nitrite spike

[wilson_004]

im in the process of a fishless cycle and my nitrite finally spiked about 4 days ago but it doesnt seem to be going bak down,how long does it usually take for the nitrite to decline to 0?

 

[Puriti]

Nitrite...my evil enemy... Not sure ._. try doing water changes? ^^; I think it took me... about a week or two..maybe longer... but that's just me.... *hopes someone will chime*

 

[aqh88]

If your nitrite is extremely high(at the highest range of your test kit) then do a water change. If the nitrite is only in mid-low range then leave it sit and in a day or 2 it should start to drop. After that nitrites tend to go down very quickly. Too high of nitrite or ammonia has been known to completely stop a fishless cycle. The bacteria can't seem to multiply in such high levels. Increasing the aquarium temperature has also helped some tanks that get stuck in the middle of a fishless cycle.

 

[Jchillin]

What was your exact reading?

 

[TomK2]

The nitrite phase can take just as long, maybe even longer, than the ammonia phase. Remember, nitrite is added into the nitrate test value, so if you have really high nitrite levels, and then check your nitrate, you would need to subtract the nitrite level from the nitrate level. I would think you would want to keep the nitrite level below 5 ppm, perhaps even in the 2 or 3 range, If I remember correctly advice I have read before here on AA.