[Mirkle]

i cant seem to get my Nitrites levels down to zero.. all my other ppm are fine, my Nitrite level is .05.. its been steady at that for a while now about a month and a half. im using the Red Sea master kit should i get a different Nitrite kit?

[dinor2]

It sounds to me like your tank is going thru another cycle. Have you added anything else to the tank lately like live rock or sand? Any new critters recently?

You'll here different I'm sure but, I use some of Red Sea's test kits and find they're pretty accurate. If you want to get even more so, salifert makes excellent test kits, though the price is what it is because of that.

Tell us about your other water params please and also, what livestock you have and what your water change schedule is.

Also, are you adding tap water to the tank or reverse osmosis/distilled water? I use ro/di water from Wal Mart and it's great cheap stuff (though not as cheap as owning my own filter).

[pyromaniac398]

Dana got most of it in addition do a livestock check to make sure nothing died behind the LR or something. This could cause your tank to cycle again, which would spike your nitrites.

[CyberJester]

Are you saying your nitrates are 5 PPM, .5 PPM, or .05 PPM (I do not use Red Sea test kits and am unsure of the measurement system). If it is .05 PPM that is an extremely low number and well within acceptable limits even for the most fussy of corals (even at .5 PPM this is still true).

[unclejed]

I havn't heard of just nitrites being off, not sure it can happen. I think the test kit is off.

[dinor2]

In the nitrogen cycle, ammonia shows up first, then goes away and nitrites show, then those go away and then nitrates show. So, he should expect to see nitrites go down to 0 and then see some nitrates, unless he has something that died in there but it would still work the same, just takes longer if something's decaying.

[Mirkle]

my ppms were today:
Ph - 8.1
Alk - stupid color chart says 1.7 - 2.8 id say its closer to 1.7 looks like it droped a lil bit
Ammonia - 0
Nitrates - 0
Nitrites - .05
Phos - very close to 0
Cal - 400
Specific Gravity - 1.23

i have 1 yellow tang, 1 lawnmower Blenny, 2 False Percula's, 1 Cleaner Shrimp, sanils and a few hermits. i didnt even think of adding live stock would do something to the Nitrites... the Blenny , clownfish and the cleaner shrimp were all put in over the span of a month (up to now)

i change 5 gallons of water once a week, using Aquatic Gardens Premium Marine Salt Mix , using RO water TDS is at 001.. if you say adding live stock can do that to nitrites then that has to be what it is heheh

[pyromaniac398]

anytime you add livestock you will get a tiny cycle. It's just your tank naturally adjusting to the increased bio-load

[pogodzib]

Most hobby kits aren't accurate enough to test down to 0.05 ppm nitrites and Red Sea kits aren't very good kits. My guess would be that your test kit is off or something has been added to your tank that is binding the nitrites. Total (bound and unbound) nitrite (or ammonia for that matter) isn't nearly as much of a concern as FREE (unbound) nitrite (or ammonia). If free nitrites were really present, the level wouldn't stay constantly at 0.05 ppm for 1 1/2 months. Either it would go up if something dies or down to zero as the bacteria population within the tank multiplies to use/convert the nitrite.

[Mirkle]

im going to buy some new test kits and check all levels and match up and Thank you all for the responses

[dinor2]

Out of curiousity, where do you buy your salt at? I used to get mine at Petco (the same Aquatic Gardens, good salt imho) but Petco no longer carries it! I'd really like to get back to using the AG salt...

[pogodzib]

I've heard (but not verified) that the Petco brand salt that Petco is selling now is the Aquatic Gardnes salt, just repackaged.

[Mirkle]

i get it at Petco by me Yonkers NY... it does have the Aquatic Gardnes lable on it tho