Nitrite harmful to fish?

[Ksturg]

So I have heard a lot of people say that nitrites are toxic to fish. Today I read several articals that say research has been done in the matter saying that any nitrite under 300ppm is not harmful to marine fish. Just wondering what other people's thoughts are.

 

[brandon429]

I once started a thread asking for the most unneeded test kits in reefing per people's opinion

My vote was nitrite

You won't see it after 40 days submerged unless:

Fish bioloading outpaces active surface area

Medication events might throw off balance

High level waste stores get disturbed that shouldn't be in the tank anyway


http://reef2reef.com/threads/new-ta...d-cocktail-shrimp-live-rock-no-shrimp.214618/

In that thread we try to wean cyclers off the API nitrite addiction

I will never ever need to measure nitrite for the life of my aquarium keeping whether cycling or basic reefing. Second most predictable compound in reefing first is ammonia in my opinion.

 

[Ksturg]

So then my next question is if there is no ammonia in the tank and there is less than 20ppm of nitrate would that said tank be considered cycled?

 

[brandon429]

Need to see tank picks in order to tell


That cycling thread shows that a live sand bed moved into a tank can perform ammonia oxidation while brand new dry rocks may not be helping, and for cycling we want the rocks to carry the bulk load

The parameters alone don't tell us about how long certain surfaces have been underwater post pics

 

[Ksturg]

Ok I can show you my tank we can use that for an example I have been cycling for end of this week will be 6 weeks used live sand and dead live rock. 0 ppm ammonia 5 ppm nitrite and 20 ppm nitrate

 

[brandon429]

perfect

per that thread, the sand was likely live (more people use a wet pack sand than dry) and its pulling all the weight.

if the rocks in there have been underwater 40 days at least in that state, on top of the predictably live sandbed, then nitrite measures off a basic starting bioload doesn't matter

only its ammonia behavior matters per the thread, not any other param.

 

[Ksturg]

I know in a week or so my nitrite will come down but I'm just trying to get this thread out there for new enthusiasts that may not now.

 

[brandon429]

Also per the thread it would be neat to know what kind of test kit registered nitrite in the presence of live sand

Also critical info would be your starting ammonia source, the front end of the nitrite

Did you dose ammonium chloride, or flake feed to start the cycle

 

[Ksturg]

So then if someone were to add fish and then find out there is nitrite....I'm my opinion they would be safe and from what I read it would be safe as well. Now I haven't found anything on it for corals and anemones

 

[Ksturg]

Ok so for me I used API test kit....I used dead live rock that had been sitting out for over a year...I rinsed mine off but left the bristleworm carcasses on there to rehydrate in the tank then decompose to give me the ammonia

 

[redfishbluefish]

Here's the poop on nitrite.....it's not an issue for saltwater fish. It never gets to a level that will impact saltwater fish. However, with freshwater, it is problematic, and you don't want fish in the tank until nitrites are lowered.

 

[Ksturg]

On a side note I wanted to test the ever so debated Bottle bacteria. So Monday I set up a new tank By Monday night I had my ammonia spike I used some of the same rock that was dried out with bristleworm carcasses on it that was in a box . Tuesday I added fluval bio cycle checked just a bit ago I have .5ppm ammonia 5ppm nitrite and 40ppm nitrate.

 

[Brew12]

So I have heard a lot of people say that nitrites are toxic to fish. Today I read several articals that say research has been done in the matter saying that any nitrite under 300ppm is not harmful to marine fish. Just wondering what other people's thoughts are.

Nitrites are toxic to all fish. That said, you don't need to worry about nitrites in a marine system. Interactions with chlorides prevent nitrite toxicity in marine fish until nitrites hit a very high level.
http://www.agriculturejournals.cz/publicFiles/61325.pdf

 

[brandon429]

S

For that kind of decay it wouldn't be unheard of to have nitrite if the surfaces under the decay aren't fully cycled

Given good enough current I'd have predicted the sandbed would oxidize it all but if it was my tank I'd do a quick water change, or poly filter that nitrogen right out of the tank and then run a simple digestion test on the clean water palette

After this long, by rule the tank should be able to ensure a full water change or a poly filtering back to clean and any carcasses cleaned up before reinstall in my opinion. Then digest test it to 1 ppm ammonium chloride see if digests in 24 hours

Been long enough, now on nutrient control mode the seeding is completed.

 

[Zonly1]

I know this is an older post, but amazing information to me. I was a long time fresh water guy so I've been holding on to those old ideas. I am currently cycling my 210 and was a bit frustrated by getting 0 ppm ammonia and .25 nitrites. My nitrates are a little high, but the solution to pollution is dilution, as Calfo would say. Thank you for bringing this up Ksturg!

 

[LRT]

Here's the poop on nitrite.....it's not an issue for saltwater fish. It never gets to a level that will impact saltwater fish. However, with freshwater, it is problematic, and you don't want fish in the tank until nitrites are lowered.

Very glad I ran across this.
Asking for a friend that's getting ready to throw some cured rubble in a tank and do some experiments with low measured feedings and testing ammonia only to build bioloads.

Is it ok to have a fish swimming around in a tank thats processing ammonia levels to 0 with 1-2 ppm nitrates in it?
He doesn't feel the levels of nitrites will be significant enough to bother testing for them when used in that kind of application Nor Does he feel levels of anything other than ammonia processing at 0 will be much of any concern.

 

[mdb_talon]

Personally i would have zero concerns if the tank is cycled to the point it can process any ammonia without a buildup. However i am one that firmly believes that in a reef aquarium it would be very difficult to get to harmful nitrite levels without doing something crazy(and also having high ammonia levels which would kill them before your nitrites do).
I dont test for nitrite levels even when cycling

 

[sal16cal1]

Personally i would have zero concerns if the tank is cycled to the point it can process any ammonia without a buildup. However i am one that firmly believes that in a reef aquarium it would be very difficult to get to harmful nitrite levels without doing something crazy(and also having high ammonia levels which would kill them before your nitrites do).
I dont test for nitrite levels even when cycling

I was blown away yesterday for the past 7 months when I started salt I always thought nitrites were MORE or just as harmful than ammonia. Then I read a couple nights ago some people don’t even test for it.