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Hello All..  Brand new to this kind of gardening.  Been at it for 3 weeks and added fish and plants a week ago.  I am concerned my nitrites are in the deep purple for several days with the nitrates beginning to show.

Should I be concerned because the nitrites are so high?  Ammonia is abt .25 and the water is becoming very clear with some slime on the sides of the IBC Tote.  I am using 2 grow beds with the clay pebbles at aprox 30 sq. ft of space. I currently have aprox 80 feeder goldfish in the tank.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Steve

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Your fish are in jeopardy. Nitrites can kill your fish. Do not feed and do a 50% water change. Give us new numbers after you have done this.

Yes, you should be concerned. Water change and stop feeding for a while.

I had a similar problem last month. I had nitrites at about 5. I added 1 lb of aquarium salt to my 100 gal tank, and in 2 days the problem was solved. I didn't change the water, although that is a quick way to make a big problem into a smaller problem, assuming your water is pH-correct and has no chlorine.

anything above 2 for nitrites is potentially lethal to fish. like jonathan said do a big water change.  Ryan by aquarium, salt do you mean epsom salt? what kind of salt?

Taking your advise I did a 60% water change (well Fla.) and stopped feeding...

Before water change  7:30 am

Water Temp 75 dgs

PH  6.8

amm. .25

nitrite  5.0 +

Nitrate 10ppm

After Water Change (well) 8:00 am                   12:pm      

Water temp (well)  72 dgs                         Water Temp  75 dgs

PH 7.2                                                        PH   7.2

AMM  .15                                                    AMM  .15

nitrite   2 ppm                                              Nitrite    2 ppm

nitrate 10 ppm                                             Nitrate   20 ppm

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Steve

looking good. Another week or 2 and your system should be cycled. id wait a day or 2 before feeding again and then id feed every other day until its finished cycling.

No No- NOT epsom salt. Aquarium Salt is like salt we eat, but has no anti-caking additives or iodide added. This is the exact product I used:
http://www.petco.com/product/1697/API-Aquarium-Salt.aspx


Steve R said:

anything above 2 for nitrites is potentially lethal to fish. like jonathan said do a big water change.  Ryan by aquarium, salt do you mean epsom salt? what kind of salt?

ah ok. Its calcium chloride, calcium sulfate, magnesium chloride, Magnesium sulfate(Epsom Salt), Potassium chloride, and sodium chloride. FYI i regularly use epsom salt to dose for magnesium in my systems. Its a good way to add sulfur and magnesium at the same time. Pure epsom salt is perfectly fine to use in AP as long as you don't go crazy with dosing. 

Yeah, I've used epsom salt. It does work great for treating magnesium deficiencies. It can be applied foliarly as well, I believe.

Steve R said:

ah ok. Its calcium chloride, calcium sulfate, magnesium chloride, Magnesium sulfate(Epsom Salt), Potassium chloride, and sodium chloride. FYI i regularly use epsom salt to dose for magnesium in my systems. Its a good way to add sulfur and magnesium at the same time. Pure epsom salt is perfectly fine to use in AP as long as you don't go crazy with dosing. 

Its a great foiliant. we are just finishing up lab testing here on weather the plants respond better to foliant application or by dosing the tank.

Alex Veidel said:

Yeah, I've used epsom salt. It does work great for treating magnesium deficiencies. It can be applied foliarly as well, I believe.

Steve R said:

ah ok. Its calcium chloride, calcium sulfate, magnesium chloride, Magnesium sulfate(Epsom Salt), Potassium chloride, and sodium chloride. FYI i regularly use epsom salt to dose for magnesium in my systems. Its a good way to add sulfur and magnesium at the same time. Pure epsom salt is perfectly fine to use in AP as long as you don't go crazy with dosing. 

Well these readings are driving me nuts.

After changing 60% of the water (well) cleaning out the swirl filter and refilling with fresh water, cleaning out the holding tank and refilling with fresh water.,,  I still get these readings at 7pm..

Temp  79 dgs

PH  7.6

Amm  ,25

NITRITE   5.0 +

Nitrate  80 ppm

What in the world is going on?  Doesn't make sense.

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Plants generally always respond quickest o foliar applications to correct deficiencies (this has been studied and researched quite a bit already all over the planet). So a good strategy is to correct the deficient plant essential element in your water column, while at the same time applying said deficient element foliarly as well...

Steve R said:

Its a great foiliant. we are just finishing up lab testing here on weather the plants respond better to foliant application or by dosing the tank.

Alex Veidel said:

Yeah, I've used epsom salt. It does work great for treating magnesium deficiencies. It can be applied foliarly as well, I believe.

Steve R said:

ah ok. Its calcium chloride, calcium sulfate, magnesium chloride, Magnesium sulfate(Epsom Salt), Potassium chloride, and sodium chloride. FYI i regularly use epsom salt to dose for magnesium in my systems. Its a good way to add sulfur and magnesium at the same time. Pure epsom salt is perfectly fine to use in AP as long as you don't go crazy with dosing. 

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