nitrites way high...dont know why

hi my nitrites are really high and i cant seem to lower them iv been doing water changes like crazy..iv tried chemicals,less feeding and im not overcrowded...plenty of lr and big sump,full of lr rubble and bioballs...and a few mangroves...my tests read as followd ammonia 0ppm,nitrate 0ppm,calcium410,ph 8.4-8.6....i dont have live sand i have crushed coral sub...but i an changing it to sand soon..iv also been cleaning anyfood that has not been eaten so please if u have had this problem b4 or know any tricks or advice please help.... p.s.how should i go about changing my ccs for live sand....thanks

 

have you checked your test kit? it may be expired. it is uncommon to have night nitrites and still have things stay alive

 

hey John

maybe Im reading this wrong and missing it
what is your current nitrite level?

if I where changing from CC to sand (non live save) I would treat it like a tank changeover

1- I would have enough buckets , tubs , toy boxes etc, to hold most of my water and my live stock including rockwork
2 - I would make up about 10% of my tank volume in new water
3 - I would start emptying the tank carefully into the tubs and as the water level gets high enough there and thus lower in the tank - start moving my livestock
4 -I would syphon down to last inch or so of water
5 - I would discard the last inch or so of water and the CC - plus give the tank a rinse using a jug or 2 of old tank water from the holding tubs
6 - I would then start adding water back, plus rocks ( Meant to say, put the live creatures in 1 tub and the live rock in a different one as this makes replacing easier)
7 - when I had got the base level of rock in place, I would then add my new sand
8 - continue filling up and adding rock work - and as the level rises, start replacing the lower corals
9 - use the new water you made earlier to top of the tank ( this compensates for the last inch or so of water you threw away so as to not disturb the CC to much)
10 - order a Pizza and a couple of Sol or Corona to wash it down with

Thats what I would do, if I was going to do this

Steve

 

How long has this tank been set up, once it has gone through the initial cycle (usually takes around 6-8 weeks) nitrite shouldn't be a problem unless your nitrifying bacteria crash, although I've not heard this happening before (doesn't mean that it couldn't). If you have live rock in your tank, your sand will become 'live' with bacteria quite quickly. Personally I wouldn't change the sand.

As mentioned have you checked the expiry of your test kit, unless it is a new tank nitrite shouldn't be a problem. I would take a sample to your LFS to get it checked.

Phil

 

the tank is over a year old,and i dont see a exp.date on my test kit so it could be exp...and in vert phil were u saying i should keep my cc....cuz i want to switch to sand?and thanks steve for the check list..

 

I was suggesting that if it was my tank I would keep the cc sand, I just don't see the point of changing sand in your system that is already live for new live sand. This is a major change in an established tank and can cause problems. What is your reasoning for changing the sand?

 

Have you mis-spelled? Are you saying your NitrITES are high not NitrATES?

 

do you have API test kits? if you do, the exp date is on the bottle at the end of the numbers. the date you will see is when it was made. nitrite is generally good for 2-3 years but i be safe with 2.

 

yes its an api test kit,its about 1 1/2 yrs old..and yes its my NitrATES that r high not nitrites...and the reason i was going to switch my cc is that it is in big peices and my lfs said smaller grain live sand would be better...

 

John, you there?