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Fishkeeping GURU
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It seems strange then that you are still showing nitrite readings. Definitely test your source water to make sure that does not have nitrite. Also, what kind of filter do you have, and what sort of maintenance do you do on it? It could be just a spike from adding the new fish, but I'd like to rule out other things before assuming that.
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| Wonder why the PJ Cardinalfish wasn't affected? Tanks been up and running for 5 months, it should have long since cycled. With the nitrites being high but not the ammonia or nitrates, makes me wonder what the cause is. You may want to reevaluate what/how much your feeding. Water changes are a must, but if the bacteria levels are where they should be in a cycled tank, you shouldn't need to do more than 20% once monthly. Your 1.5 liters twice a week (4/5 of a gallon per week or 3 1/5 per month) should be sufficient. If more changes are needed, then there's definitely some other problem. Do you employ a protein skimmer? Do you clean it every 3-4 days? There's also the possibility that the nitrite test isn't reading accurately. Try the test again or even purchase another brand of test and see if the two agree on the results. Hobby grade tests can be highly inaccurate. Just seems unlikely that only the nitrites would be out of whack!
So many species, so little money!
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New Member
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| I tested the water again today and I got some different results. Theres 2 ppm of Ammonia and 0.5 ppm of nitrite The lasts tests I did were a while ago so I think thats why it didn't seem right. I have a power filter that came with the tank and I clean the tank twice a week. I think it is my source of water, which is tap water, that is giving me those levels. I will start using distilled water to mix my saltwater to lower those levels.
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Fishkeeping GURU
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Distilled water (or RO...you can get your own small unit for your home so you don't have to buy bottled water) is a better choice than tap, but it may not be the tap giving you those numbers. Test the tap water after letting it sit in a container overnight, and post those numbers. If it isn't the source water, something is very wrong in the tank. That level of ammonia is highly toxic, especially to saltwater fish and inverts...honestly I am very surprised that anything is alive right now in that tank.
You probably should have your test results verified by a pet store though, to make sure there isn't something wrong with your kits
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| I just recently tested the tap water and the results came out to be the same as the water in the tank.
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Fishkeeping GURU
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Well, in that case, looks like it is RO or distiled water only for you now (assuming your test kits are right...have the numbers double checked at the lfs). I'd pick up an RO unit for your home personally (I wouldn't want to drink or cook with water with those levels of ammonia and nitrite in them either).
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| Also check with the fish store. They may sell you RO-DI water cheaper than you can buy distilled at the grocery store, at least until you can get your own unit. Be aware that RO units at best use about 4 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of clean water, some are as bad as 10 to 1. If water usage is a concern for you (running off a well, water bill, etc) buying your water may be a better option. I'd think about getting rid of that power filter and replacing it with a small hang-on skimmer too. The sponges/filter media in power filters don't actually remove anything from the water, they just catch and hold it until it's cleaned. In the mean time it's a substantial source of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Most books on reef systems will recommend cleaning this type of filter daily or not using it at all. A skimmer removes protein based pollutants from the water column completely. Still needs cleaning to remain efficient, but doesn't continue to pollute the water in the interim. Just for GP thought I'd throw in that smaller tanks are actually more difficult to keep than larger ones. Water parameters shift much more quickly making it that much more important to be aware of everything that goes into the tank. Ya got lots of info here, hope it helps to solve your problem. 
So many species, so little money!
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Fishkeeping GURU
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I'll second the skimmer suggestion, as well as the suggestion to remove the filter if you have plenty of live rock and powerheads for water movement. You can leave the filter itself on, but remove all the media inside it so it is basically just for water movement. You can also add some carbon to it occasionally to polish the water and get out any yellowing compounds, or put in some floss short term just to remove particulate matter when needed.
For a skimmer, my recommendation is an Aqua-C Remora. I have the Remora Pro (for bigger tanks), and I love it. It's easy to use, plug and play, and collects some nice skimmate for a HOB skimmer. Or, if you have a sump/refugium/etc you can find many good in-sump skimmers.
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