Nitrites not falling on cycle

[Cell]

Same questions being asked and answered repeatedly

I agree that there's no cause for a water change, but if it makes you happy to do one, it won't hurt anything.

The nitrate value is not real. It is caused by interference by the nitrite. You may have 4 ppm nitrite and zero ppm nitrate.

Not sure what you are saying, but I agree with the assertion that a water change won’t have much impact on aquarium cycling through loss of bacteria.

 

[T4ylor]

Same questions being asked and answered repeatedly

are you the word police

 

[TehBrainz]

Same questions being asked and answered repeatedly

In their defense to the last request, I muddied the water to increase salinity and alkalinity.

Get some fish in it!

 

[T4ylor]

In their defense to the last request, I muddied the water to increase salinity and alkalinity.

Get some fish in it!

 

[TehBrainz]

There ya go. Look great! Enjoy watching them grow!

Mine are 6 years old now

 

[T4ylor]

There ya go. Look great! Enjoy watching them grow!

Mine are 6 years old now

one has got some kind of stringy thing in the bottom of him that it didn’t have earlier

 

[TehBrainz]

one has got some kind of stringy thing in the bottom of him that it didn’t have earlier

Poop

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

they’ll notice 0 nitrates, low ph, alkalinity etc

Why are they concerned with alk for a (currently) fish-only tank?? (Same question for pH to a large degree...)

Do you REALLY have 0 nitrates? I suspect test error if so.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Ok so I momentarily retract my statement about alkalinity. 5.7 is suuuper low.

Few questions. Apologize I'd they've been answered on the other 3 pages.

What salt mix are you using? Test kit for Alk? Other parameters (last measured date/time please)

Temp
Salinity
pH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate (yes you did just answer these 3)
Alk
Calc (only if you have it not a big deal if no kit for fish atm)

Natural seawater is around 6.2-8.2 dKh. 5.7 is nothing to worry about in this situation.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Not going to lie, I've never heard of that salt nor can I find much on it. A few sites say it's out of production.

I was specifically asking salt mix to better understand where the alkalinity should be when mixed to a standard salinity. Is it listed on the label of the bucket somewhere?

When you mix new salt water, make sure to check salinity and temperature in conjunction.

This is a good calculator to use for salinity changes, conversion corrections, etc.

Aquarium Calculators

An index of useful aquarium calculators and converters.

www.hamzasreef.com

You've never heard of Instant Ocean salt??

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

@T4ylor - Congratulations!!
While I agree that answering the same questions over and over can be tiresome for some, I do want to applaud you for making the safety of the animals the top priority.
I've seen many threads like this and just as many about people who've added livestock way too early (or didn't acclimate, overcrowded the tank, etc), and I much prefer the ones that err on the side of caution

 

[TehBrainz]

You've never heard of Instant Ocean salt??

Hahaha I have! And used it.

The instant ocean salt they took a picture of I've never seen nor could find anything on it. Black labeled bucket with a different brand name it appeared. I thought it was a UK "equivalent" brand or one trying to market off the white bucket/orange lid.

Aquarium Systems - Instant Ocean = black bucket
Instant Ocean - Sea Salt = white bucket

 

[TehBrainz]

Natural seawater is around 6.2-8.2 dKh. 5.7 is nothing to worry about in this situation.

Right.

But not knowing what their salinity was at the time, I was worried they had some other inbalance that resulted in a 5.7 dkh since the tank is so new

 

[apista]

are you the word police

Every forum has them, the reality is people new to whatever hobby or equipment will generally ask very similar questions.

 

[T4ylor]

You are ready for a fish. You were ready before.

5.7 dKH is fine for a fish. The ocean isn't much higher.

Specific gravity of 1.023 is OK for fish. Higher is also OK.

Nitrites at 1-2 ppm are not a concern.

So i added my fish when you said ( 2 clownfish. When i added them ammonia was 0 which i made sure of but nitrites were 2ppm and i couldn’t test for nitrates. Things have been fine and my nitrites dropped and have been 0 since however my nitrates are high like above 100ppm which is the highest my test reads. I did a 30-35% water change yesterday and tested again today and they are still over 80-100ppm. should i be doing something else?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

So i added my fish when you said ( 2 clownfish. When i added them ammonia was 0 which i made sure of but nitrites were 2ppm and i couldn’t test for nitrates. Things have been fine and my nitrites dropped and have been 0 since however my nitrates are high like above 100ppm which is the highest my test reads. I did a 30-35% water change yesterday and tested again today and they are still over 80-100ppm. should i be doing something else?

I don't see how you can get to 100 ppm nitrate from what you described, so I would not start doing things as if it were accurate.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

So i added my fish when you said ( 2 clownfish. When i added them ammonia was 0 which i made sure of but nitrites were 2ppm and i couldn’t test for nitrates. Things have been fine and my nitrites dropped and have been 0 since however my nitrates are high like above 100ppm which is the highest my test reads. I did a 30-35% water change yesterday and tested again today and they are still over 80-100ppm. should i be doing something else?

What test kit did you use, and did you follow the directions properly? (This is not an insult, it's very common to have testing errors of things aren't done exactly as directed)

 

[NanoNana]

I do want to chime in on this thread because I had many of the same issues with elevated nitrite/nitrates using this product.
New people using a product tend to follow instructions for the product they are using.
While opinions vary and many say nitrite are a non issue with marine tanks, the manufacturer of Dr. Tim’s clearly states that high nitites will stall the cycle with his product. You are instructed to check ammonia AND nitrites on specific days. The instructions say to change water to bring them down if they reach above certain parameters. He has a video where he goes into depth about how high nitrites affect the cycle.
This likely accounts for why people using Dr Tim’s repeatedly ask about water changes.
I, like the OP did a water change as directed by the literature with the product and the cycle seemed to continue as it should with better ammonia clearing.

Just wanted to point this out based on some responses I’ve see regarding water changes.

I have no way of knowing if this is something particular to the types of bacteria in his product or why he specifies nitrite levels when others say they don’t matter at all and it’s not a speculation I’m qualified to make. Hopefully this clarifies a little.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I do want to chime in on this thread because I had many of the same issues with elevated nitrite/nitrates using this product.
New people using a product tend to follow instructions for the product they are using.
While opinions vary and many say nitrite are a non issue with marine tanks, the manufacturer of Dr. Tim’s clearly states that high nitites will stall the cycle with his product. You are instructed to check ammonia AND nitrites on specific days. The instructions say to change water to bring them down if they reach above certain parameters. He has a video where he goes into depth about how high nitrites affect the cycle.
This likely accounts for why people using Dr Tim’s repeatedly ask about water changes.
I, like the OP did a water change as directed by the literature with the product and the cycle seemed to continue as it should with better ammonia clearing.

Just wanted to point this out based on some responses I’ve see regarding water changes.

I have no way of knowing if this is something particular to the types of bacteria in his product or why he specifies nitrite levels when others say they don’t matter at all and it’s not a speculation I’m qualified to make. Hopefully this clarifies a little.

Good info