ongoing low nitrite levels .

[Snarkys]

anyone else have this problem ? my tank is about 6 months old and reads anywhere from .025 - 0.1 depending on the day. ammonia has been zero for 5 months .

[CincyGida]

That's interesting because I have the same thing going on my 20g secondary tank - four weeks old. The Nitrites have gone down but I need to test again this week to see if it completely cycled. I wonder if it's possible for a post-cycle nitrite reading?

[turbo2oh]

I'm experiencing the same thing, I plan to have my water tested at a LFS today.

[turbo2oh]

Well it turns out I do have some, but have some ammonia as well. I'm not sure what is dying off, everything looks healthy, and there's no fish in the tank.

[CapFusion]

Beside fish. Do you have worm / snail / shrimp / slug etc? Or you might have accidentially drop something in your tank, maybe?

[turbo2oh]

Here's a list of what moves around in the tank :)

12+ astrea snails
a few hermits
3 pep shrimp
hitchhiker octopus
condy anenome
2 cukes
hitchiker crabs

I think thats it. Anenome seems to be growing and doing well. I'll be doing a tank census tonight but have seen everyone I think within the last week or so.

As far as dropping anything in..not that I can think of?

[dsp78213]

I had a low amm reading for a while and I was getting worried.

I took my water to two LFSs and had them test it. They tested it and told me that the water was great and that they wished all of their customers had those readings.

I told them about my readings and they showed me their test kit. It was the same as mine!!! However, the color for 0 ppm was VERY DIFFERENT than the color on my test kit.

Soooooooo, the moral of the story is that your test kit might be not all its cracked up to be. Go get a couple of different kits (try and make one of them Salifert) and compare results.

You just might not have the problem you think you have.

Jim

[turbo2oh]

I have a SeaChem test and really don't like the ammonia test, thats why I was testing nitritie. I took a sample to a LFS today and they confirmed some ammonia/nitrite so it appears it is really present.

[dsp78213]

huh, well somthing in there is dying. My guess is it would be sponge.

Is there a smell to the tank at all? I would check under some of the ricks and look for something that's not long for the world. Shouldn't be hard to find cause sponges STINK. I foulnd some dead sponge on the bottom of one of my rocks. whew, I thought skimmate smelled bad.

Jim

Originally posted by turbo2oh
I have a SeaChem test and really don't like the ammonia test, thats why I was testing nitritie. I took a sample to a LFS today and they confirmed some ammonia/nitrite so it appears it is really present.

[cappn]

lol, Dsp i have a nice piece of rock that Mary gave me but sponges among other things have continuously died on it and.......whew! That is a horrid smell. Im having to run carbon to keep my living room from smelling like it.

[turbo2oh]

Has anyone else had this problem and resolved it?

[CapFusion]

Originally posted by turbo2oh
Has anyone else had this problem and resolved it?

Regarding about nitrite / nitrate and ammonia, you simply need to either find the source that producing or introducing this nutrient. Check if there anything have die or deadspot that some have stuck there and decaying. Otherwise, you will need to keep doing water change to keep in check. Have a good water current and efficient Protein Skimmer to export it out.

Also check if the water source maybe the issue. Check what the reading is before putting in.

[turbo2oh]

I tore my whole reef apart yesterday to see if something was smothered and found nothing. Now I'm worried I may have smothered something new putting it back together, though I was pretty careful.

I have two mj 600s one at surface, and across front of the tank. Skimmer is a aqua-c remora w/ mj1200. I have the collection cup as low as it will go.

I'm using a RO/DI filter with TDS of 1. Are u suggesting I test this water for amm/nitrites/nitrates?

[CapFusion]

I'm using a RO/DI filter with TDS of 1. Are u suggesting I test this water for amm/nitrites/nitrates?

If you are using a RO/DI unit, you should not have any TDS reading or atleast non-detectable from your meter. RO/DI water should be zero range and anything you add will need to check with the test kit to see if anything there.

[delta]

you can often have residual nitrites for the first year of a tank setup due to the fact it take six months to a year to fully cycle a tank.

best bet is to monitor your tank regularly, keep up husbandry, water changes and keep equipment in good operating condition(especially your skimmer). you should also make sure you have adequate water flow without it you system will break down waste properly

Also as long as you are getting nitrite and ammonia reading do not add any new livestock.

even though using TBS rock expedites your initial cycle you still have a new system and the small instability that comes with that
be patient it will subside

[turbo2oh]

Thanks delta, Hm hopefully I don't have to wait a year to add more. I'm getting tired of watching the snails make their rounds..

[Guag]

I'm curious to hear where you all are now, Snarkys, CincyGida, turbo2oh. I'm in a similar situation. I've had no ammonia for two weeks, but been stuck at .05 - .1 Nitrites since then. No smell to the tank -- don't see anything dying. Test kits are Salifert, which should be reliable from what I've read here. I can't seem to shake that last little bit of Nitrite.

[CapFusion]

Having Nitrite .05 - .1 maybe ok if you are impatience. Best if you can check what causing it or simply the test kit might be off. Check with your LFS to confirm your reading. If your test kit is correct, you either wait just a bit more. It is your call.