? about having low nitrites

[sango]

I read some place that having too low of nitrites is bad for the fish. Any thoughts on this

 

[Brenden]

Anything other than zero nitrites can/will kill your fish.

 

[sango]

Wow! Why is that? And why would the nitrites get so low?

 

[ZoozFishMaster]

I could be wrong but I think Sango is confusing nitrites and nitrates. As Brenden mentioned nitrites in any concentration are toxic to fish. Nitrites prevent the fish's blood from carrying O2.

Nitrates, however, are far less toxic; most fish are pretty tolerant of nitrates.

 

[Brenden]

If you are getting a nitrite reading in your tank your cycle has not completed or your bioload is crushing your tank. Fish can not survive long if you have any nitrites. Nitrites is a byproduct of the breakdown of NH3 (waste) In a healthy tank bacteria will break down the NO2 and keep the reading at zero. If you Have NO2 in your tank you need to do WC's ASAP and get the level to 0 if not your your fish will die.

 

[sango]

Brenden I did not read your first post right. I did not mean to act like I dont know what nitrites are. The reason why I ask the question is because I read on another forum that have too little nitrites were bad. But I just read it again and they were saying that too little nitrates were bad.. Sorry for the mix up