Yikes! Morning nitrite spike after 2nd shipment!

[Fountainhead]

Added the second half of my 100G package last night. This morning, my ammonia read 0.3, but my nitrites had jumped from 0 (before the 2nd rock) to between 0.25 or 0.4 (depending on the test. Nitrates are still 10. The ammonia is low enough, but how about those nitrites? That can't be good. Is that normal for the 2nd shipment? Won't that cause problems for the tank critters? One of the shrimp was dead this morning as well.

Is any type of water change called for for a nitrite spike, or only for ammonia approaching 1.0?

Help!

 

[Cearbhaill]

I would definitely change out a good portion of the water. Hopefully you have some ready and aged??

The shrimp may have simply moulted- I thought mine was dead also but it was just the shed skin

 

[Fountainhead]

I would definitely change out a good portion of the water. Hopefully you have some ready and aged??

The shrimp may have simply moulted- I thought mine was dead also but it was just the shed skin

No, it was a whole shrimp. I've not seen the other one today either, which concerns me.

Is the consensus that I should do a major water change for the nitrites? Richard always says no water change until ammonia approaches 1.0, and the ammonia is still fairly low. He never says anything about the nitrites. I'm just concerned about the cleanup crew, and the anemones with nitrites at ~0.3.

I have plenty of water on standby if I need to use it.

 

[hdtran]

Fountainhead,

At this stage, a water change never hurts anything (presuming you've adjusted the salinity and temperature to match). But I personally would not bother. Nitrite is bad, but not instantly bad. From reading your other posts, your ammonia is going 0.4 morning, 0.25 afternoon, so by the time you read this post, it'll be even lower. I wouldn't be surprised if your nitrifying bacteria took care of you by tomorrow afternoon.

Your condi anemone & rockflower anemone (Epicystis crucifer, beautiful coloring, hope it doesn't lose it with tank lighting) will seek a location that they like. They are photosynthetic, but will benefit from occassional (2x/wk) feedings of pea-sized pieces of raw seafood. Don't stuff the food down the mouth--stroke the food gently across a tentacle. The anemone will 'sting' the food and roll or pull the food into its mouth. But go ahead and wait a week before you begin feeding anybody.

Have fun staring at your tank! Another TBS tank necessity is the flashlight for staring at the tank late at night!

 

[Fountainhead]

Thanks hdtran. They were back up this morning...ammonia to 0.4, and nitrites ~0.35. I did do a 15 gallon water change (100 gal tank). This afternoon ammonia is 0.25, but nitrites are still 0.3. It's odd that my ammonia and nitrites are actually higher with the second shipment than they ever were with the first. I'm still concerned about the high nitrites with the inverts in the tank now.

As I mentioned to someone else, it's kind of like having a baby in the house.

 

[liverock]

Thanks hdtran. They were back up this morning...ammonia to 0.4, and nitrites ~0.35. I did do a 15 gallon water change (100 gal tank). This afternoon ammonia is 0.25, but nitrites are still 0.3. It's odd that my ammonia and nitrites are actually higher with the second shipment than they ever were with the first. I'm still concerned about the high nitrites with the inverts in the tank now.

As I mentioned to someone else, it's kind of like having a baby in the house.

Ask Landlord about messing with your tank.....less is better..


RichardTBS
www.tbsaltwater.com

 

[Fountainhead]

Ask Landlord about messing with your tank.....less is better..


RichardTBS
www.tbsaltwater.com

Aw heck, at least I didn't dump some fish in there (sorry Landlord). I worry about my tank more than I actually mess with it. The 15 gallon water change was the first water change I've ever done actually. The cycle on my first shipment was very mild.

Seriously though, I know you say no water changes unless ammonia approaches 1.0, but what about the nitrites? Now that there are critters in there, wouldn't high nitrites be harmful, even if ammonia was still fairly low? I'm obviously new at this, but wouldn't I want to keep the nitirites in check, even if it means lengthening the cycle a bit?

They are down a bit tonight. Ammonia 0.25 and nitrites 0.25 so I'll obviously just let it go. But when the nitrites got up to 0.4, I admit that I was concerned for the tank inhabitants.

 

[liverock]

Aw heck, at least I didn't dump some fish in there (sorry Landlord). I worry about my tank more than I actually mess with it. The 15 gallon water change was the first water change I've ever done actually. The cycle on my first shipment was very mild.

Seriously though, I know you say no water changes unless ammonia approaches 1.0, but what about the nitrites? Now that there are critters in there, wouldn't high nitrites be harmful, even if ammonia was still fairly low? I'm obviously new at this, but wouldn't I want to keep the nitirites in check, even if it means lengthening the cycle a bit?

They are down a bit tonight. Ammonia 0.25 and nitrites 0.25 so I'll obviously just let it go. But when the nitrites got up to 0.4, I admit that I was concerned for the tank inhabitants.

Nitrats to 35 ppm are of no concern..

Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com

 

[Fountainhead]

Nitrats to 35 ppm are of no concern..

Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com

Nitrites or Nitrates? My nitrates have been at 10 for a couple of weeks. It's the nitrites that jumped to 0.4 that concerned me. Everything I've read says that nitrites above 0.1 are toxic to inverts. Just making sure we're talking about the same thing.