# Nitrite Spike



## VJventrella (Feb 16, 2007)

This morning i tested my water perams before i headed out and this is what i got. 
PH - 7.5
AMMONIA- 0
NITRITE- 1ppm
NITRATE 15ppm

Now everything was normal but for Nitrite. It spiked from 0 to 1ppm in 3 days! Now is this a huge shock for the fish? Should i start doing water changes as soon as possible? Thanks


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## VJventrella (Feb 16, 2007)

I did i 40 percent water change today. And my nitrites are stll high. They dropped but not much. From 1ppm to .50 ppm
What should i do. Change more water or wait? Its only one 5 inch elong in a 75 and he eats a small piece of fish every 3 days about half the size of a pinky finger.


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

tell us a little more about the tank. are there any plants? whats the filtration? etc.
have you tried testing your tap water? do you use a dechlorinator when you do the water change if so which one?


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## VJventrella (Feb 16, 2007)

Its a 75 gallon, filtered by a rena xp3. No live plants. I have not tested my tap water yet. I was told by a friend to use prime for dechlorinating the water rather then a simple tap water dechlorinator. It also removes amonia and nitrites. However to remove amonia and nitrites it says i could dose up to 5 times. After the water change it didnt help to much.


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

i think prime just makes things none toxic not necessarily removes them. but you only need to dose once and usually a half dose of new water from tap is fine. test your tap water and post results before we go any further.


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## VJventrella (Feb 16, 2007)

Alright well this is the results of my tap water

PH- 7.5

AMMONIA - 0.30

NITRITE - 0

NITRATE - 0


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

theres your problem. your tap has ammonia which gets turned into nitrites and eventually into nitrates. your going to have to devise a way to store water for water changes so you arent continuing to add ammonia to the tank during water changes. you could always setup a drip system which would solve the problem as well. in any case im sure someone will post more helpful advice. but that is your issue.


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## VJventrella (Feb 16, 2007)

Thanks Tensa, you seem to be the only one responding, so thanks.


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

not a problem. we all are here to help just sometimes people miss the thread for whatever reason.


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## Piranha feeder (Jun 15, 2010)

My friend thats no spike lol now from 0-10+ in a couple of days is a spike which happened with my tank. And stayed that way for about oh a month or so! now thats what i call hardy fish!!

I tried everything from water changes to chemicals and nothing helped. Whens the last time u cleaned ur filter? maybe buildup of garbage in there causing the spikage?? happens to me when i dont clean my power filters.


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

Piranha feeder said:


> My friend thats no spike lol now from 0-10+ in a couple of days is a spike which happened with my tank. And stayed that way for about oh a month or so! now thats what i call hardy fish!!
> 
> I tried everything from water changes to chemicals and nothing helped. Whens the last time u cleaned ur filter? maybe buildup of garbage in there causing the spikage?? happens to me when i dont clean my power filters.


his nitrites are coming from the ammonia in his tap water being converted to nitrites when he adds the water to the tank.


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## Piranha feeder (Jun 15, 2010)

Tensa said:


> My friend thats no spike lol now from 0-10+ in a couple of days is a spike which happened with my tank. And stayed that way for about oh a month or so! now thats what i call hardy fish!!
> 
> I tried everything from water changes to chemicals and nothing helped. Whens the last time u cleaned ur filter? maybe buildup of garbage in there causing the spikage?? happens to me when i dont clean my power filters.


his nitrites are coming from the ammonia in his tap water being converted to nitrites when he adds the water to the tank.
[/quote]

Not sure thats the case... cause he said its a spike which means it just happened. and if he was using the same water as before and no prob then, then it probably isnt from the tap. it could be adding but i dont think its the main infection! IMO


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

Piranha feeder said:


> My friend thats no spike lol now from 0-10+ in a couple of days is a spike which happened with my tank. And stayed that way for about oh a month or so! now thats what i call hardy fish!!
> 
> I tried everything from water changes to chemicals and nothing helped. Whens the last time u cleaned ur filter? maybe buildup of garbage in there causing the spikage?? happens to me when i dont clean my power filters.


his nitrites are coming from the ammonia in his tap water being converted to nitrites when he adds the water to the tank.
[/quote]

Not sure thats the case... cause he said its a spike which means it just happened. and if he was using the same water as before and no prob then, then it probably isnt from the tap. it could be adding but i dont think its the main infection! IMO
[/quote]

ok you got it dude







im just going off of the data that says he has a pretty decent level of ammonia coming from the tap water. at the very least he needs to solve that issue first even if there is another issue underlining the situation.


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## VJventrella (Feb 16, 2007)

well, this is what i did. I added the dechlorinator to the tap water then tested it, and no more ammonia. I had at least 10 other tanks previous to this one, and never had a problem. The filter is clean, everything is clean. I think my problem was i only cycled the tank for 3 and a half weeks with 4 mollies in a 75. Big mistake on my part. Im just trying to figure out how to get rid of the nitrates so i dont harm my fish. I have been useing a Nitrite detoxifier. That seems to only work for about a day :S.


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## Piranha feeder (Jun 15, 2010)

VJventrella said:


> My friend thats no spike lol now from 0-10+ in a couple of days is a spike which happened with my tank. And stayed that way for about oh a month or so! now thats what i call hardy fish!!
> 
> I tried everything from water changes to chemicals and nothing helped. Whens the last time u cleaned ur filter? maybe buildup of garbage in there causing the spikage?? happens to me when i dont clean my power filters.


his nitrites are coming from the ammonia in his tap water being converted to nitrites when he adds the water to the tank.
[/quote]

Not sure thats the case... cause he said its a spike which means it just happened. and if he was using the same water as before and no prob then, then it probably isnt from the tap. it could be adding but i dont think its the main infection! IMO
[/quote]

ok you got it dude







im just going off of the data that says he has a pretty decent level of ammonia coming from the tap water. at the very least he needs to solve that issue first even if there is another issue underlining the situation.
[/quote]

Ur right he def. needs to fix that but he just posted above that the ammonia is removed through the water conditioner prior to entering the tank. So from my earlier post I think the tank is cycling still..


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## VJventrella (Feb 16, 2007)

i believe it is as well. Now the Nitrites go from 0.25 to 1 ppm at most. Will my fish be okay until the cycle process is complete?


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