high nitrite with yellow?brown algae

[bdisgod]

hi im quite new 2 marine every thing was all ok then I tested nitrite and nitrate ph and ammonia
ph was low about 7.8
no ammonia
nitrite was showing 5 (using api saltwater kit so that's as high as I can tell)
nitrate was high as api shows as well
ive started adding stability in
also some thing for nitrite not sure what is called
ive also done 2 water changes 15% every other day but nitrite is still showing 5 any ideas ive also got the yellow algae growing fast

 

[mcgyvr]

How old is the tank?
It sounds like you have a totally normal new tank still going through its cycling stage and are seeing the again totally normal/expected diatom/green film algae growth commonly referred to as the "ugly stages"..

 

[bdisgod]

hi thanks for your reply

I let it cycle for 4-5 weeks then added corals
and once a week since added a few fish
its probably 8-9 weeks old now

 

[mcgyvr]

What size tank?
How many fish?
How often are you feeding?
Did you use stability during the cycle or just now?
Were ammonia/nitrite zero at the end of the 4-5 weeks of cycling?

How much rock in the tank?
Any other equipment? skimmer? reactors?

Did you check for this nitrite "before" you added the stability? Or have you just started since adding stability?
How much stability are you adding?

Can you get a picture of the tank showing the algae? A full shot picture plus a close up of the algae?

 

[bdisgod]

its a fluval sea eco 52 litres
got 3 small fish and a cleaner wrasse
got 5 snails 1 crab and a blood shrimp
ive really stopped feeding just put a tiny flake in 2day which they ate straight away
yes I was putting stability in 5ml every day while it was setting up
I didn't test the water when I put it in a shop did that for me and said water was perfect

there is prob 5kg of rock in there it the man mined stuff apparently not live rock from sea

ive recently put the fluval mini skimmer in but not sure if its doing much or ive set it up wrong

I stopped putting the stability in once I added livestock which then showed high on the api chart
so done a couple of water changes and been adding 5ml of stability each day
and also 1/2ml of some product which gets rid of nitrates that seems to be dropping but will know more 2 moro

I can get a photo when im home from work

thanks for your help so far

 

[mcgyvr]

I stopped putting the stability in once I added livestock which then showed high on the api chart
so done a couple of water changes and been adding 5ml of stability each day
and also 1/2ml of some product which gets rid of nitrates that seems to be dropping but will know more 2 moro

huh?
Its not clear if you have stopped using stability or not..
Nor what was high on the api chart?

I would stop using stability and stop putting anything into the water and just continue with water changes..
What is your current nitrate level?

I think you are adding too much to the tank and it cannot handle it..

 

[bdisgod]

hi
I stopped using stability after shop keeper told me tank was good
then I bough the api saltwater liquid kit and tested it and the results shocked me
ph 7.8
ammonia 0.25
nitrite 5
nitrate 160
obviously the nitrite and nitrate on api stops at them so could be way higher
so I went back to shop he advised me to keep putting the stability in and also sold me something for the nitrate
so for last 3 days ive added 5ml of stability and 1/2 ml of this nitrate stuff
also doing 15% water chages every other day
nitrate has gone down but the nitrite is still 5

hope this clears that up

 

[bdisgod]

I will be doing a test 2 night when I get home and will post results
is it best doin a test before or after a water change

 

[mcgyvr]

Ok.. post #7 is better..
It sounds like you were getting bad advice from the shop.. I would avoid purchasing anything there and avoid using them as your source of information..

You need to stop adding the stability and just throw it out.. Its likely causing your elevated nitrites and nitrates..
Then perform a few larger water changes to get those nitrates and nitrites down..

Do not add anything new to the tank.. You have already added too much..
Continue doing water changes to get nitrate levels down and just give the tank time to recover from the damage done..

 

[top shelf]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074

I think that would be a very good place for you start, better late then never. It will.help you understand your tank better and what's going on inside it.

As for what's happening now I agree with mcgyvr. Ammonia is very deadly to fish and any amount is not good, same goes for nitrite. If possible I would return everything you got till your tank is finally stable or keep doing very large water changes but that will get costly fast.

It sounds like your lfs may have given you some bad info to make a sale. Either your tank had not finished its cycle yet or you added to much to fast and caused another mini cycle. If you add things to quickly the bacteria doesn't have sufficient time to adjust to the new bioload and the outcome is what your experiencing. If your fish do manage to survive the exposure to ammonia can shorten their life span.