Dr. Tims one and only cycle. High nitrites

[Alfredomeinhardt]

I’m on day 11 of my fish less cycle with Dr. Tims One and Only and my amonia is 0 but my nitrites are still at 2-2.5. My nitrate is at 75, salinity is at 34ppm and PH at 8.5. Looks like the nitrates is way high. I was planing on putting two clown fish in the tank now but I don’t know if I should.
thoughts??

 

[pecan2phat]

Once your nitrite drops you should do a large water change to bring down the nitrates before adding any fish.
The nitrite should take a few more days to a week and you'll see it drop but nitrates need a water change for dilution.

 

[brclark82]

Presence of nitrites throws off the nitrate reading but even still that is a pretty high number…does your source water somehow have high nitrates present, are you using live rock that may be contributing to higher nitrates? It has to be coming from somewhere becuase it isn’t from your cycle already

 

[Alfredomeinhardt]

Presence of nitrites throws off the nitrate reading but even still that is a pretty high number…does your source water somehow have high nitrates present, are you using live rock that may be contributing to higher nitrates? It has to be coming from somewhere becuase it isn’t from your cycle already

I used dry rock and live sand. Haven’t made any water changes yet. Just yesterday the amonia went down to 0 but the nitrites were between 2-3 for a few days before yesterday and still at 2. I didn’t tested for nitrates until today and came out higher than 75

 

[brclark82]

What test kit are you using for nitrates

 

[Alfredomeinhardt]

Once your nitrite drops you should do a large water change to bring down the nitrates before adding any fish.
The nitrite should take a few more days to a week and you'll see it drop but nitrates need a water change for dilution.

Should I make a water change now or wait until the nitrites come down??
I didn’t measured nitrates until today and it came out more than 75. The nitrites have been between 2-3 for a few day and just yesterday the amonia dropped to 0

 

[Alfredomeinhardt]

What test kit are you using for nitrates

Hanna

 

[brclark82]

I’m guessing the nitrites are throwing off your nitrate reading (as a matter of fact I know they are I just don’t think I’ve ever seen them affected to that extent)…usually it’s like a 4:1, for example 4ppm nitrite would show up as as around 16ppm nitrate in additions to your actual nitrate…usually I would say go ahead and add some fish since nitrite isn’t a problem for marine fish and will also help complete the nitrite/nitrate cycle with some organic carbon added but you may wanna wait until your nitrites are clear and get a real nitrate reading at this point…if they are really over 75 you need to figure out where they are coming from because it isn’t from the initial cycle

 

[Alfredomeinhardt]

Thank you. I was reading that nitrites are no longer an issue for marine tanks and can throw off the nitrates reading just like you said.
I might even have been misreading the nitrites and could be even higher. I’m using an API test kit and comparing the color with the chart is very difficult. Might be that the nitrites are even higher than the 2-3 I am assuming and that is why the nitrites are reading so high.
I’ve got the water from the fish store and I don’t think that is the source.

 

[Alfredomeinhardt]

Do you think a 50%water change might help?

 

[brclark82]

No just wait it out at this point…when your nitrites are 0 (probably within the week) test for nitrates and then you will probably be good…honestly you could probably add a couple small fish at this point and be fine but real nitrate readings over 80 can be toxic sometimes so may be better to wait

 

[pecan2phat]

Yes wait till your nitrites drop down to zero then perform a large water change before adding any livestock. I find that people who have cycled with 4ppm ammonia vs 2ppm ended up having higher nitrates at the end of their cycle.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m guessing the nitrites are throwing off your nitrate reading (as a matter of fact I know they are I just don’t think I’ve ever seen them affected to that extent)…usually it’s like a 4:1, for example 4ppm nitrite would show up as as around 16ppm nitrate in additions to your actual nitrate…usually I would say go ahead and add some fish since nitrite isn’t a problem for marine fish and will also help complete the nitrite/nitrate cycle with some organic carbon added but you may wanna wait until your nitrites are clear and get a real nitrate reading at this point…if they are really over 75 you need to figure out where they are coming from because it isn’t from the initial cycle

I do not recall the Hanna nitrate kit interference by nitrite ratio, but some kits (such as Tropic Marin) ar 100:1 for the Pro version and 50:1 for the regular version.

 

[Alfredomeinhardt]

I tested yesterday and nitrites are still around 2-3ppm. I will wait to see what this weekend does to the nitrates.

If they don't drop at all, should I do a water change??

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I tested yesterday and nitrites are still around 2-3ppm. I will wait to see what this weekend does to the nitrates.

If they don't drop at all, should I do a water change??

I'd personally ignore the nitrite entirely, and not test nitrate until there are fish in the tank for a bit, and really, I don't see a need for a water change unless you have added an unusually large amount of ammonia over the course of cycling.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

IMO, the only clear purpose to cycling a future reef tank is to protect fish from ammonia when first setting it up. It's not at all clear that the bacteria added during cycling play much role in an established reef tank. It's a very different scenario than a fish only tank.

 

[Alfredomeinhardt]

I'd personally ignore the nitrite entirely, and not test nitrate until there are fish in the tank for a bit, and really, I don't see a need for a water change unless you have added an unusually large amount of ammonia over the course of cycling.

The ammonia is 0 tested yesterday.

I will test again today and Nitrites as well and will go ahead and put a clown fish there to start the second mini-cycle.

 

[drolmaeye]

I recently completed a fishless cycle with conditions close to yours. My ammonia dropped to zero in a similar timeframe but nitrites hung on until about day 25, after which they got down to zero rapidly, in just a few days.

You mention you are using API and it's not easy to distinguish the purple colors. Keep in mind that if you have some fresh saltwater mixed up (or even some RODI) you can always dilute your test sample by half and see if that makes it easier to read the result: fill one API tube up to 5 mL with fresh saltwater/RODI, then use pipette to transfer some into another API tube until they both have the same amount (i.e., 2.5 ml), then add your tank water in one of the tubes up to the 5 mL line and carry out the test . . . don't forget to multiply your result by two for an approximate final result.

 

[slowwrx137]

The same thing happened to me as well recently using Dr. Tim's. It took about 3-4 weeks for my nitrites to drop down to 0.

 

[Alfredomeinhardt]

I recently completed a fishless cycle with conditions close to yours. My ammonia dropped to zero in a similar timeframe but nitrites hung on until about day 25, after which they got down to zero rapidly, in just a few days.

You mention you are using API and it's not easy to distinguish the purple colors. Keep in mind that if you have some fresh saltwater mixed up (or even some RODI) you can always dilute your test sample by half and see if that makes it easier to read the result: fill one API tube up to 5 mL with fresh saltwater/RODI, then use pipette to transfer some into another API tube until they both have the same amount (i.e., 2.5 ml), then add your tank water in one of the tubes up to the 5 mL line and carry out the test . . . don't forget to multiply your result by two for an approximate final result.

Thank you. I will do that today to see where I am with the Nitrites