Why is the NITRITE spiking every 24 hours?

[Graybeard]

Nitrites were off the chart again today!

I did a 90% PWC last night and nitrites were .5 ppm.

This morning ammonia was 1.0-2.0 ppm.

This afternoon ammonia was 0 ppm

Nitrites were 5.0+ ppm

Why????

I have not been using a de-chlorinator, could this be killing the nitrite eating bacteria?

 

[Hillbilly Jerry]

Getting a nitrIte spike after seeing an ammonia spike is a normal occurence.
What is your nitrAte reading? Try not doing a water change and see if the nitrItes drop and nitrAtes rise.

Are you cycling the tank?
Is it empty or stocked?


Bacteria are pretty tough, but there could be enough chlorine/chloramines in your tap water to thin their numbers.

 

[Joester2k3]

Do you have any means of biological Filtration????

Its acting as if the tank is trying to cycle how new of a setup is it??

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Are you on city water or well water? Why haven't you been using a dechlorinator? Are there any fish in the tank? What kind of a test kit are you using?

 

[Graybeard]

Fishless cycle, 10% ammonia

I seeded the tank with a live plant and water taken from an establised fish tank.

HOB filter and I have not changed the filter since I started, +/- 5 weeks.

City of Houston water.

No, I simply haven't picked up a dechlorinator since I haven't bought fish.

I am using AP's test kit.

 

[Hillbilly Jerry]

1. All is well. You're supposed to be seeing a nitrIte spike, so no worries there.

2. No more water changes until you stop seeing ammonia and nitrIte. When both read zero, add ammonia one more time. the next day, check nitrItes. They will be elevated. The next day, check nitrAtes. If they are elevated, check nitrIte and ammonia once again. When nitrIte and Ammonia reach zero, add plants and your fish. If you're not adding many plants, hit it with a 25% water change with treated water. If you check, you may see a small ammonia/nitrIte spike when fish are added. I usually stop checking ammonia/nitrIte at this point. Feed lightly for the first few weeks, while following your water change routine. Keep an eye on your nitrAtes, changing water as needed to keep them under control.

3. Add a second biological filter if at all possible. This way you can freely change the media in one filter as needed. The second bio filter will keep the tank from crashing so you can just add new media.

You're almost there. You just need to confirm that you can process the nitrIte into nitrAte without changing 90% of the water. For an FYI - I don't do any water changes while running a fishless cycle until the day prior to adding fish.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The water that was introduced from an established tank added nothing to the tank, so it's basically cycling form scratch. Does your local water company use Chlorine or Chloramines? If you're not sure, purchase a dechlor such as Prime that will remove both. Don't do any water changes if there aren't any fish in the tank. No reason to.

 

[Graybeard]

The water that was introduced from an established tank added nothing to the tank, so it's basically cycling form scratch.

OK, so bacteria are not suspended in the water column.

If a mesh bag full of "seed" gravel is placed in a new tank, how do the bacteria end up in the new gravel?

If a used filter is placed in a tank to "seed" the tank, how do the bacteria end up in the new filter?

I'm not a Biologist but this makes no sense to me

 

[Lonewolfblue]

OK, so bacteria are not suspended in the water column.

If a mesh bag full of "seed" gravel is placed in a new tank, how do the bacteria end up in the new gravel?

If a used filter is placed in a tank to "seed" the tank, how do the bacteria end up in the new filter?

I'm not a Biologist but this makes no sense to me

There is very little bacteria suspended in the water, it's all in the filter and gravel.

If you add seed material, the bacteria will disperse from the bag into the gravel, and spread.

As for a new filter, everything has bacteria on it, and when you send ammonia and nitrites through the filter, those very few bacteria will begin to multiply and expand. Tou can even take a bag of gravel from a cycled and put it in the new filter to help give it a jump-start.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Also, even if you are fishless cycling, you need to use dechlor, unless you are on well water and know there's no chlorine or chloramines added. The chlorine/chloramines will definitely stall or cause a longer cycle period, or possibly never cycle til it's removed.

 

[bosk1]

I have not been using a de-chlorinator, could this be killing the nitrite eating bacteria?

Yes.