Nitrite (no2)?

Question

i have a nitrite (no2) lvl 0f 1.0 ppm (mg/l) in my tank
it has been at 1.0 fore 2 days that i know of now is that a moderitly safe lvl or should i be woried

ps the tank is prety new
and i know about tank cylcing but at what point should i say ok this nitrite is getting to high

amonia is a 0
nitrate is at 0
ph is at 7.5
nitrite is at 1.0

remeber im talking about NITRITE NO2------ NOT nitrate NO3

woops my mystake nitrate(NO3)is at 5.0 witch i no is a safe lvl

Answer 1

I wouldn't be too worried at this point. You aren't really into the dangerous levels. I would continue to watch the nitrites in the tank and do a water change at 6-7 mg/l to avoid undue stress. As you know, eventually the cycle will take care of it, you just need to keep some in the tank, but a safe level until it does. it sounds to me as if you are on the down hill slide and should be cycled out in a few more days.

EDIT: To speak to the answer below mine, no nitrite is not as dangerous to fish as ammonia, but is dangerous. Brown blood appears at a nitrite saturation of 25-30% in the bloodstream depending on species. The average 96 hour LC 50 value for nitrites in freshwater fish is 45 mg/liter and the average 24 hour LC 50 value is 204 mg/liter. LC50 is where 50% of exposed fish are lost. So a value of 45mg/liter would be expected to kill 50% of your fish within 96 hours of constant exposure. Keep it below 10 and your safe.

Another point, nitrite is actively transported into the fish my lamellar chloride cells that normally transport chlorides into the fish but cannot distinguish between the two. Increasing salt levels in the tank make more chloride available and will mean less nitrite is transported into the fish. Another good reason to keep some salt in your tank!

Lastly, brown blood is usually not lethal until it hits about 77% saturation in the blood. Hence the very high LC50's above. Some fishes are able to reverse brown blood within days once they are in a low nitrite environment and all fishes ever tested were clear within 24 days.

Summary, nitrites at 10 or even 15 mg/liter are not really dangerous, so keeping them at 4-6 to speed the cycle is not harmful in the least.
One case study

http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/AB939E/AB939E00.htm

Shows a slightly different LC50 range, but they don't give duration.

http://www.addl.purdue.edu/newsletters/1998/spring/nitrate.shtml

Supporting the addition of salt to the water:

http://afs.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1577%2F1548-8454(2003)65%3C162%3ATOAANT%3E2.0.CO%3B2

Scientific studies and results.
MM

Answer 2

Hi, as you may recall from biology class the nitrogen cycle is as follows: ammonia NH3-ammonium NH4, (this is produced from fish poop) once the beneficial bacteria or nitrogen fixing bacteria (nitrobacter and Nitrosomonas) take hold they will convert this to Nitrite N02 then Nitrate N03. Nitrate is the least toxic to the tank, but even there levels should be low and indicate a time for a water change. Obviously your nitrate levels are low, but should they rise you could do a water 15%-20% water change or add some Zeolite. If you have a salt water tank you can buy some premixed water, live sand and live rock to speed up the filtration process. In addition, you should have a good wetdry system to facilitate the bacterial colonies. Larger tanks tend to have more stable water chemistry. You mentioned PH, which has to do with the Hydrogen ion level of the water or the hydroxide level. A high hydrogen ion level is basic, low hydrogen ion levels are acidic. Your PH level is fine so don't try to change it. In addition, your fish can adapt to a slight variation in PH. Try not to over feed the fish at during the first month because that will increase the NH3 so once a day or every other day and no more than a few minutes worth of food. The tank needs some Amonia in the inital stages to get the bacteria going so let the process occur. Overall it sound like your doing fine. However, you might loose a fish because this is a stressful transition form them. Try to stick with one or two hardy fish at this time, such as, a damsel.

Answer 3

1.0 isn't dangerous at all if you have some aquarium salt in the tank. It will block the fish's uptake of nitrites & make them irrelivant until they get to more toxic levels.

It takes a while for the gravel borne anaerobic bacteria to colonize fast enough to convert the nitrites to nitrates. Just keep an eye on them & do small water changes if they continue to creep up. Try not to disturb the system too much though. You need a slightly elevated level of them to cause a bacterial bloom.

When you start to see nitrates appear on your test strip, its a sign that the anerobic critters are doing their job and things are normalizing.

The primary role of water changes is to eliminate nitrates and phermones from the water. These can't be removed from an enclosed system unless you have a billion plants to eat them up. After the nitrates creep up, you shouldn't have to worry about testing for ammonia or nitrite any more.

Answer 4

As mentioned above, no level of ammonia or nitrite is safe for fish. If there's fish in the tank, add some aquarium salt, that's supposed to help their gills with respiration. Here's a good link for nitrite poisoning, and the salt dosage to use:

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/nitritepoison.htm

Sounds like your almost done though!!

Answer 5

Nitrite is just as harmful as ammonia. You should do a water change anytime it's above ZERO. Yes, this will slow down your cycle some, but your fish are suffering. Your call.

Here's a paragraph about nitrite toxicity:
"Nitrite binds to red blood cells and blocks their ability to transport oxygen. If nitrite is present in high enough concentration, fish blood will turn a chocolate-brown color. Because of this, nitrite toxicity is also known as brown blood disease. This effect is most easily seen in the gills. However, toxicity can and does occur commonly at lower concentrations, before gills have turned an obvious brown."
Reference: http://www.petplace.com/fish/aquarium-water-quality-ammonia-and-nitrite-toxicity-explained/page1.aspx

and this:
"The nitrite level should always be zero in a mature tank. ... A nitrite level of only 0.1 ppm could prove harmful if exposure is prolonged."
Reference: http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/cycling2.htm

Answer 6

i wouldnt worry, but i would test daily until your nitrate goes up
the fact that you have no nitrate is a little concerning but its just a wait and see thing

try not feeding your fish for the next day and see if that helps jumpstart the process