Odd Nitrite issue

[coldtanr12]

Still having some issues with regard to my tank. Doing regular water changes ( taking a few gallons out and replacing 2 times a week), checking levels regularly. Heres the newest issue. Did 20% water change yesterday. Checked water source for Nitrite, Nitrate,and Amonia first. All at 0. or very close to that, added salt to water (instant ocean) specific gravity 1.024 ---perfect. All should be good. NOT..... Water with instant ocean salt now has Nitrite at .25 before putting into tank. Slight increase in amonia this a.m but still very low. I dont get it. I thought that this was supposed to reduce build ups not increase levels. Additional info. Moved rocks, cleaned under them cleaned substrate to remove debri (didnt find much there) checked filter and made sure no blockages (has great flow) my inverts seem to be fine moving around. I get it that i disturbed the tank so I expected that there would be a change. The Nitrite increase with the salt is my concern. No body is behaving abnormallly. have reduced feeding to minimum and I am removing any food I find. Any more suggestions? Tank not overstocked One Clown and scooter Blenny plus cleaning crew of snails,hermits,and 1 emerald crab.

[jimsflies]

If you get a chance, please start a Member Tank (http://www.captivereefs.com/forum/members-reefs/) thread. That often helps us know what all you are doing so we don't have to ask.

But a few questions that come to mind are:

what is your source water, are you using RO/DI water?
If so, how old are the Carbon and RO filters?
what test kits are you using?
how long has your tank been setup?
what type of substrate are you using?

[coldtanr12]

Still having some issues with regard to my tank. Doing regular water changes ( taking a few gallons out and replacing 2 times a week), checking levels regularly. Heres the newest issue. Did 20% water change yesterday. Checked water source for Nitrite, Nitrate,and Amonia first. All at 0. or very close to that, added salt to water (instant ocean) specific gravity 1.024 ---perfect. All should be good. NOT..... Water with instant ocean salt now has Nitrite at .25 before putting into tank. Slight increase in amonia this a.m but still very low. I dont get it. I thought that this was supposed to reduce build ups not increase levels. Additional info. Moved rocks, cleaned under them cleaned substrate to remove debri (didnt find much there) checked filter and made sure no blockages (has great flow) my inverts seem to be fine moving around. I get it that i disturbed the tank so I expected that there would be a change. The Nitrite increase with the salt is my concern. No body is behaving abnormallly. have reduced feeding to minimum and I am removing any food I find. Any more suggestions? Tank not overstocked One Clown and scooter Blenny plus cleaning crew of snails,hermits,and 1 emerald crab.
Tank has been set up for about three months. Is FOWLER at this point but eventually will be corals if I can every get it right. As for the water it is filtered well water. I checed it prior to putting in tank to be sure pure. Filter sponges were removed and rinsed in tank water prior to being replaced in filter. Filter is made up as follows: 10 gallon glass sump gravity feed from tank to these : layers top to bottom first compartment: sponges--carbon--bio balls, second compartment: bio balls, third and final compartment skimmer, UV sterilizer, return pump. substrate in tank live sand tank is thirty gallon have about 20 pounds live rock

[jimsflies]

Well water is filtered with RO?

I would also recommend checking nitrites with another test kit or take it to an LFS for confirmation.

Nitrites in your source water obviously has nothing to do with this....however, most of us keeping reefs, tend to stay away from sponges and bioballs or if we do have sponges they need to be rinsed religiously. The main reason for this is that detritus accumulates on these media and then breaks down. Sponges and bioballs do a great job of converting ammonia to nitrates. But you ultimately end up with higher nitrates than without them. If detritus isn't allowed to collect some place, it can be available for cleanup crew to consume which prevents it from adding directly to the nutrient load.

[coldtanr12]

Tank has been set up for about three months. Is FOWLER at this point but eventually will be corals if I can every get it right. As for the water it is filtered well water. I checed it prior to putting in tank to be sure pure. Filter sponges were removed and rinsed in tank water prior to being replaced in filter. Filter is made up as follows: 10 gallon glass sump gravity feed from tank to these : layers top to bottom first compartment: sponges--carbon--bio balls, second compartment: bio balls, third and final compartment skimmer, UV sterilizer, return pump. substrate in tank live sand tank is thirty gallon have about 20 pounds live rock
Not sure R/O?? Water filter to eliminate iron,etc. for drinking purposes. not sure what it is made up of.

[jimsflies]

Guess we need to figure out what water treatment your source water is getting. Here is a pic of an RO/DI:

http://static.zoovy.com/img/theh2oguru/W150-H150-Bffffff/T/next_gen_tiii_front.jpg

Many houses on wells also use a water softener (in which you add salt) to treat water for hardness, and to a certain extent iron.

[coldtanr12]

Guess we need to figure out what water treatment your source water is getting. Here is a pic of an RO/DI:

http://static.zoovy.com/img/theh2oguru/W150-H150-Bffffff/T/next_gen_tiii_front.jpg

Many houses on wells also use a water softener (in which you add salt) to treat water for hardness, and to a certain extent iron.
OK I'll check tonight. thanks for your thoughts

[rmalone]

I agree with Jim, if your not using ro/di water you should be. You will find a few people that don't feel you need ro/di, but precious few, you DO need to use ro/di water if you want to have a reasonably trouble free reef tank, just consider it a given.

Personally I feel you have way too much crap in your sump. Ditch the sponges and bio-balls, all of that stuff just makes it harder to clean and causes more issues than it solves. Carbon is fine but you don't NEED it, run a small amount of carbon and change regularly. Great info on carbon and gfo can be had at bulkreefsupply. It's very worth reading.

If you ever have test results that just look funky, double check against another test kit. Test kits are not as reliable as we would all like. Above all move slow right now, your close to having things ironed out so bide thine time and make sensible decisions.

[MonsterTankMan]

R/o di water is deffently a must...as you might want to 10 more pounds of live rock. As far as the sump I'd scrap the sponges and Bio balls and do some kind of algae scrubber like chaetos ..just my 2 cents.

[rulost2001]

just my two cents.....when i started this expedition....one of the first things i bought was a giant hairy mushroom...lol i personally believe he keeps my nitrites all under control.....i have 8 fish in a 28 gallon nanocube i slightly overfeed mysis so my mandarin gets some....my two crabs and 3 shrimp and snails clean up the rest.... i havent had a nitrite issue....i think its because of my filter feeders and crew. i personally wont start another tank without a large filter feeder....he helps bigtime.

[coldtanr12]

just my two cents.....when i started this expedition....one of the first things i bought was a giant hairy mushroom...lol i personally believe he keeps my nitrites all under control.....i have 8 fish in a 28 gallon nanocube i slightly overfeed mysis so my mandarin gets some....my two crabs and 3 shrimp and snails clean up the rest.... i havent had a nitrite issue....i think its because of my filter feeders and crew. i personally wont start another tank without a large filter feeder....he helps bigtime.
love the hairy mushroom idea. Natural solutions are always best. since i dont have any stationary inverts I should be ok to try it Thank you for the sugestion. I will let you know if it works.

[rmalone]

Alright are we talking about Nitrites or Nitrates. Once a tank is cycled you should NEVER see any nitrites. Nitrates are what we all try to manage, nitrates are the end result of the biological pathway that converts Ammonia to Nitrites and finally to Nitrates. I just want to make sure were all talking about the same issue.

[coldtanr12]

Alright are we talking about Nitrites or Nitrates. Once a tank is cycled you should NEVER see any nitrites. Nitrates are what we all try to manage, nitrates are the end result of the biological pathway that converts Ammonia to Nitrites and finally to Nitrates. I just want to make sure were all talking about the same issue.
From what I understand, My Nitrates are still acceptable so moving on to the Nitrite issue. This is where my problem is. My Nitrite is sitting at about .25+ or - I know it should be a 0 since it is not there. my questin was what am I missing since I think that I am doing everything. I am not using ro yet so that is the next thing.