small amounts of nitrite...

[oscar83]

ive had my tank up and running for about 4 months now. about 1 1/2 months ago i had a huge nitrite and ammonia spike (nitrite at 5 ppm and ammonia at 7 ppm. after about a month of 20% water changes thrice weekly and 2 weeks of using algone packets in my filter the ammonia is back to 0 ppm, but the nitrite is at .25 ppm. is this going to be a problem in the long run or should my fish be alright? my tank is fairly heavily planted and i remember reading somewhere that its good to have trace amounts of nitrite in your tank for your plants to be healthy, but i could be mistaken. any info would be great, thanks guys/gals.

[OrionGirl]

NitrIte, or NitrAte? NitrAtes are beneficial to plants, often supplemented, and quite tolerable by fish. NitrItes are not used by plants, and very toxic to fish. Nitrites should be 0, as with ammonia, in an established tank.

[oscar83]

definetly nitrIte. like i said i could be mistaken which i guess i was. i guess i should continue using the algone to get rid of the nitrite. any otehr suggestions??

[OrionGirl]

Algone doesn't treat nitrites. Water changes will be the best to remove the nitrite for now, while the bacteria catch up with the supply. Adding salt (1 tsp/gallon) will help the fish deal with the nitrites and is not a problem for most plants. Table or rock salt will both work for this, no problems.

[oscar83]

haha, it says on the box nitrAte remover, im dumb... yeah, i'll continue with the water changes. thanks for clearing that up for me :D

[oscar83]

anyway... back to my initial question. will a small amount of nitrite (0.25 ppm) be harmful to my fish in the long run?

[OrionGirl]

Yes, any amount of nitrite is harmful to the fish. Nitrite bonds with the hemoglobin in the fishes blood, and prevents oxygen uptake. This starves the fish for oxygen. NaCl in the water prevents this from happening.