Nitrite question

M

momopoms

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Jul 18, 2003
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Western North Carolina
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Hi,
I have been trying to follow The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums by David E. Boruchowitz, while cycling, I have fish in the tank (29g) and the text keeps referring to when the ammonia or the nitrites reach the "danger zone", do this or that, my question is, what are considered safe levels for Ammonia and Nitrites, also, I have used declorinators which neutralize the chloramines, so, I am sure that my ammonia readings might not be accurate, unless I get a salicylate test kit.

I am just now getting nitrite readings (0.25) so want to know what to watch for.

Thanks, this is a great forum, glad I happened upon it.

:confused:
 
nitrites are not as toxic as ammonia, .25 is not great, but probably not harmful. ammonia in the .25 range is bad, but not deadly. Anything over 1 ppm ammonia should prompt an immediate water change, any thing over 2ppm nitrite the same.
good luck
:)
 
Any detectable reading by hobby test kits is not good.

There is a peculiarity with ammonia/ammonium which distorts the effect of the readings. The ammonium ion (NH4+) is practically harmless, while the dissolved gas ammonia (NH3) is quite toxic. the ion and dissolved gas move back and forth between the two forms contstantly and quickly. The percentage in each form is determined by pH. The lower the pH, the higher the percentage in the non-toxic ammonium ion form.

Test kits read total ammonia, ion and dissolved gas, but only a percentage of that is likely in toxic form. Nitrite is toxic regardless of pH.

So, to me, amything over 0.5ppm is bad news and should be diluted by water change to protect the fish. That applies to either metabolite (ammonia or nitrite).
 
Thank you, now I have more questions.

If the nitrites have to build in order for the cycle to continue, won't a water change remove the nitrites, or dilute them to a level that prevents the cycle from completing?

If they are still present, will they be detectable, and will they be finally in the end product of nitrates?:rolleyes:
 
Doing water changes to lower the nitrite *might* slow down the completion of the cycle but it will contribute more to the comfort and health of your fish. Since the fish are continually producing more ammonia to be converted I don't think the slowdown should be too bad. It will make a big difference in how well your fish survive though. When the cycle is complete in your tank you shouldn't detect nitrite with your test kit.
 
Water changes will not slow down the cycle and are good for the fish. If you're getting a reading then there is more than the bacteria can handle and they will continue to grow. The goal is to have no detectable nitrItes all the time -- there is still plenty of food for the bacteria.
 
Update

OK, thanks all for your input, I have now been getting less ammonia and nitrites have climbed to 0.5 for which I did a 60% change then it went down to 0.25 so i did an additional 60% water change, which put it at Zero!

I hope this is ok, because i usually have to do three 50 percent changes to get my levels down to acceptable, any how this is the cycle and I was so excited to get some nitrites, and I was just looking for the magic danger zone that my book referred to, guess if I get some, I know it is in the process of cycling and I just have to dilute them.

next, I guess I will be worrying about nitrates :p

Thanks again,
 
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