nitrites are sky high in fresh mix

[Pudge&Bubbl]

i just did a water change on my qt and the fish started acting horribly

tested water, nitrites sky high, did more of a water change, retested - still sky high

tested my salt water mix, it is SKY HIGH for nitrites ----- any suggestions???????

 

[Webslinger]

get different saltwater mix

 

[Pudge&Bubbl]

get different saltwater mix

well. would if i could but i can not right this minute. That was not a helpful suggestion. But I appreciate the reply

 

[brandon429]

pico reefs do 100% water changes and have never ever been affected by it, across mixes. if bad mix nitrite was an outstanding risk, one of our crew would have measured it more than once


my own pico is constant full water changes as the lfs changes brands I dont even keep track

I would look for another causative, not nitrite.

where nitrite goes, ammonia wasnt much prior how have you eliminated ammonia/especially if this is a surface area restricted setup

if I had to guess its neither; neither param is at play as ammonia noncontrol is typically lethal by tomorrow. nitrite is neutral in reefing, it seems some detail is missing.

 

[Pudge&Bubbl]

pico reefs do 100% water changes and have never ever been affected by it, across mixes. if bad mix nitrite was an outstanding risk, one of our crew would have measured it more than once


my own pico is constant full water changes as the lfs changes brands I dont even keep track

I would look for another causative, not nitrite.

where nitrite goes, ammonia wasnt much prior how have you eliminated ammonia/especially if this is a surface area restricted setup

if I had to guess its neither; neither param is at play as ammonia noncontrol is typical lethal by tomorrow. nitrite is neutral in reefing, it seems some detail is missing.

Your language is very confusing and nearly indecipherable.

Any pico reef with a water change with a reading of high nitrites, I am nearly 100% certain would show some kind of ill effect, even if short lived.

Another causative? I'm looking for the cause of the high nitrites! And any advice to figure it out. It is coming from my salt mix - and I do not know why or if it can be fixed.

Ammonia wasnt much prior? Definitely dont understand that one. My ammonia readings were at the low end of the chart, barely detectable- which is why its more confusing.

Surface area restricted - not really. I had several large rocks in there for stress reduction and beneficial bacteria, even dosing some extra bacteria initially and a couple times since. There are no meds at this time. It is quarantine, not hospital.

ammonia noncontrol is typical lethal by tomorrow- really no idea there. None. Cant figure out what you mean by that.

Nitrite is neutral? Well. I will look into that again. But it is the only thing that is different, is a spike in nitrites due to the water change, which contains the high nitrites.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What salt mix are you talking about? It would be unusual in the extreme for a salt mix to have high levels of nitrite.

Nitrite is not very toxic in marine systems, so there's no need to panic. It is similar to nitrate in tox.

If fish are suffering, it is likely for another reason, such as ammonia.

 

[Pudge&Bubbl]

What salt mix are you talking about? It would be unusual in the extreme for a salt mix to have high levels of nitrite.

Nitrite is not very toxic in marine systems, so there's no need to panic. It is similar to nitrate in tox.

If fish are suffering, it is likely for another reason, such as ammonia.

It is a box of reef crystals, and I have not experienced this before. Ammonia is on the lowest end of the API chart - it is the only ammonia test I have.

I added more bacteria and some bioballs media for even more surface area.

I am not sure what affected them this way then.

Thank you for the response

 

[brandon429]

can we get pics of your system, and today’s api ammonia readings


Pic=to see if your animals appear to be harmed by free ammonia, and tie into what the test kit read yesterday. Can we see if your api still shows free ammonia as of today

we have been studying stuck cycle threads here lately, and with pics we can see unstated details and tie them into api patterns.

“ammonia noncontrol is typical lethal by tomorrow- really no idea there. None. Cant figure out what you mean by that”


now that we are one day past when I wrote that, pics of your fish being well or not will tell us how your tank handles ammonia day to day.