Nitrite not decreasing!!

My tank has been cycling now for about 4 weeks. I used SuperBac to accelerate the process. My ammonia spike quit after about 3 days and then my nitrite spike occurred. it was about 5 ppm for 1.5 weeks and i was getting antsy so i talked to my lfs and they said not unusual wait it out. i waited another week and same story, they said wait a bit longer. it has been a week since then and the levels are still off the charts. because my other tank crashed, i had to add a yellow tail damsel, a snowflake eel, and an algae blenny. they have been in the tank for a week and they are doing fine which suprises me. nitrate is about 40 ppm and has been for a couple weeks. the tank is a 90 gallon. lights have been off for cycle. no skimmer running. only 2 in tank pumps that move the water like crazy. i already have my CUC order from reefcleaners on hold because im waiting for the levels to drop. i have been feeding the damsel sparingly and i hand feed my eel krill every other day. and ideas on whats going on? (karma to the person who doesnt say wait longer )

 

Well you could do a water change, it will probably most likely reset a portion of your cycle. I only suggest this because you have fish in the tank. I'd get them out ASAP. I have no idea why they'd be doing ok in 40ppm of nitrates

More rock generally = longer cycle. Its not uncommon to get a cycles up to 6-8 weeks.
However just m2c.
I know you might not want to hear it but, get the fish out and unfortunately wait... its sucks i know.

 

honestly, the fish are the least of my worries. i do have a lot of rock though, over 100 lbs of base rock

 

Have you had your LFS recheck your results? Its possible you have a bad test.

 

Nitrite are the second step in the build up of Denitrifying bacteria and they form a necessary part of the process known as denitrification as part of the nitrogen cycle, their primary purpose being to metabolise nitrogenous compounds i.e Ammonia into a more harmless gas nitrates... . Ten I myself I use a NO3 coil to rid my system of the nitrates as these are the last in the chain , I found out the hard way yrs ago what a DSB would and would not do in the efforts to controlling the NO3's in what was labled as NNR methoeds . And then when I went to dosing sugar carbons I again found the weak link and that methods breaking point. Rock and DSB will not do the job totally . And at just 4 weks the system has about 8 more to go to complete the cycle . Set back lower the amount of food add some air stones and work on maintaining water parametres like the Ca carbonates and magnesium.

 

A large water change is a sure fire way to bring down the nitrates in your tank but, understanding why you have elevated nitrates is very important. Keeping excess nutrients out of the aquarium water is one key element in reducing your NO3. As you may know, dirty bio media become a nitrate factory, most people don't use any additional bio media besides live rock in their tanks. There are many other things that can add excess nutrients into your tank like some commercial foods which may contain undesirable things like nitrates, phosphates etc and overfeeding the tank is also another factor. Using , RO/DI water, a high quality salt with no NO3, phosphates etc like Tropic Marin or similar good quality salt should really help too. You may also want to have your LFS retest your water to be sure that you are getting accurate results.

 

you could add bacteria culture like dr. tims or bio spira or find a local person with an denitrifing (sp) coil and ask thm for some of rheir bacteria

 

First, don't worry about the nitrates right now, that level while high shouldn't affect the livestock too much. Second, don't do a water change, you will only prolong the cycle process by taking away nitrites, you must wait longer for the bacteria that "consume" the nitrites to grow and multiply. My best guess as to why this is taking longer then usual is that you used the Superbac that allowed the bacteria that convert the ammonia to nitrite to multiply quickly but the nitrite bacteria were way behind and couldn't keep up with the sudden high concentration of the nitrite. You may not want to here it but you just need to wait. You have already been impatient by adding the livestock, and a large amount of livestock too. That has not helped with the problem. When you added them, the bioload jumped suddenly and created even more nitrite to deal with. Just let it go and take it's course or you will have a constant battle with this.

 

I agree with Guitarman, he gave you good information. Here is what to do; add more live bacteria. A combination of what you have now and get some "Cycle" or other brand and double the marine dose, wait 2 days and repeat the double dose. This will expedite the process.

 

The Bacteria that converts Nitrates into Nitrogen gas need to live in an anaerobic environment. This takes the longest amount of time in a new system.
Plus you have a lot of base rock that has to mature and build up the bacteria levels.
40ppm isn't all that bad for fish but you will be seeing algae taking advantage of that.

I would give it a few more weeks to see if the levels drop