High Nitrites
- Thread starter fishlane
- Start date
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Hiya fishlane and welcome to Aquariumadvice!
Ack; high nitrites. Big problem there, but easily taken care of. 2 things you need to do:
Daily water changes; amount depending on the level of nitrites, although I wouldn't do more then 50% in one day.
Salt; a small amount of salt (say 1 tsp per 10g). Salt is THE treatment for nitrite poisoning.
Ack; high nitrites. Big problem there, but easily taken care of. 2 things you need to do:
Daily water changes; amount depending on the level of nitrites, although I wouldn't do more then 50% in one day.
Salt; a small amount of salt (say 1 tsp per 10g). Salt is THE treatment for nitrite poisoning.
thank you I will try that today after work...I have salt in the tank presently but after I change the water I will compensate for the water taken out...also I was told by a local fish shop that liquid gravel vac also works is this true?? I just want to do every thing correctly because I am a new hobbyist and I don’t want to screw anything up...thanks again for your help :?
QTOFFER
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hi, fishlane! Welcome to AA!!
First off, when you say high nitrites, what numbers are you talking about? Also, it would be helpful to know your ammonia and nitrate readings too.
Are you currently cycling the tank? If so, it's normal to see a nitrite spike as the bacteria that convert nitrite to nitrate colonize the tank. Like Allivymar said, water changes are in order if the nitrite levels remain elevated.
Finally, do any fish appear to be gasping for breath? Nitrite poisons fish the same way carbon dioxide poisons us, by blocking the transport of oxygen to body tissues via the blood.
I didn't know about the salt trick for treating acute nitrite poisoning - thanx, Alli!
First off, when you say high nitrites, what numbers are you talking about? Also, it would be helpful to know your ammonia and nitrate readings too.
Are you currently cycling the tank? If so, it's normal to see a nitrite spike as the bacteria that convert nitrite to nitrate colonize the tank. Like Allivymar said, water changes are in order if the nitrite levels remain elevated.
Finally, do any fish appear to be gasping for breath? Nitrite poisons fish the same way carbon dioxide poisons us, by blocking the transport of oxygen to body tissues via the blood.
I didn't know about the salt trick for treating acute nitrite poisoning - thanx, Alli!
Overstocker
Aquarium Advice Freak
Assuming it is because of a new tank and it is cycling... I recommend using Bio-Spira. Works great. And cleaning your gravel with the siphon gravel vacuum is the right thing to do. Gravel vac as will take out your water for the change and clean you tank all in one step. You should vac weekly but no longer than every 2 weeks imho.
Menagerie
Aquarium Advice Addict
Someone brought this up in another thread and did not think very highly of it. IMO, the best is to physically vac the gravel--that way the waste is physically being removed and there is no need for extra chemicals.
What size tank is it? Are there any fish in the tank, if so, how many/what types?
Yes--the only time you don't compensate is from evaporation (water goes...salt stays). Don't forget to dechlorinate the tap water!
And...
[center:0553736f0e]
WELCOME, Fishlane!!! [/center:0553736f0e]*nods and agrees*
Liquid gravel vac really doesn't remove the detritus from the gravel well at all. You want to get that poo and uneaten food and whatever else has dropped in there out of the tank. Plus, the less chemicals you use, the happier your fish will be! However, your tank is still cycling, and you don't want to loose too much good bacteria, and since the good bacteria colonises on surfaces, its in your gravel. Gravel vaccing the entire tank will take out a lot of that good bacteria. I suggest doing only part of the gravel each time you water change, too add up to the whole tank per week (for example, if you water change 4 times in a week, only do 1/4 of the gravel each time).
And isn't the salt trick neat QT? The chloride ions compete with the nitrite ions at the gills, preventing the nitrite from getting into the fish's system. Salt is used a lot in catfish farming for Brown Blood Disease, aka nitrite poisoning.
Liquid gravel vac really doesn't remove the detritus from the gravel well at all. You want to get that poo and uneaten food and whatever else has dropped in there out of the tank. Plus, the less chemicals you use, the happier your fish will be! However, your tank is still cycling, and you don't want to loose too much good bacteria, and since the good bacteria colonises on surfaces, its in your gravel. Gravel vaccing the entire tank will take out a lot of that good bacteria. I suggest doing only part of the gravel each time you water change, too add up to the whole tank per week (for example, if you water change 4 times in a week, only do 1/4 of the gravel each time).
And isn't the salt trick neat QT? The chloride ions compete with the nitrite ions at the gills, preventing the nitrite from getting into the fish's system. Salt is used a lot in catfish farming for Brown Blood Disease, aka nitrite poisoning.
I have tried everything and I still cannot get my nitrites down my ammonia and PH are fine on my booklet the nitrites are 3.3 I have a Hagen test kit that tests high PH, low PH, Nitrites, DH, and ammonia and every thing looks fine except for the nitrites I have changed the water vacuumed the gravel cleaned the glass changed the filters changed the carbon added bio balls with the ceramic noodles added a large filter to my power head and still nothing I am at a dead end right now and now my silver tip shark catfish his left eye is cloudy can high nitrites do that because the other fish are fine and I was told that it is a bacterial infection from rubbing against something….AHHH this is stressing me out… 
:x :? 
:x :? Sometimes the nitrogen cycle can stall at the nitrite stage. It has something to do with a chemical imbalance in the water messing with the nitrite eating bacteria (not 100% sure how that works) due to the cycle itself. How often are you water changing and how much? You may have to do a few really big changes daily to break the nitrite lock. You might also want to look into BioSpira. A big water change and the addition of that may help reduce those nitrite levels.
I do water changes every week or week and a half I change 15-25 percent what am I supposed to do with BioSpira do I add it when I do a large water change and when you mean large as in 50 percent? Also I want to thank you for all your great advice given I am very happy that I joined a forum like this. 
Ahhh ok. Thats the problem. With weekly water changes at 15-25%, you are only removing between .495 and .825ppm of nitrites, then giving it plenty of time to rise again. I suggest doing 30-40% water changes DAILY until you see nitrite levels below .5ppm. Daily changes are fine; just don't do more then 50% per day. Once the cycle is established, you can do weekly changes (as long as the tank isn't overstocked), but until then frequent changes are needed.
If you use BioSpira, do a 40-50% water change and add it with the replacement water. You'll need to continue checking water parameters tho; it won't fix the problem, but it will help.
Heh and thanx We kinda like here too *grin*
If you use BioSpira, do a 40-50% water change and add it with the replacement water. You'll need to continue checking water parameters tho; it won't fix the problem, but it will help.
Heh and thanx
We kinda like here too *grin*AdamsZoological
Aquarium Advice Freak
It'll go bit by bit, just be patient, and keep it up. You'll get there.
Try a product called amquel+, work great for me in my recent almost tragedy with Nitrites. Lets just say that in three days of treatment and water changes my tank went form disaster to perfect and all the fish seem pretty thankful that I caught it when I did. It removes not detoxifies nitrites, nitrates and ammonia I think, but the first two for sure.
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