My tank has been setup for going on two months with nothing in it but rock, sand, and water. I've been testing water quality throughout and things had finally settled down to were I felt safe getting a clean-up crew for it. I tested yesterday before placing an order with reeftopia and everything looked good with the exception of a 20ppm reading for nitrates. Last night to prepare for the new arrivals today I did a 10% water change to hopefully lower the nitrates even further. Today I will be getting a large assortment of snails, a serpent star, two peppermint shrimp and two lettuch nudibranch. Tested again this morning when I got up and my nitrites are through the roof. I had a nitrite spike about two weeks ago also. This can't be good for the new guys that are coming today and I have no place else to put this stuff. Nearest fish store that deals in SW is a one hour drive from here and I doubt they would have anywhere to put this stuff regardless. Anyone have any suggetions as what to do? I really don't want to lose any of the new arrivals.
Nitrite Spike! Need assistance.
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Do a large water change now. Acclimate them really, really slowly. Nitrites tend not to be a problem for most SW critters--the salt protects them from nitrites. You just will want to do a slow acclimation to allow them time to adjust.
I would also wonder what caused the sudden spike--any changes in pH, temp, SG lately?
I would also wonder what caused the sudden spike--any changes in pH, temp, SG lately?
Nothing has changed drastically from the fist day that I know of. One thing to note is that I am using regular tap water. I don't have access to RO/DI at the moment. I plan on getting a setup soon but with Christmas coming and with kids money is really tight. I've done several water changes throughout this process and the only thing that I did different this time was mixing the water longer. Normally I would mix the water the day before a change. This time, I mixed it about five days ago and it has been stirring since then. SG is at 1.024. Temps have been a little warmer since adding my canopy too but never going above 80.
I'm working on a water change right now. Do you think 25% will be enough or should I change more than that? I think I still have several hours left until the FedEx guy gets here.
I'm working on a water change right now. Do you think 25% will be enough or should I change more than that? I think I still have several hours left until the FedEx guy gets here.
A larger water change won't hurt--whenever somthing is off in my tanks, the first thing I do is the largest water change I can--or series of 50% changes. Anything to reduce the pollutant or toxin. But, with nitrites, it's more about determining why the spike occurred, and making sure that doesn't happen again. Nitrites are not good for the critters, but they are not lethal in a SW tank. Randy Holmes-Farley at reefcentral--he's the chemist over there--says that nitrites aren't a big concern, and I trust him. 
Read through this: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm
Read through this: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm