aussie123 Posted May 13, 2008 Report Share Posted May 13, 2008 I have been trying to get a nitrite spike down for 3 days now and I just tested the tap water. Its nitrite levels are running at around 0.4 Does anyone else have this problem at the moment and what can be done to try and fix the problem. My filtration is out at the moment as I am trying to re cycle a large system so I cannot rely on the filter to remove the nitrites. Thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brengun Posted May 13, 2008 Report Share Posted May 13, 2008 Could you add a purigen bag to your filtration to remove the nitrites? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wetpetz Posted May 13, 2008 Report Share Posted May 13, 2008 If you pre-treat your tap water with chlorine, the chlorine will remove the nitrite. You can then use sodium thiosulfate or any cheap neutraliser to make the water fish safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borntobreed Posted May 13, 2008 Report Share Posted May 13, 2008 Lancey, I've had a few ales so bear with me Do you have any ammonia reading in the town water supply? If so, perhaps adding chlorine {assuming you may have ammonia at times as well} could produce chloramine??? could be wrong here, but i thought chlorine and ammonia together created chloramine. If so, that sounds like you may complicate things by adding chlorine... But i have read Quasi"s previous posts in the past - and he seems like a very knowledgable fellow , so i apoligise in advance Quasi, cause i could be wrong here. Arn't you storing water in a storage drum to preheat water and aerate?, for water change purposes? Can you just add a powerhead filter with some media from your old established system, to circulate within the drum 24/7 to complete the cycle to only a minimal nitrate level, and then it is safe to use?. I am aware of a fellow breeder who lives in ipswich who was having trouble with his water supply showing a significant ammonia level straight out of the tap, perhaps he can share his thoughts too. NOW......................... where's Winston................ and i need to do a trip back to the bar fridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussie123 Posted May 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2008 Hi Dazza Thanks for that,lol As you know i have just moved and through a bad mistake on my behalf I lost all the bacteria in my sump so I am back to cycling a new system again from scratch. Tests tonight show no amonia in tap or tank waters but high nitrites. I am curing water for 24 hours in a 1000l tub but unfortunately as I am setting up more banks each day I am using the water so theres no time to cure it fully at this stage and I dont even have a filter in there cos its just a curing tub to fill the tanks each day. Also what puzzles me is I only moved a few KM's and am still on the same Logan shire tap water yet I had no nitrites at the other place ever so the question is whats causing it here or is this an issue just right now right across Logan. Hopefully another person on here who uses Logan water will read this and run a test on their tap water and post some results to see if its just here or a broader issue with Logan water. I couldnt work out why large water dumps twice a day was not making any difference to the nitrite levels so I looked further into it and found both the cured water and tap water had levels above 0.4 I will sneak some tap water from the neighbours tap tonight and see what their readings are at,lol. Thanks again dazza and the other guys for input here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude_753 Posted May 13, 2008 Report Share Posted May 13, 2008 ill bring some of my tap water over on thursday lancey. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussie123 Posted May 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2008 Kool. Thanks Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolften Posted May 13, 2008 Report Share Posted May 13, 2008 ...just checked my water again and zero on ammonia and nitrites. Test the water at your old place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussie123 Posted May 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 An update for todays tests. I got a sample from a mate who lives about 3 streets away. His nitrite levels in his tap water is 0 My tap water today is running at around 0.7 and my neighbours was similar with 0 amonia. Havnt tested my system today but will later tonight. I am off to see the council shortly to try and get some answers to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozarowana Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 Interesting that your neighbours levels are zero. I constantly have nitrites in the water too and it is quite common in Bris. Quasimodo is right in that you can add bleach (sodium hypochlorite) to oxidise the nitrite to nitrate. I use a bleach that doesn't contain NaOH (sodium hydroxide) as this will alter your pH (increases). You need a bit of trial and error with the amount you use. I get around 1.6mg/L and use 30mL of bleach per 220L (water aging barrel). I give it time to circulate and then test again. After this just add your normal dose of dechlorinator. If you do water changes from the hose then it might be more difficult to alter. It has been suggested that adding NaCl will help nitrite poisoning problems (can't remember exactly how though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wetpetz Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 Nitrite oxidises haemoglobin in the fish's blood to form a molecule called methemoglobin. This will make the blood appear brown. The amount of nitrite entering blood depends on the ratio of chloride to nitrite in the water. You can increase chloride concentration with NaCl or CaCl. I think where possible you should aim for a ratio of 20:1, Cl:NO2. So if NO2 is at 5ppm, you should have 100 ppm Cl. You could get this concentration by adding just 1 teaspoon of salt for each 50L of water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussie123 Posted June 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 After 2 days of testing in the local water boards lab we found the chlorine levels were high enough to make the home hobby test kits give a false nitrite reading. The aquasonic nitrite test kit did work with the high chlorine levels though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieCanadian Posted June 7, 2008 Report Share Posted June 7, 2008 I'm still bam boozled :boggle: that your neighbours water tested perfect and yours high, wouldn't he have the same amount of chlorine in his water as well?? I dunno .. :worry: anyways interesting post to read cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussie123 Posted June 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2008 AussieCanadian, Never did i say that the neighbours water was good. Theirs tested the same as mine. I got a sample from a mate who lives about 3 streets away.His nitrite levels in his tap water is 0 My tap water today is running at around 0.7 and my neighbours was similar with 0 amonia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieCanadian Posted June 7, 2008 Report Share Posted June 7, 2008 An update for todays tests.I got a sample from a mate who lives about 3 streets away. His nitrite levels in his tap water is 0 My tap water today is running at around 0.7 and my neighbours was similar with 0 amonia.Havnt tested my system today but will later tonight. I am off to see the council shortly to try and get some answers to this. I figured that meant you tested your neighbours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussie123 Posted June 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2008 My tap water today is running at around 0.7 and my neighbours was similar with 0 amonia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
