# nitrIte testing. Too high?



## psyber (Jan 7, 2009)

More cycling concerns. On day 26ish and am running into something odd. Keep in mind I still have not seen a nitrate spike. And my ammonia goes from 2-4 ppm to 0 in under 24 hours.

First question. Using an API kit, has anyone see their nitrites go gray? Not purple, gray. When I first put the drops in and shake it appears that nitrites are really high (almost off the chart). After they sit for 5 min the color turns gray. Any idea what is going on? Does this mean my nitrites are sky high?

Second question, is is possible for nitrites to be too high when cycling that they will impede the cycle process?


----------



## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

I use a different kit so can't help you there. I have found that the nitrite converting bacteria take longer to establish than the ones that convert ammonia to nitrite. If you don't have any nitrate yet, you probably have nitrites. Once those bacteria start going, they will convert nitrites rather quickly and you'll start seeing nitrates.


----------



## zcfish (Jan 31, 2009)

i just went through this. the ammonia was 1 ppm then after a few days it went to 0 in 24 hours. then it took 8 days for the nitrite to go to 0. i had about 10 2 inchers in a 125g so the bioload was very low.

if you're cycling with fish. if you had 4ppm ammonia then you problem have 4 ppm nitrite now. i'd do a 50% or maybe 75% water change now.


----------



## psyber (Jan 7, 2009)

zcfish said:


> i just went through this. the ammonia was 1 ppm then after a few days it went to 0 in 24 hours. then it took 8 days for the nitrite to go to 0. i had about 10 2 inchers in a 125g so the bioload was very low.
> 
> if you're cycling with fish. if you had 4ppm ammonia then you problem have 4 ppm nitrite now. i'd do a 50% or maybe 75% water change now.


I am doing a fishless cycle. Every evening I put 2-4 ppm ammonia in the tank. Within 24 hours it is all gone.


----------



## zcfish (Jan 31, 2009)

i was doing it with fish after reading the article in the library. i should've done a fishless one.

i think you should continue to add some ammonia but less. the ammonia bacteria will die off if not feed for a while. ideally you should have add the same amount of ammonia your future fish will producce. it's simple math. suppose you've been adding 1ppm ammonia daily for 26 days. all of the ammonia has become nitrite, you'd get 26ppm nitrite! that kind of explained your grey reading.


----------



## psyber (Jan 7, 2009)

zcfish said:


> it's simple math. suppose you've been adding 1ppm ammonia daily for 26 days. all of the ammonia has become nitrite, you'd get 26ppm nitrite! that kind of explained your grey reading.


That assumes every 1 unit of ammonia is produced into exactly 1 unit of nitrite. While chemistry is my weakest science, in theory it is possible that it takes multiple unites of ammonia to produce a single unit of nitrite or a single unity of ammonia to produce many units of nitrite. Can anyone out there clarify this?


----------



## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

It's a 1:1 ratio because ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite all have one Nitrogen atom (NH3, NO2, NO3).


----------



## psyber (Jan 7, 2009)

Isis24 said:


> It's a 1:1 ratio because ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite all have one Nitrogen atom (NH3, NO2, NO3).


cool, thanks for clearing that up.

So, should I be concerned about the gray test? Should I do anything or just keep feeding ammonia?


----------



## Rockydog (Oct 21, 2007)

High Nitrite will inhibit the cycling process. Do some water changes and even hold off on the ammonia for 48 hours. I had the same problem on one tank I was cycling and this is how I got it to finish. Checking for Nitrates while you have a high Nitrite reading will give you an unreliable reading.


----------



## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Don't change the course, keep adding the same amount of ammonia every day. If you want to drop 
nitrite levels, just do a water change. I've seen no evidence that nitrite will inhibit the bacteria that 
convert nitrite, although I've heard the rumors too.

Just do a water change, *but not a massive on*e. Start doing 25-30% changes every day. That'll 
bring the nitrite levels down and also help you out with nitrate, since eventually the nitrite will be 
converted to nitrate.

But, don't stop or change the ammonia level. You've worked hard to cycle to this level, so don't mess 
with that now. Water changes are a simple solution. I wouldn't worry about the color on the nitrite kit or 
what it means. If you really want to know, just run a nitrate test since most nitrate tests actually give the 
total of nitrite + nitrate. That will tell you. But, don't overreact to this, stay the course. I've seen massive 
water changes cause set backs as have others.

Just my .02

Just wanted to add that , yes, I've seen the nitrite kit do weird things.


----------



## psyber (Jan 7, 2009)

Rockydog said:


> Checking for Nitrates while you have a high Nitrite reading will give you an unreliable reading.


lol. Yup, I have run into this as well.


----------



## psyber (Jan 7, 2009)

prov356 said:


> Don't change the course, keep adding the same amount of ammonia every day. If you want to drop
> nitrite levels, just do a water change. I've seen no evidence that nitrite will inhibit the bacteria that
> convert nitrite, although I've heard the rumors too.
> 
> ...


Yeah, that is kinda what I though was well.



prov356 said:


> I wouldn't worry about the color on the nitrite kit or
> what it means. If you really want to know, just run a nitrate test since most nitrate tests actually give the
> total of nitrite + nitrate. That will tell you. But, don't overreact to this, stay the course. I've seen massive
> water changes cause set backs as have others.
> ...


I actually e-mailed API last night about the color. If/when they get back to me I will be sure to pass on their response.


----------



## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Something else you could try is cutting the sample. By that I mean fill to only about 1/4 of the way up to 
the line on the tube and fill the rest with tap or some source known to have no appreciable nitrites. See 
what kind of reading you get. Multiply by 4 and that's your actual, or close to it.


----------



## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Here's a good article to read on the nitrogen cycle => Nitrogen cycle. Lots of good info.


----------



## Godsten (Jun 24, 2010)

I know this is an old post but I am having a similar issue to this guy. I am doing a fishless cycle and seeded with a good squeeze on the filter of my established tank. The cycle has beeen running for at least 2 weeks and every morning I add 4 ppm of ammonia which is totally gone by the next day. My API test for nitrites does the same thing when the drops first go in they turn super purple after shaking it is a litle purple and after developing it looks either grey or the light blue color which indicates 0 ppm. Does anyone know if this is normal or if it indicates smoking high or 0 nitrites? Nitrate test shows somwhere in the 10-20 ppm range. I have dipsticks that indicate both nitrite and natrate are off the chart (10ppm and 200ppm respectively) so I have no idea what is going on in there, this test might not be all that accurate since in my haste I tested 20 minutes after adding my daily ammonia dosing.


----------



## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I'd say 'smoking high nitrites'. That's a pretty beefy amount of ammonia to be adding every day. Unless you're going to be overstocking, and I mean really overstocking from day 1, then it's just not necessary and can cause cycling during this phase to take longer. The ammonia is going to be converted to nitrite, and then the nitrite converters will be busy converting to nitrate, but by the time they catch up, they're getting dumped on by the next ammonia dose getting converted to nitrite again. So, they end up having a hard time catching up.

A couple of things that I'd suggest you try.

Cut the ammonia dose down to something between 1-2ppm and only add it every other day. I've changed my position since this thread came out. I've found that daily dosing of ammonia just is not necessary to keep the ammonia converter numbers up. Dosing every 2-3 days will work just fine, and keep you from driving up nitrite and ultimately nitrate levels. And I"ve fully stocked tanks using this level of ammonia dose.

Try cutting the sample when you test for ntrite. See my previous post.

Let us know how it goes.


----------



## Godsten (Jun 24, 2010)

Bingo you were right, tried cutting the sample and the nitrites are high like in the 15ppm range. I shall do as you suggested and cut back te ammonia to a half dose every other day. Thanks, a bit disappointed cause I was hoping the tank was cycled but better to do it right then pay for it later.


----------



## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

What are you planning to initially stock with? What size and how many? Juvies, adults? 1-2ppm is more than enough to fully stock with juveniles IME.

You might want to also consider some *moderate *water changes, like 30% or so each day to bring the nitrite levels down. Don't go heavy as I've seen it set back cycling.

One thing I'm learning as I've cycled tanks, and it's been dozens, is that the ammonia levels that are often recommended are way too high and just not necessary. Once you get the ammonia and nitrite converters established enough to handle even 1ppm or so daily, they can adjust quickly, if need be, to handle a heavier load. The 5ppm often recommended in 'how to cycle' articles is way too much. The tank will still cycle with a higher dosage, but it can take longer, generate a lot of nitrate to deal with at the end, consume buffers (nitrate is acidic) that can then cause a pH crash. At low pH levels nitrification actually can slow or even stop. Not what you want, obviously. So, there's really no advantage and all kinds of negatives in pushing a lot of ammonia. So now I always go with about 1ppm or so, and never add more often than every other day. If I don't get to it and skip an extra day, no big deal. I've found that the ammonia level is still 0 after 24 hours. And nitrite is less likely to go off chart. And there are less water changes at the end to bring nitrates down. I've just not found it to be true that the bacteria will die if they miss a meal.

Hope that helps and let us know how it goes.


----------

