Wild nitrite problem!

[Aaron]

Nitrite is through the roof! 65 Gallon tank, about 74-76*F, just added some plants about 2 weeks ago, not overstocked (not even close)

Crazy amounts of brown algae as well ....

I use aquarium salt, how do I fix this quickly!?

[edmguy]

well brown algae id kill the lights for a few days put a few extra plecos in there....nitrite id do a 40 % water change and wait a bit and check again. the "good bacteria" that breaks this stuff down might not be at full potentinal.....i suppose we need to know what kinda filtration and how long has it been running?

[Aaron]

It runs on an aqua clear filter, designed for 70 gallons (mines 65) and its been running for quite a while, 3 months ish

[Nandopsis]

In my opinion if a filter states it is good for a 75g then cut it in half.

So i would definately get another filter.

What have you been feeding your fish and how much. It might be a simple case of over feeding.

[midgetwaiter]

You added either a liquid fertilizer or root tabs of some kind right?

That's what did it.

[Ichthyosporidium]

How long have you had this tank running for?

[Aaron]

Added a liquid fertilizer ... thats what - raised the nitrite, or started the brown algae or both?

PS - With this filter, it tends to keep crystal clear, of course, this says nothing about the nitrite level, but it smells and looks clear all the time.

[Ichthyosporidium]

Is there any dead or dying leaves? or as Nandopsis said, What is your feeding schedule?

[Aaron]

There do not appear to be any dead or dying leaves, I feed once - twice a day, and there isn't anything left over on the bottom, I actully think sometimes I may be underfeeding,.

[Ichthyosporidium]

Most likely then it is the ferts you added, as Midgetwaiter said.

[Aaron]

So if I do a 20% water change every day for the next few days, will this help to quell the problem

[Ichthyosporidium]

Do a 20% water change and test in the morning, if it is still high, then change anither 20 to 25%, depending on results

[Aaron]

Alright, thanks very much for the information & help!

[jvision]

What kind of ferts are you using? I don't know of any aquarium ferts that use nitrite. If you've got something that's normally used for terrestrials, it could have ammonia (which converts to nitrite when oxidized).

What do you use to dechlorinate your water? If you use Prime, then do a 50%+ WC... oh wait - does Cgy use chloramine to treat the water? If not, do a big WC using whatever method you use to dechlorinate.

What kind of plants do you have? Floating? Stem? If not, get some of those (I'll send some floaters w. the shrimp) - they'll help w. the nitrites.

Brown algae? Spots/slime layer, or hair? If it's spots/slime, it's likely diatoms. What's your lighting schedule? How new are your bulbs? You may need to increase your lighting a bit (10-12 hrs/day is ideal for planted tanks), and make sure your T12 bulbs are newer than 6 months or your T8 bulbs newer than a year.

If it's a brown hair algae, then your ferts are out of whack. Are you adding CO2? If you want this to be a planted tank, it should be something to consider. If you're already adding CO2, add a bit more. If you're using DIY (or pressurized for that matter), bubble it into the intake of a powerhead that is turned off when your lights go out - that way, you don't add CO2 when it's not needed, and won't have pH problems or fish gasping.

HTH

[Aaron]

I use prime, so I'll do a big water change.

Lighting is on a timer, 12 hours a day, and unfortunately, I dont think it's bright enough, which sucks cause I just spent $80 on these new bulbs! 2 X 6700 K each, 320 LUX a piece, on a 65 gallon tank, which by popular consensus on this forum is too little.

May have to upgrade to brighter bulbs asap, but not sure where to get anything any brighrter (and the size i use is 42" not 48"

I've been adding a little C02 with the homemade system, right into the power filter, which i cannot see is making a difference, adds about 2 - 4 bubbles a second, for a 65 gallon tank, too much, too little?