High Nitrites in Fishless Cycle. Will Copepods Survive?

[GHogg]

This question has two parts:

1. My first tank (40 gallon) has been running for about a week and a half. I've seen lots of change in my nitrite levels culminating in a spike last night, however my ammonia and nitrate have been borderline undetectable the entire time. Is this normal?

2. I introduced a colony of copepods from a jar of Algaebarn's Ecopods to the tank near the beginning of the cycle. In a separate post to R2R I was told that the bottled bacteria I used should protect them during the cycle and that it would be ok to put them in the tank. With this nitrite spike I'm concerned that the copepods won't survive or have already died. Should I expect the copepods are alright? Or should I stop dosing phyto and wait to introduce another colony after I'm reading 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite?

Timeline:
2/19 - Poured in 4 oz. (60 gallon's worth) Dr. Tim's One and Only
2/22 - Ammonia 0.2 ppm; Nitrite 0.05 ppm; Nitrate 2 ppm (all of these values are the minimum detectable, so I'm not convinced they're true positive readings)
2/25 - Ammonia 0.2; Nitrite 0.35; Nitrate 2
3/1 - Ammonia 0.2; Nitrite >1 ppm (Test kit maximum value is 1 ppm); Nitrate - 2
All tests performed using RedSea's Marine Care Test kit.

I'm using dry rock, live sand (caribsea aragalive special grade) and Dr. Tim's One and Only. I feed the tank a pinch of marine flakes twice a day to keep a steady supply of ammonia for the bacteria, and I dose 10 ml of Algaebarn's Oceanmagik phytoplankton once a day as discussed.

I'm hoping this is a normal looking cycle but I'm feeling a bit paranoid, mostly because I feel a bit guilty if I've killed all those copepods. I probably included way too much info, but I've tried to put energy into this post so that I can be patient with the tank.

Thanks!

 

[brandon429]

your cycle is fine you can continue reefing

nitrite no longer factors in marine tank cycles, it's newer info than you got from the Dr. Tim's information put out a few years ago. we don't care if they're high or low in a common marine tank cycle, nitrite has no bearing, don't own the kit.


Dr. Tim's warning against nitrite has caused a lot of fear and extra bottle bac purchases in the hobby, I've tracked it for years. if we were told 5 years ago by him that nitrite levels a reef tank will ever see in cycling can't harm anything, I'd be thinking right now that a lot less bottle bac would have been sold to shore up stuck cycles.

basic nitrite fluctuations are no surprise or impact, only ammonia control matters in display tank reefing.

nitrite is now neutral, it has no basis in running a display reef because of the salinity we run and because it's going to be just fine given your surface area + inoculation wait time 2/19 until current. to continue testing for nitrite will give you doubt and hesitation.

 

[GHogg]

your cycle is fine you can continue reefing

nitrite no longer factors in marine tank cycles, it's newer info than you got from the Dr. Tim's information put out a few years ago. we don't care if they're high or low in a common marine tank cycle, nitrite has no bearing, don't own the kit.


Dr. Tim's warning against nitrite has caused a lot of fear and extra bottle bac purchases in the hobby, I've tracked it for years. if we were told 5 years ago by him that nitrite levels a reef tank will ever see in cycling can't harm anything, I'd be thinking right now that a lot less bottle bac would have been sold to shore up stuck cycles.

basic nitrite fluctuations are no surprise or impact, only ammonia control matters in display tank reefing.

nitrite is now neutral, it has no basis in running a display reef because of the salinity we run and because it's going to be just fine given your surface area + inoculation wait time 2/19 until current. to continue testing for nitrite will give you doubt and hesitation.

Thanks for the reply!

I see now that a lot of the sources I was reading about nitrite toxicity to invertebrates related to freshwater species.

So in your experience it would be safe to assume that my copepod population is continuing to develop? and it's safe to introduce some other inverts like emerald crabs or nassarius/trochus snails?

Levels are also safe for fish if I wanted to pickup my clown pair?

 

[brandon429]

for sure. many have fish and inverts in the very first day, common bottle bac makes them survive per the searchable results for fish-in cycling. your issue isn't ability to carry bioload/handle ammonia it's that adding fish instantly opts you out of any disease protocol and we can see in the disease forum how well that's working, people end up replacing fish due to disease more than 80% of the time in a few months after setup/patterns are on file.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

This question has two parts:

1. My first tank (40 gallon) has been running for about a week and a half. I've seen lots of change in my nitrite levels culminating in a spike last night, however my ammonia and nitrate have been borderline undetectable the entire time. Is this normal?

2. I introduced a colony of copepods from a jar of Algaebarn's Ecopods to the tank near the beginning of the cycle. In a separate post to R2R I was told that the bottled bacteria I used should protect them during the cycle and that it would be ok to put them in the tank. With this nitrite spike I'm concerned that the copepods won't survive or have already died. Should I expect the copepods are alright? Or should I stop dosing phyto and wait to introduce another colony after I'm reading 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite?

Timeline:
2/19 - Poured in 4 oz. (60 gallon's worth) Dr. Tim's One and Only
2/22 - Ammonia 0.2 ppm; Nitrite 0.05 ppm; Nitrate 2 ppm (all of these values are the minimum detectable, so I'm not convinced they're true positive readings)
2/25 - Ammonia 0.2; Nitrite 0.35; Nitrate 2
3/1 - Ammonia 0.2; Nitrite >1 ppm (Test kit maximum value is 1 ppm); Nitrate - 2
All tests performed using RedSea's Marine Care Test kit.

I'm using dry rock, live sand (caribsea aragalive special grade) and Dr. Tim's One and Only. I feed the tank a pinch of marine flakes twice a day to keep a steady supply of ammonia for the bacteria, and I dose 10 ml of Algaebarn's Oceanmagik phytoplankton once a day as discussed.

I'm hoping this is a normal looking cycle but I'm feeling a bit paranoid, mostly because I feel a bit guilty if I've killed all those copepods. I probably included way too much info, but I've tried to put energy into this post so that I can be patient with the tank.

Thanks!

I do not think nitrite is a concern for organisms during cycling.

 

[GHogg]

I do not think nitrite is a concern for organisms during cycling.

Thanks! Always a relief to have more than one opinion to lean on.

 

[Jay'sReefBugs]

Just throwing this out there since your cycling still and don't really care what your system looks like at the moment. Let film algea build up on the glass it's a great food source for copepods in between feedings. This will also help gauge your population just keep in mind what you see on the glass is only a fraction of a precentage of what you have .

 

[Dan_P]

This question has two parts:

1. My first tank (40 gallon) has been running for about a week and a half. I've seen lots of change in my nitrite levels culminating in a spike last night, however my ammonia and nitrate have been borderline undetectable the entire time. Is this normal?

2. I introduced a colony of copepods from a jar of Algaebarn's Ecopods to the tank near the beginning of the cycle. In a separate post to R2R I was told that the bottled bacteria I used should protect them during the cycle and that it would be ok to put them in the tank. With this nitrite spike I'm concerned that the copepods won't survive or have already died. Should I expect the copepods are alright? Or should I stop dosing phyto and wait to introduce another colony after I'm reading 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite?

Timeline:
2/19 - Poured in 4 oz. (60 gallon's worth) Dr. Tim's One and Only
2/22 - Ammonia 0.2 ppm; Nitrite 0.05 ppm; Nitrate 2 ppm (all of these values are the minimum detectable, so I'm not convinced they're true positive readings)
2/25 - Ammonia 0.2; Nitrite 0.35; Nitrate 2
3/1 - Ammonia 0.2; Nitrite >1 ppm (Test kit maximum value is 1 ppm); Nitrate - 2
All tests performed using RedSea's Marine Care Test kit.

I'm using dry rock, live sand (caribsea aragalive special grade) and Dr. Tim's One and Only. I feed the tank a pinch of marine flakes twice a day to keep a steady supply of ammonia for the bacteria, and I dose 10 ml of Algaebarn's Oceanmagik phytoplankton once a day as discussed.

I'm hoping this is a normal looking cycle but I'm feeling a bit paranoid, mostly because I feel a bit guilty if I've killed all those copepods. I probably included way too much info, but I've tried to put energy into this post so that I can be patient with the tank.

Thanks!

Looks like you did not add much ammonium chloride. The low nitrite number is consistent with that. The nitrate reading is nonsense as long as nitrite is present. It interferes with the nitrate test. So, the cycle is not what is typically seen. The system probably has a minimum nitrifying bacteria population.

By the way what was the purpose of putting copepods in a sterile aquarium?

 

[GHogg]

Looks like you did not add much ammonium chloride. The low nitrite number is consistent with that. The nitrate reading is nonsense as long as nitrite is present. It interferes with the nitrate test. So, the cycle is not what is typically seen. The system probably has a minimum nitrifying bacteria population.

By the way what was the purpose of putting copepods in a sterile aquarium?

My ammonium source was feeding the tank, it's entirely possible not enough has been introduced.

The point of the copepods was to establish a base population as a preventative measure for future uglies. I've been dosing phyto regularly as a good source for them in addition to the flakes.

 

[specialslc]

This question has two parts:

1. My first tank (40 gallon) has been running for about a week and a half. I've seen lots of change in my nitrite levels culminating in a spike last night, however my ammonia and nitrate have been borderline undetectable the entire time. Is this normal?

2. I introduced a colony of copepods from a jar of Algaebarn's Ecopods to the tank near the beginning of the cycle. In a separate post to R2R I was told that the bottled bacteria I used should protect them during the cycle and that it would be ok to put them in the tank. With this nitrite spike I'm concerned that the copepods won't survive or have already died. Should I expect the copepods are alright? Or should I stop dosing phyto and wait to introduce another colony after I'm reading 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite?

Timeline:
2/19 - Poured in 4 oz. (60 gallon's worth) Dr. Tim's One and Only
2/22 - Ammonia 0.2 ppm; Nitrite 0.05 ppm; Nitrate 2 ppm (all of these values are the minimum detectable, so I'm not convinced they're true positive readings)
2/25 - Ammonia 0.2; Nitrite 0.35; Nitrate 2
3/1 - Ammonia 0.2; Nitrite >1 ppm (Test kit maximum value is 1 ppm); Nitrate - 2
All tests performed using RedSea's Marine Care Test kit.

I'm using dry rock, live sand (caribsea aragalive special grade) and Dr. Tim's One and Only. I feed the tank a pinch of marine flakes twice a day to keep a steady supply of ammonia for the bacteria, and I dose 10 ml of Algaebarn's Oceanmagik phytoplankton once a day as discussed.

I'm hoping this is a normal looking cycle but I'm feeling a bit paranoid, mostly because I feel a bit guilty if I've killed all those copepods. I probably included way too much info, but I've tried to put energy into this post so that I can be patient with the tank.

Thanks!

 

[specialslc]

I could have written this post except my ammonia and nitrites are off the charts! Also, I used Dr Tim’s Ammonium Chloride in conjunction with the One and Only. My “Preemptive Pods” are arriving today. Haha Best of luck to us!

 

[GHogg]

I could have written this post except my ammonia and nitrites are off the charts! Also, I used Dr Tim’s Ammonium Chloride in conjunction with the One and Only. My “Preemptive Pods” are arriving today. Haha Best of luck to us!

Thanks! My tank is almost three months old now and doing great! Ive got a handful of fish and a good CUC minus the urchin I want. Nitrites were never a problem even at over 5 ppm. My ammonia never shot up though so I'm sure that would've been a bigger roadblock for livestock. Best of luck!

 

[specialslc]

Thanks! My tank is almost three months old now and doing great! Ive got a handful of fish and a good CUC minus the urchin I want. Nitrites were never a problem even at over 5 ppm. My ammonia never shot up though so I'm sure that would've been a bigger roadblock for livestock. Best of luck!

Great to hear! Things are going much better here as well. Cheers!

 

[nallured]

I could have written this post except my ammonia and nitrites are off the charts! Also, I used Dr Tim’s Ammonium Chloride in conjunction with the One and Only. My “Preemptive Pods” are arriving today. Haha Best of luck to us!

I’m having this same issue… How did you get the ammonia and nitrites under control?

I have already added a bottle of MicroBacter StartXLM and MicroBacter7 and Dr Tim’s One & Only…

Just did a 20% water change also.