astrea Snail:20
Cleaner Clam:2
on my sg meter it says its in the target zone but i've heard of people having higher

 

[dperna]

 

[masivemunkey]

I've heard people should have 1.026 SG for inverts because that's what natural seawater usually has.

 

[dperna]

thanks masivemunkey, does anyone know the answer to the above question though? :
What caused this, how do i fix it, how big of a problem is it?

 

[dperna]

hm..my nitrite did go down a little to just a .2 but im still going to do this water change now

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by DPerna
hm..my nitrite did go down a little to just a .2 but im still going to do this water change now
Yes, do the water change. How old is this system and what sized tank? I am only going to be online for a few minutes, but I will check this post tonight. The reason I am asking about your tank is because I too had a nitrite spike when my 55 was about 3 months old. I had not had ammonia in months, then the nitrite spiked to 1. I did water change after water change and it brought it down some. I asked all around and no one could figure out why it had spiked and wasn't comming down. It turned out that it was just a prologed cycle because I was doing water changes every week (trying to do everything right being new) I stopped doing changes and waited for it to finish. I only had 2 damsels in the tank at that point. I had thought it had cycled fully already, but the constant presence of ammonia from the fish were the reason for the large nitrite spike. Do some change and at least get it down to 1. What fish do you have?

 

[dperna]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
Yes, do the water change. How old is this system and what sized tank? I am only going to be online for a few minutes, but I will check this post tonight. The reason I am asking about your tank is because I too had a nitrite spike when my 55 was about 3 months old. I had not had ammonia in months, then the nitrite spiked to 1. I did water change after water change and it brought it down some. I asked all around and no one could figure out why it had spiked and wasn't comming down. It turned out that it was just a prologed cycle because I was doing water changes every week (trying to do everything right being new) I stopped doing changes and waited for it to finish. I only had 2 damsels in the tank at that point. I had thought it had cycled fully already, but the constant presence of ammonia from the fish were the reason for the large nitrite spike. Do some change and at least get it down to 1. What fish do you have?
i have 1 maroon clown fish right now, the tank is a 58 gallon. i've only had it set up for about a month. the previous owner had it running for years (when i transfered i took his water too) but with nothing in it. i only have done 1 water change since i've had it running. it was a 20 gallon water change and i used the water from my old 20g that i transfered to this tank. maybe it just needs some good ole fresh saltwater?

 

[bang guy]

Raise the Salinity as suggested.
I wouldn't worry about the Nitrite as long as Ammonia is reading 0.0ppm.
Immature tanks are unstable and this is just a symptom that the tank is unstable.

 

[dperna]

alright thanks, well i guess the water change could help me bring up the salinity. its weird though because on my meter it shows the "target zone" being in between 1.020 -1.023. oh well 1.026 it is!

 

[dperna]

UGH, i finished a 10gallon water change about 3 hours ago and just tested and my nitrite is still in between a light colored 4 or a dark 2 so i guess you can call it a 3. i also made sure the salinity in the new salt water was very high to try to raise level in the tank which also did nothing, leaving it at 1.022 still. what to do now? please help

 

[dperna]

 

[sepulatian]

While I fully respect Bang Guy, I have witnessed firsthand the damaging effects of nitrite. It needs to be lowered. If you only have one maroon clown, can you take him out and set up a qt tank for him? You can use a good sized piece of your live rock to prevent a cycle. It will take a few weeks for the nitrite to come down. Letting it finish cycling naturally is the best way to do this.