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Why the heck is there Nitrite in my tap water?


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Hey guys,

so originally I was going to post about how I should go about increasing my tank water PH to be right around 7-7.5 as I feel like it’s currently fairly low. The PH out of the tap is low and I’ve added about 1 pound of crushed coral to the tank. That seemed to increase my GH but the PH and KH are still low. 

BUT, what the heck is going on with my tap water? I attached a pic of co-op test strips (one from my tank and one from the tap to show comparison) and it’s showing that there’s roughly .5ppm of nitrite and a small amount of nitrate in the tap water. I’ve seen nitrates in tap water before but never nitrite..

the fish seem fine but this tank (30 gal) houses a pair of convicts which are tough as nails to begin with but I want to be sure they’re thriving as much as possible. I do 30% WC & gravel vac every Friday but my PH and KH always have been low, and seeing nitrite readings from the tap is freaking me out! Thoughts? Should I just leave my ph and Kh alone? What should I do about the nitrite reading from the tap? My nitrite and nitrate readings from the tank are always fine (I have a ton of pothos growing out of the tank that suck up nitrates like crazy) but I feel weird now adding “clean water” from the tap that apparently has nitrite in it.. 

C8E5220D-12DC-4C56-A4B7-E7F01C880609.jpeg

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Yupppp. I have nitrites in my tap water, too. It comes from a well, and with neighbors fertilizing grass and a horse farm nearby, it happens. 

It took my tank longer to cycle than it normally might, but eventually my bacteria was able to keep up with it after adding a second filter and some media inside the tank itself. First thing I did was freak out and buy 20 gallons of spring water, but now I just use tap for changes and it's fine.

If your aquarium water is nitrite free then you're good, I think!

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On 7/10/2022 at 2:17 PM, DarthMollusk said:

Yupppp. I have nitrites in my tap water, too. It comes from a well, and with neighbors fertilizing grass and a horse farm nearby, it happens. 

It took my tank longer to cycle than it normally might, but eventually my bacteria was able to keep up with it after adding a second filter and some media inside the tank itself. First thing I did was freak out and buy 20 gallons of spring water, but now I just use tap for changes and it's fine.

If your aquarium water is nitrite free then you're good, I think!

Okay phew! Yeah my beneficial bacteria seem to be able to handle it fine since my tank reading for nitrite is 0. I was just shocked to see a readable nitrite reading from the tap as I’ve never come across that before but looks like I’m not the only one! Luckily it isn’t a super high reading but I panicked because I know how dangerous nitrites are to fish. I add prime to the tap water during water changes too. Now I know why this tank cycle took longer than any of the tanks I had where I used to live. 

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On 7/10/2022 at 2:27 PM, DarthMollusk said:

Happy to help! Wish I'd been on this forum when I was first dealing with it. Would've spared my back lugging those gallon jugs around 😆

Oh I bet 😂 well thanks a bunch I’m definitely not so freaked out by it now! The beneficial bacteria are working hard 💪🏻. Now I would still would like to get my Ph out of the 6’s and into the 7’s and bump up Kh a bit but maybe the crushed coral needs more time (although it’s been in there for about a month) 🤷‍♂️

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On 7/10/2022 at 2:37 PM, DarthMollusk said:

Where is the crushed coral? If you put some where there's water flow, that'll help it dissolve faster. I've got some of mine on the substrate as a more slow-acting buffer, and some more in a filter media bag in the HOB to kick start it. 

Ah ha! Mine is just mixed in the substrate but That’s a great idea I’m going to pick up some more and throw it in a mesh bag and stick it in the AC70 HOB I’m running on the tank 👌🏻 Great tip!! 

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On 7/10/2022 at 2:24 PM, Christhefishman said:

Okay phew! Yeah my beneficial bacteria seem to be able to handle it fine since my tank reading for nitrite is 0. I was just shocked to see a readable nitrite reading from the tap as I’ve never come across that before but looks like I’m not the only one! Luckily it isn’t a super high reading but I panicked because I know how dangerous nitrites are to fish. I add prime to the tap water during water changes too. Now I know why this tank cycle took longer than any of the tanks I had where I used to live. 

Yeah today I check my water it's weird because it's showing a light reading of the nitrates for mines as well. And I'm still doing a fish this cycle and I tested my tank and it's 0 nitrites still. 

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