Another Cycling Question

[Sheila]

I have had a lot of problems with my tank and it's been about 6 weeks now since I set it up....catastrophe with too many fish at first...but got that under control and did the frequent water changes....now every time I add a few fish, my ammonia goes up. Last Saturday, my ammonia and nitrites were at zero. I added 3 fish and the next day, my ammonia level was up to 1.0 and I had 0.3 nitrites. I did a few 25%water changes this past week...none since tuesday now. My ammonia is now at zero, but my nitrites have gone up a bit each day....they're maybe 1.0 this morning. Is this good? And how long does the nitrite spike last? It's been 5 days now with high nitrites. I bought a master test kit, but found it doesn't have the nitrate test in it, so don't have that information until I go out to get another kit. Should I do another 25% water change today since my nitrites are at 1.0? My fish look great and don't seem to be in any distress. When will it be safe to add a few more fish?

 

[tstenback]

Not sure if you had fish in the tank for the six weeks or if you had a period where there were no fish? If you had no fish for awhile but the tank was still running then most of the bacteria colony probably died off as ammonia needs to be supplied daily to keep the colony alive.
Your tank is cycling normally and it will do so with each new group of fish that you add(called a mini cycle). The niTRITE spike can last quite a while, usually about double the ammonia spike. Yes the nitrites climbing is good and they will reach a peak and then almost overnight drop to 0. During this time the niTRATES will start to rise and then you are cycled when ammonia 0, niTRITES 0 and niTRATES rising. A weekly water change will keep the niTRATES in check.
I wouldnt be too worried about the nitrite levels if the fish seem like they are doing fine. just do a 15% water change every other day or even twice a week if they dont rise too quickly. The fewer changes you do the quicker the cycle will complete so watch your levels and your fish carefully.
Dont add any more fish until the cycle has completed and then wait at least another week or two because there will most likely be another minicycle for your fish to go through and they will need time to recover from this one.
Good luck and be patient

 

[Erika_4404]

Question when you buy a new fish and you let him acclimate to the water in the tank you don't put the water in the bag from the pet store in to you tank... if you are doing that, that could be why every time you put a new fish in you levels go up or change

 

[Sheila]

I was one of those new fish owners sold an aquarium, told to run it for 3 days and come back on friday for fish. They sold me 32 fish in one day. Needless to say, I had horrible ammonia and nitrites the first two weeks or so and 27 fish died. Once my ammonia and nitrites were at zero, I have been adding about 3 fish a week. Last week, I only had an ammonia spike for a couple days, and did 2 partial water changes. This time it's like I mentioned with the ammonia and the nitrites. I never add the water from the lfs into my tank. My fish seem healthy and happy, so will let it go for a while with the nitrites and check it daily. Is there a cut off point when you SHOULD do a water change for nitrites. My ammonia is zero now and my nitrites are 1.0. Thanks all.
Sheila

 

[tstenback]

Sheila
the big indicator right now is the fish themselves watch them closely if they get very red around the gills do a 20% water change as soon as you can. Also if they get lazy same thing in other words if they are not doing fishy things or dont look quite right do the water change. If you are nervous about it do a 10% change each day. The cycle will take slightly longer but the nitrites will not affect the fish either. I have had fish endure with no noticeable signs nitrite levels of over 4. Remember to start testing for nitrates as well as soon as you get your kit. You will be completely cycled when you have 0 ammonia, 0 niTRITES and a positive reading for nitrates.

Good Luck and relax everythng seems to be going fine this time and if you have any other questions there is loads of support on this site.