Nitrite Level Issues... HELP

[Bigbeezy]

This is not good for your fish I'm sorry to say. You really have to step up your water changes. Allowing nitrite to get over .25 can be detrimental to fish. On day 1, when your nitrite was 1.5 you should have done a few 70% water changes. On day 3, even after the 50% pwc, 2 nitrite is still way too high for fish. I'm not sure who advised you to do less water changes during the nitrite phase but whoever it was doesn't seem to really care about fish's well-being IMO.

The nitrite spike phase can last anywhere from 2-4 weeks on average. During that time, test the water daily, any time nitrite get over .25 do water change(s) to get them as close to 0 as possible. Reducing your feeding apparently isn't helping much; nitrites are going to spike no matter what and you need to do more water changes. Nitrite isn't a result of overfeeding; it's a result of the nitrogen cycle. When your tank is fully cycled and ammonia and nitrite stay at 0 on their own, then you can do a weekly water change; right now, daily ones are very important. Again, on day 7, with nitrite at 1, you'd need to do at least 2 (preferably 3) 50%+ water changes.

I'm not trying to poo-poo your advice, but have you read the whole thread from the start? If not, please do because most of any concerns you may have would be comforted. This process has become insanely non-routine for reasons unknown to anyone so far. At this point I've tried everything under the sun. I had been maintaining the Nitrites to low levels for 3 months by daily PWCs, so what im doing currently is a new situation. Right now, it was reccommended that I let the Nitrites spike higher than they have been for a short while to try and jumpstart the bacteria growth.

One thing that has remained constant is that I have been meticuluosly making sure the fish are as comfortable as possible, given their water condition at any time. I have been using salt & prime at appropriate levels at all times. Because of that, the fish has managed to be okay during this long period. They have never shown any signs of stress. They have good gill color, they never appear labored in their breathing, they are swimming around actively and casually, and I've even had a female and male attempt to mate! (Her eggs didn't get fertilized, so they ate them after 2 weeks) I know it sounds awful to talk about a Nitrite level of 4.0, but that was very brief, and there were heavy amounts of prime and salt to help offet. I will plan to do a 50% today, since it has been 4 days since the last.

I have a similar thread going over at Aquariumforum, if you want to check that out. Search for the same thread title.

 

[Bigbeezy]

I'm STILL having issues. My tank simply cannot develop the appropriate kind of bacteria levels to convert the Nitrite to Nitrate.
I have no issues with the other type of bacteria that convert the ammonia to Nitrite, as that process happens very fast. Not matter how little or how much I feed the fish, I always have a zero ammonia level.
However, even with VERY minimal feeding, those darn Nitrite levels will rise and not fall fast enough on their own. I still have to do water changes to keep them at a safe level.
It has been almost 4 months now that I've been having this issue.

At this point, I am convinced that there is something complicated going on here.
I think that either the slate rock or the epoxy used to secure the rock might be causing some type of chemical process to occur that is blocking the Nitrite-to-Nitrate conversion process. Maybe the rock or epoxy is leaching a chemical that is directly interfering with the growth of the bacteria.
Or, the rock or epoxy could be changing the water chemistry and inhibiting the bacterial growth. Like maybe somehow blocking a crucial nutrient that is needed by that particular bacteria. I do check my water readings like a crazy person with my API Master kit, but maybe it is a chemistry problem that is not tested for using the API kit.
My water is maintained at a 7.8 pH level, and temperature is 80 deg F.

I am going insane. Really.

 

[librarygirl]

This is odd, something is going on but not sure what. Have you tested your tap water for nitrite by any chance?

If you suspect it's the slate rock and/or the epoxy can you remove it and see if it helps? I don't know off-hand if that could be the cause but it wouldn't hurt to remove it and see if the nitrites go down.

What exactly do you have in/on your tank? Fish, type of aquarium, type of filter and media, type of substrate, plants, decor etc?

 

[IrishRich]

I have no fish (doing a "fishless" cycle) and am having the same exact issues as you with nitrites. I have done 95% pwcs every day for 2 straight weeks (last 3 days twice a day) and my nitrites are still off the charts. No matter what I do, they will not come down. My tap has 1-2 ppm ammonia in it. When I do the water change, 2-3 hours later, there is 0 ammonia, 20ppm nitrates and 5+ nitrites. Then, if I wait 8 hours or longer, it looks like 5ppm nitrates, 100000+ nitrites. PH is steady, never changes, at 7.6-7.8 (can't tell with the color). This has been happening for me for almost a month with absolutely no change with whatever I do. Nitrites first showed up 6 weeks ago.

I am starting to think this fishless cycle thing has something else going on that no one really understands or knows about and I am deeply regretting doing it and would never recommend to anyone to ever do it again. I have posted and tried to get answers here to no avail, either, other than to do pwcs and that they will get the nitrites down. They don't. Also, my tap has 0 nitrites.

Just posting to say I feel your pain. Nitrite>Nitrate conversion obviously needs something else that I can't seem to find answers to anywhere.

 

[Bigbeezy]

Finally done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got fed up and didnt take any readings for 3 days or mess with anything at all. Today I checked the water today and the readings were 0ppm ammonia, and 0ppm nitrite. No water changes in the last 5 days either. I have been feeding the fish too!!! Thanks for the help!!!! It took almost 4 months, and now its over.

 

[00youknowit00]

Congratulations!! Its finally over!