Beginner question: What are Nitrites and Nitrates?

[Andy16]

well... i dont know if this is what you are asking but nitrite is fish waste and then eventually nitrite turns into nitrate which is a less toxic form of nitrite but should be kept at a minumal level. dont know if im right but im pretty sure i am. finnaly sopme one asked a question i could answer. i just wasted this because i thoguht some was asking a question instead tehy wanted a link for something they already knew. im about to break out in tears of sadness

 

[wetmanNY]

Aw, Andy, you know that what the fish excrete as waste is ammonia. But you're right about toxic nitrite being turned to nitrate by bacteria. The more times I read this stuff the clearer it gets in my head.

Thanks for the clean link RTR. Duly inserted in 2003's www.skepticalaquarist.com --soon to be uploaded.

There are some soft spots in that nitrogen article... maybe what I like best is the epigraph from Lavoisier.

Does anyone else have favored explanations of the nitrogen cycle that are on the web?