RED SEA MARINE LAB = QUESTIONS

[rgoldenc]

pLEASE HELP ME UNDERSTAND THIS IF YOU PLEASE:
We are trying to test our NITRITES with this mini lab test. Maybe this will make sense to the pro's because it doesn't to us!!! HERE Goes: A concentration as low as 0.1 ppm is already harmful to many marine invertebrates. Concentration above 0.3 ppm are harmful for marine and freshwater fish. A typical behavioral symptom of acute nitrite poisoning is listlessness of the fish. Lower nitrite levels stress and weaken the fis making them susceptible to parasitic infections such as white spot. So if 0.1 is harmful to invertebrates then why do you have to have 0.2 for fish and 0.3 is harmful to fish ?. Please help. our nitrates are at o.1 but i don't want to kill the inverts. <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />

 

[broomer5]

Unless you are in mid cycle of a tank - you always want your nitrites to be 0.0
No detectable level !
Any level of nitrite in an aquarium is harming both your inverts and your fish.
If you have nitrite readings of anything but 0.0 you are either still cycling the tank, your biofiltration bacteria population is not sufficient enough to convert this nitrite to nitrate, or you are getting a bad reading on the test kit.
Animals need oxygen. Nitrite competes for oxygen in the fish or inverts systems.
I would not get too hung up on the numbers.
0.1 nitrite
0.2 nitrite
0.3 nitrite
All are unacceptable levels.
What more can you tell about your tank.
Size, filtration, live rock ?
Number size fish, inverts ?