PERSISTANT HIGH NITRITE(NO2)-- Seems to be SOLUTION

[SKEET]

I have had trouble with Nitrite in my cycling 55. I can do a water change or two and get the level down below 1 but within 2-5 hours Nitrite is already back up to 2.0 and even higher,

SOLUTION,

I have RENA Filstar cannister filters, an XP3 and XP1. RENA makes pouch of stuff called NITRA-ZORB, supposed to remove or lower the ammounts of Ammonia , Nitrite , and Nitrate.

So I put a pouch of it in the XP3 and removed the carbon bag at about 7:30 Am today and guess what,

my NITRITE has not gotten above o.25 all day. Now usually I would have already done atleaast 3-4 water changes to keep it that low.

My fish have been a little more active also, kinda like they act right after I did a water change. HOORAY

 

[IceH2O]

What happens when the pouch runs out and the bacteria that has grown accustomed to the levels with the pouch are overwhelmed?

You're setting yourself up for another nitrite spike, maybe even worse than whats going on now.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

If it removed the ammonia, what is going to feed the bacteria?

 

[SKEET]

Already down to a reading of 0 ammonia, have 5-10 NO3.

I dont think I could handle a case of "worse than it is now" that might be a breaking point.

Hopefully someone with first hand experiance with these Nitra-Zorb pouches will give some info.

 

[dont155]

FWIW I have a suggestion: Keep changing out the pouches regularly so you don't get any sudden spikes. Gradually reduce the amount in the new pouch as you change it out until you don't need put put any in anymore.

 

[greenmaji]

Your tank is cycleing.. did you have fish in the tank to be conserned about?

Whatever ammonia you put into the tank has to become Nitrite, and there is already a steady collony of ammonia consuming bactirea in your tank.. the production of nitrite consuming bacteria will come to a halt and your tank will never fully cycle as it is (your ammonia consuming bacteria are headed for a fairly quick death with this type of product in use)

this product was designed for one use, overstocked tanks that the bacterial filtration couldn't keep up with.

If it were my tank.. I would remove it ASAP do a water change, assess the damage (though testing) and continue on with my cycle.

I was so hoping to read something about low light plants or something :?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Exactly. The cycle will stall when the ammonia is not present to feed the bacteria. I do not have first hand experience like you stated, but do a search in the forums. You'll come up with the same info.

 

[SKEET]

Sounds like its time to remove that pouch.

Thanks for the insight everyone.

 

[TomK2]

Hey Skeet, you a shooter? Of is Skeet a nickname from some other origin?

 

[ghostie]

Isn't the Nitra-Zorb supposed to be place as the top thing in the cannister and the cannister forces water up from bottom to top?

Thus, wouldn't the colonies of bacteria grow and live on your media whether they be sponges, ceramic rings, or bio-stars?

It's not like you're filtering the water through the nitra-zorb before it passes over the bacterial media.

So, what's the harm in keeping the Nitra-zorb in there? When it runs out, presumably, there will be enough bacteria in the tank to keep the cycle going, and Nitra-Zorb does not seem like it's just going to one day up and die, it will probably gradually run out on its own.

Seems to me to make sense to keep the Nitra-Zorb and continue to do water tests on a regular basis to make sure you don't have a spike.

 

[src]

I think the problem is that the bacteria doesn't process all of the ammonia in the water as it passes by. It only handles some fraction of it on each pass. So by removing the ammonia with Nitra-Zorb, you are lowering your ammonia concentration, giving the bacteria less food, and with less food there will be less growth in the population.

That's why maintaining high concentrations of ammonia during the cycle is important - you want to build a colony that will be able to deal with that much ammonia.

 

[7Enigma]

Yes and no. Each bacterium can only process a set amount of food (ammonia). Having 2 molecules of ammonia when the bacterium can only use 1 is excess and not needed. Those of us that fishless cycle normally use between 2 and 5ppm ammonia, but the reasons are more general for why this is chosen:

1. lazy. We don't want to have to dose every day or 2 a small amount of ammonia, nor do we want to have to do several water changes after finished cycling (say if you had 50 or 100ppm nitrAte)

2. probability. That is, each bacterium wants to eat at that set rate, and so we want to always have a molecule of ammonia near it so it can use it. Having a higher concentration of ammonia only makes the probability that a bacterium "hungry" will be in close proximity to an ammonia molecule.

3. risk. Without fish present, there is no risk to damaging fish.

So basically, as long as you have detectable levels of ammonia or nitrIte, your bacteria have all the food they need. The concern is how many gph your filter processes, and what the ammonia and nitrIte levels are in the tank.

The idea of putting the nitrazorb as the last filtering element has a potential very good use, the main problem I see would be what would happen when you need to replace the insert. I would assume that like any component in the filter it will have beneficial bacteria growing on it, and so you might think your close to cycled but then have a mini cycle when the nitrazorb insert is removed. I do like the idea of using a smaller amount to just keep the levels from getting too high (say overnight when your not doing water changes), but would be very cautious if you are ever unable to detect ammonia or nitrIte (in this case you are actively starving the bacteria and they will die QUICKLY).

justin

 

[ghostie]

sorry to belabour an earlier point, but Nitra-zorb isn't like a bad VCR that will just stop playing one day.

It will gradually fade out and gradually lose its effectiveness (say in 30 days).

presumably, he'll either revert back to the same problems he has now (which could be due to overstocking, over feeding, water quality, etc.) OR with the gradual loss of the nitra-zorb, will slowly grow more bacteria.

It just seems that his fish are more likely to be stressed by removing the nitra-zorb at this point. I know the general feeling on this forum is to not use chemicals of any sort and let nature do its thing, but I think some of these products have utilities.

 

[malkore]

I will chime in and say a few things.

while i'm not a fan of chemical 'fixes'...i do think nitra-zorb (or bio-zorb, whatever they'r ecalling it now) isn't that bad. it shouldn't really be necessary though.

nitrite, while not good, is at least less toxic than ammonia, and the damage it does is only temporary, unlike ammonia poisoning.

I'm on the fence as to whether to ditch it, or leave it. if ammonia was 0ppm before adding the pouch, I think you're safe to remove it now. You have nitrate showing up...so your cycle should be on the verge of completion...heck its hard to say if your nitra-zorb is the main reason nitrites are down, or if its the cycle wrapping up, or the water changes...or a combination of any of the three. But with that pouch in there, you won't know for sure...until you remove it.

Ok, i talked myself into an opinion...I'd pull it out now, but toss it into a bucket of freshly dechlor'd tap water...so if you do end up needing it, its still usable.

 

[greenmaji]

heck its hard to say if your nitra-zorb is the main reason nitrites are down, or if its the cycle wrapping up, or the water changes...or a combination of any of the three. But with that pouch in there, you won't know for sure...until you remove it.

Thats exactly part of the thought process I came up with but didn't type out