# nitrite spike, please help...how do i get it down?



## PiranhaHockey88 (Jan 9, 2006)

hey guys, yesterday i noticed my water a little cloudy but didnt think anythin of it, figured it was the light or somehtin. today it still looked like that and i checked it and my nitrites have gone throught the room up to like 3.0 and my nitrate have also moved up to 20 with both usually at or right above 0. what could have caused this and much more important...how can i fix it...i am doing a big water change as we speak and my rhom is not lookin good...please help asap...thanx guys


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## harrykaa (Jan 10, 2005)

PiranhaHockey88 said:


> hey guys, yesterday i noticed my water a little cloudy but didnt think anythin of it, figured it was the light or somehtin. today it still looked like that and i checked it and my nitrites have gone throught the room up to like 3.0 and my nitrate have also moved up to 20 with both usually at or right above 0. what could have caused this and much more important...how can i fix it...i am doing a big water change as we speak and my rhom is not lookin good...please help asap...thanx guys


The main reason for this is that you nitrifying bacteria (Nitrobacter and Nitrocystis) are for some reason or another not oxidizing NO2 into NO3 very effectively.
You do not give enough info on this, however.
What is missing:
- NH3/NH4+ level?
- filtration?
- how new setup?
- any large leftovers?

Regards,


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## nick007x (Sep 9, 2005)

As for now, add salt to prevent nitrite poisoning, and/or overdose with Prime. Change water daily until the nitrifying bacteria can catch up. What is your pH? What about ammonia? It would also help kick-start the process to add Bio-Spira or Marc Weiss BacterVital. I find that always helpful when dealing with a mini-cycle. But as Harry pointed out, the first thing to do is figure out what caused the problem.


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## PiranhaHockey88 (Jan 9, 2006)

well...as strange as it came it seems to have left. i changed the water and then cleaned it last night and now the nitrites are down to .25ppm and the nitrates are back at 0. i dont know what to say here...very confused. i'll changed the water one more time today just for good measure and hopefully everythign will be fine. i think it might have been from uneaten food in there. i was outta town for a few days and my dad fed my rhom and when i came home there was still food sittin in the tank...guession that was what it was from. thanx again guys


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## timmy (Mar 29, 2004)

PiranhaHockey88 said:


> well...as strange as it came it seems to have left. i changed the water and then cleaned it last night and now the nitrites are down to .25ppm and the nitrates are back at 0. i dont know what to say here...very confused. i'll changed the water one more time today just for good measure and hopefully everythign will be fine. i think it might have been from uneaten food in there. i was outta town for a few days and my dad fed my rhom and when i came home there was still food sittin in the tank...guession that was what it was from. thanx again guys


That is bad. Your tank isn't cycled and you are just prolonging the cycle by doing water changes. You are going. For one reason or another, you lost your bacteria!


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## PiranhaHockey88 (Jan 9, 2006)

i dont know...it should be cycled i would think...all the water in it was brought over from my 55 and i used an established filter. it has been up for over a month and water has been perfect since set-up...could it really not be cycled?


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## timmy (Mar 29, 2004)

PiranhaHockey88 said:


> i dont know...it should be cycled i would think...all the water in it was brought over from my 55 and i used an established filter. it has been up for over a month and water has been perfect since set-up...could it really not be cycled?


If you have 0 nitrates you are NOT cycled. Nitrates are the end result from the cycle!


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## PiranhaHockey88 (Jan 9, 2006)

ok...then what should everythin be at approximately when it is nice and cycled?


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## timmy (Mar 29, 2004)

PiranhaHockey88 said:


> ok...then what should everythin be at approximately when it is nice and cycled?


Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
Ammonia 0


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## PiranhaHockey88 (Jan 9, 2006)

ok...cool, i'll check it again tongiht after work and see what i can get from it


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## Inflade (Mar 24, 2006)

nick007x said:


> As for now, add salt to prevent nitrite poisoning, and/or overdose with Prime. Change water daily until the nitrifying bacteria can catch up. What is your pH? What about ammonia? It would also help kick-start the process to add Bio-Spira or Marc Weiss BacterVital. I find that always helpful when dealing with a mini-cycle. But as Harry pointed out, the first thing to do is figure out what caused the problem.


how much salt and how often?


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