Extremely HIGH NITRITE in tap water!!!

[Jriley]

Hi guys,

A while back I posted about an issue I had where all of a sudden I was having huge nitrite spikes in my tank which killed one of my fish. No matter what I did I couldn't seem to get the nitrite down until I used Seachem Stability and STOPPED doing water changes. This is when I thought to test the tap water. Our tap water at this apartment is currently coming out, literally off the charts. It's darker purple than the darkest reading. Over 5.0. This can't be safe or legal right? Has anyone dealt with a situation like this before? I'm trying to figure out what to do about this but I'm having a hard time finding information online. Bottom line is, it's not even safe for us to consume from what I've read. On top of that, no amount of water conditioner can keep my nitrites below 2.0 when they are coming out of the tap so high. I live in a tiny apartment and have a 60 gallon so keeping several jugs isn't realistic for me. Any advice on how to address this with the city and how to provide new water for water changes? Thanks guys.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; I bought some RO water from a fish shop once. Only practical if the shop is close and you have a truck and the funds.

You likely should stop drinking and cooking with the water. Get to the state EPA office maybe?

 

[Jriley]

Hello my friend. Like I said in the original post, I don't have space to keep several hugs to be used for RO water. I literally have no space left at all in the apartment. I was considering buying the 5 gallon jugs at Walmart 3 at a time and using that during water changes and then just tossing them. But that sure is a lot of jugs to throw away every week. What a hassle.

I fortunately do not drink tap water and never have. Can't say the same about cooking though. Pretty disturbed by that because my son is due to arrive in a couple of months and these levels are fatal to infants. I was thinking calling the state EPA office as well. Just never had to do anything like this before I'm not even sure who to talk to.

 

[Drstrangelove]

Any advice on how to address this with the city....

Contact the water supplier and ask them what readings they have for nitrite. My guess is that it will be far below what you have.

Then take a sample of water in an unused tube or container to the LFS and ask them to test it. The EPA approved level is 1 (not 5) ppm, so if the LFS tells you they agree that it's 5 ppm, then call the water company and have them test your water.

I suspect that the LFS will not agree it's that high, but that's a guess.

 

[duanes]

Nitrate levels of up to three parts per million in well water may be naturally occurring or possibly indicate some low level of contamination, but are considered to be safe for consumption. EPA has set a maximum contaminant level of 10 ppm for nitrate(NO3-N) for drinking water.Aug 26, 2015
Nitrate in Drinking Water - Department of Environmental Quality
www.deq.state.or.us/wq/pubs/factsheets/groundwater/nitratedw.pdf

It may be that your building has a cross contamination point.
When I worked for a water supplier we would go out and test residences, because the water we sent out never had more the 2ppm (average less),
Unless the new administration has suspended water quality laws?

 

[Grinch]

Do you know where your municipality is getting their water? High nitrite (and nitrate) values are more likely to occur in certain types of water bodies in the spring. If your water supply is coming from one of these sources (e.g. a lake or reservoir) the levels in your tap water should come down soon.

 

[Yoimbrian]

Not sure what to say about your family, but for the tank is there a way to cycle it through your bio filter to at least convert it to nitrate? I don't know what type of filter you have, but if you flow the water through your filter slowly before it goes into your tank, it could be enough to avoid using chemicals.

 

[Jriley]

Contact the water supplier and ask them what readings they have for nitrite. My guess is that it will be far below what you have.

Then take a sample of water in an unused tube or container to the LFS and ask them to test it. The EPA approved level is 1 (not 5) ppm, so if the LFS tells you they agree that it's 5 ppm, then call the water company and have them test your water.

I suspect that the LFS will not agree it's that high, but that's a guess.

It has been tested by me and the store using API Master kit and I can assure you it is 5.0 or more. Dark freaking purple is not that hard to recognize lol.

 

[Jriley]

Nitrate levels of up to three parts per million in well water may be naturally occurring or possibly indicate some low level of contamination, but are considered to be safe for consumption. EPA has set a maximum contaminant level of 10 ppm for nitrate(NO3-N) for drinking water.Aug 26, 2015
Nitrate in Drinking Water - Department of Environmental Quality
www.deq.state.or.us/wq/pubs/factsheets/groundwater/nitratedw.pdf

It may be that your building has a cross contamination point.
When I worked for a water supplier we would go out and test residences, because the water we sent out never had more the 2ppm (average less),
Unless the new administration has suspended water quality laws?

I don't have nitrate issues in my water I have nitrite issues. At least 5x times the legal limit safe for consumption coming out of the tap. However, I'm taking from this contacting the supplier might help.

 

[Jriley]

Do you know where your municipality is getting their water? High nitrite (and nitrate) values are more likely to occur in certain types of water bodies in the spring. If your water supply is coming from one of these sources (e.g. a lake or reservoir) the levels in your tap water should come down soon.

That's an interesting point. I have no idea where the water comes from. I suppose I'm going to have to ask the apartment complex who to contact.