High Nitrites

harlie_baby · May 2, 2022

Hi. I have a 75 gallon saltwater fish tank that has been established for 3 months. We currently have 2 maroon/yellow clownfish (male and female), 2 regular clownfish, a dottyback, a goby, a rusty angel, 2 damsels, a foxfaced rabbitfish, a tiger shrimp, 2 regular shrimp, 3 crabs, and 3 turbo snails in the tank. Our water levels were great until i checked them this morning and the nitrites are really high. We did a 15% water change 3 days ago. What should I do to lower the nitrites?

Pkunk35 · May 2, 2022

I think with that many fish in 3 months your nutrient levels are bound to go up very naturally as you feed and things accumulate.

some ways to combat nitrate:
1) use filter pads or socks to remove foods before they dissolve which means changing or cleaning them often (1x or 2x a week)
2) skimmer out dissolved organics
3) feed less or just target feed more, meaning most all the food is eaten with each “squirt” or pour of food
4) water changing (strongly suggest you siphon the sand bed each WC)
5) bacterial products but please be careful with these and dose LIGHTLY.
6) grow chaeto or Macroalgae to help consume nitrates and phosphates

I’m sure there are other ways, but these are some of the main ones. If you provide some more info like feeding habits, tank gear and parameters then might be able to pinpoint better

AlgaeBarn · May 3, 2022

harlie_baby said:
Hi. I have a 75 gallon saltwater fish tank that has been established for 3 months. We currently have 2 maroon/yellow clownfish (male and female), 2 regular clownfish, a dottyback, a goby, a rusty angel, 2 damsels, a foxfaced rabbitfish, a tiger shrimp, 2 regular shrimp, 3 crabs, and 3 turbo snails in the tank. Our water levels were great until i checked them this morning and the nitrites are really high. We did a 15% water change 3 days ago. What should I do to lower the nitrites?

How high were they? @Pkunk35 gave some awesome advise/ options on how to lower your nitrates.