Water Changes During Hypo - Need Help With Nitrites

[firstborn]

I have had my tank in hypo for 7 days. There are no longer any Ich spots on the fish.
This is my display tank, so I moved all my live rock and inverts out. Last night, I added some lava rock and larger rocks from my backyard to the tank for hiding areas. The lava rock was purchased at my LFS, and it has been tested to be safe. All of the rock was rinsed off before I put it in the tank.
I noticed over the last day, that my dwarf angels are starting to get a shredded look in the back of there fins. My Bi Color has a clean split right thru the middle of his back fin. These do not look like bite marks.
I tested my water quality, and my Nitrites are at 3.0! 1 point below the toxic level!
I put in a high dose of Prime antichlorinater. The package says up to 5x normal dose can be used to detoxify Nitrites.
I am preparing to do a 25% water change tomorrow morning. The salt is mixing right now.
Question: Is it normal for Nitrites to rise during hypo? How often should water changes be done?

 

[sepulatian]

Please give some background info on this tank. How long has it been set up? What kind of rock from your yard did you put in? Is it jagged? It is not normal for nitrite to raise, but you added a substance other that oceanic to the tank. 3.0 is not just below toxic, that is toxic. Have you been testing ammonia?? Do the 25% changes every 3 days with mixed water until the trites go down. Please post to the questions I asked as well, they are very important.

 

[firstborn]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
Please give some background info on this tank. How long has it been set up? What kind of rock from your yard did you put in? Is it jagged? It is not normal for nitrite to raise, but you added a substance other that oceanic to the tank. 3.0 is not just below toxic, that is toxic. Have you been testing ammonia?? Do the 25% changes every 3 days with mixed water until the trites go down. Please post to the questions I asked as well, they are very important.
The rock is not jagged. It is more round. The lava rock is jagged.
The tank has been established for over 5 years, but it does not have any live rock in it right now. I removed the live rock and inverts to hypo the tank.
I have been testing ammonia; it is undetectable. I am also running carbon.
I just performed a 25% water change. It dropped the Nitrites to .35 from 3.0.

 

[geridoc]

IMHO, removing all of the lr may set your tank up for a rise in nitrogenous waste, but I'm not sure how a 25% water change produces a ten-fold reduction in nitrites. I would check my kit against another one.

 

[firstborn]

Originally Posted by GeriDoc
IMHO, removing all of the lr may set your tank up for a rise in nitrogenous waste, but I'm not sure how a 25% water change produces a ten-fold reduction in nitrites. I would check my kit against another one.
I checked with test kit and test strips.
I am now at .35.
I will be doing another 25% water change on Monday.

 

[mtennant]

Does any body know if this works?
AZNO3 Nitrate & Dissolved Organics Exporter Additive/Supplement :notsure:

 

[mtennant]

Fourth Generation Formula: The previous discoloration & blackening symptom has been fixed. New bottle and label design soon to be released.
Third Generation Formula: The NEW AZ-NO3™ with it's new "Cold" filtering and processing techniques reduces the clouding effect in even poorly-maintained (ionically-imbalanced) aquariums. Its nitrate-removal ability has sped up 2x as fast as before. In addition, its shelf-life is now close to indefinite when un-opened. Or up to 60 days when opened and stored in refrigerator.
Synopsis
The AZ-NO3™ (Absolute Zero - Nitrates™) product works entirely by aerobic Cellular Respiration on the target Nitrate molecule, which is then removed by the Protein Skimmer. The oxidoreductases necessary for these processes are the chemical mechanism of an enzyme action.
In the most simplest of explanations, AZ-NO3™ can be considered an essential food, required by the active enzyme maltase that functions as a cellular respirator. The manufacturing process renders this product as an undesirable food to certain detrimental enzyme (amylase and invertase) that could uncontrollably proliferate in the aquarium.
Our product utilizes a specific enzyme in the maltase group to activate the oxidoreductases necessary to reduce nitrates by cellular respiration in the aquarium. The product itself does not contain this enzyme, but can be thought of more like a seed, a seed contains the germ (plant) and the food for the plant to grow. The mature plant then becomes the basic food product utilized.
The active ingredient in our product is Cozymase which functions in the oxidation of proteins and of many other compounds important in the intermediary metabolism and the resulting active enzyme Maltase in the aquarium. The Massecuite is food for both the Cozymase to develop and the resultant Maltase to thrive.
It brings down & maintains your nitrate from as high as 100ppm or more to an Absolute-Zero level. Hence the name. [

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Mtennant
Does any body know if this works?
AZNO3 Nitrate & Dissolved Organics Exporter Additive/Supplement :notsure:
I have never heard of that product. I am realy against using chemicals in a salt system because I have seen the disastrous mistakes of others. I do not believe that ANY med can replicate water changes at all. These fish come from the ocean and don't respond well to chemicals. Do some more waterchanges.

 

[triton]

I did another 25% water change, and my Nitrites are at .25.
Should I keep doing the water changes? I have about another 5 1/2 weeks left of hypo.

 

[firstborn]

I did another 25% water change, and my Nitrites are at .25.
Should I keep doing the water changes? I have about another 5 1/2 weeks left of hypo.

 

[geridoc]

I used Amquel Plus the one time that I had a nitrite spike in my QT, and it seemed to work. The fish were distressed until I began treatment, then were fine. The nitrite level does not change, but it is converted into a form that does not bind with hemoglobin in the blood, so the fish are not harmed. It still can be metabolized by the bacteria, so will go away. It is temporary measure, made necessary by your removing the lr from your tank. Don't rely on this stuff on a regular basis - rely on good tank maintenance instead.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Firstborn
I did another 25% water change, and my Nitrites are at .25.
Should I keep doing the water changes? I have about another 5 1/2 weeks left of hypo.
5 1/2 weeks? Were did you get this number? Have the ich dropped off yet? Continue to do the changes until the nitrites read 0.

 

[firstborn]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
5 1/2 weeks? Were did you get this number? Have the ich dropped off yet? Continue to do the changes until the nitrites read 0.
The ich have dropped off. I am going to go 6 weeks after the last ich spot has dissapeared for added security.
I am not sure the nitrites will hit 0 without the lr. I guess I can try, although I don't think .25 is going to do much.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Firstborn
The ich have dropped off. I am going to go 6 weeks after the last ich spot has dissapeared for added security.
I am not sure the nitrites will hit 0 without the lr. I guess I can try, although I don't think .25 is going to do much.
No, .25 isn't bad, just an annoyance to the fish. You want to keep them as stress free as possible though. 6 weeks is a bit excessive in hypo. I assume it took about a week for the ich to drop off? It takes a week to raise the salinity back up. That is 8 weeks total. If you see signs of stress after 4 weeks begin to raise it. I understand that you want to be cautious, but hypo can have negative effects if the fish are in it for too long. 8 weeks is max.