High nitrite

stickman87

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Do I have a 40 breeder with a 20 gallon sump fowlr tank and all of a sudden my nitrite has spiked?? Tank has been running a little over a year and nothing new gas happened just wondering how to lower it.
20170111_155757.jpg
 

tankstudy

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If it was my tank, I would get a bottle of bacteria.
 

GoVols

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Water changes with RO/DI water.
 

brandon429

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I love nitrite threads more than any other param

the test 24 hours later matters most

moving rocks over a dirty sandbed can cause a legit spike, can we see tank pics

nitrite is a neat param in that it doesn't matter if it spiked, its of no bio consequence. How a system of bacteria already nurtured and covering mass surface area failed to function is the real mystery. need tank pics

of all possible nitrite test kits in reefing, that brand is always involved in this kind of thread, first clue #1

adding something like prime to an aquarium causes API nitrite false positives for ex
 

Brew12

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I love nitrite threads more than any other param

the test 24 hours later matters most

moving rocks over a dirty sandbed can cause a legit spike, can we see tank pics

nitrite is a neat param in that it doesn't matter if it spiked, its of no bio consequence. How a system of bacteria already nurtured and covering mass surface area failed to function is the real mystery. need tank pics

of all possible nitrite test kits in reefing, that brand is always involved in this kind of thread, first clue #1

adding something like prime to an aquarium causes API nitrite false positives for ex
This +1

If this were a freshwater tank and those were real results, your fish would be dead so you would know the test was accurate. In salt water, the chlorides in the water prevent the fish from absorbing the nitrites so they really don't matter.

If for some crazy reason you want to add a bacteria in a bottle, I would avoid using either Biospira or Dr Tims. They are both heavy on Nitrospira bacteria which convert ammonia directly to nitrate so will have a minimum impact on your nitrites.
 

brandon429

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brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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yep we covered there where adding bottle bac is harmless, we add arm bac every time we stick hands in tank which is generous and often... and the system regulates just fine.


Knowing that the event was discountable will help those w no ready access to liquid redundancies heh but adding bottle bac is always ok, even if the clouds are out on a given day.
 
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stickman87

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Is there a certain brand that works better I have heard of a couple that don't really do much?
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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I would rate them all equal. nitrifiers come out of the tap water in your sink Im not joking lol, small amounts due to the scum ring that builds up on the output washers of any faucet and the water company typically contributes at least some. chlorine does not fully sterilize

if someone sets a bottle of liquid out on the sidewalk opened, and then comes back in a week and caps it off they are able to accurately sell that as a bottle of mixed heterotrophs and nitrifiers. any company selling a fluid would have trouble keeping nitrifiers out of the solution, not in them. the rascals are everywhere theres moisture and brief air exposure pretty much (they ride in associated with airborne floc and aersols etc)
 

Brew12

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Is there a certain brand that works better I have heard of a couple that don't really do much?
I would rate them equal but different. Dr Tims and Biospira have live, active bacteria in them. These get less effective as they age or are exposed to extreme temperature but because the bacteria are alive they work quickly. Stability uses bacteria spores so it takes them longer to start working (hours to a day or 2) but they can be frozen with no issues and are just as effective up to 5 years later.
 
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stickman87

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Ok that explains it pretty well I have some biospira I haven't used yet I'll use that. Thank for all the help
 

FishLover01

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Do I have a 40 breeder with a 20 gallon sump fowlr tank and all of a sudden my nitrite has spiked?? Tank has been running a little over a year and nothing new gas happened just wondering how to lower it.
20170111_155757.jpg
I would do a 50% water change and then retest. In a stable system, there would be no ammonia and no nitrites. You look to be around 40ppm on nitrates which is too high but for a FOWLR tank probably would be acceptable for the short term. It needs to be lowered to 20% at the very minimum. The only way to lower these numbers is by water changes. Also, need to pinpoint why you're getting these readings. Also, make sure test kit is not expired.
 

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