highnitrites

[jengraham]

I have a tank 8 weeks, ammonia zero, nitrites remain sky high. i have7 fish that seem well. How long before i can get more fish? I cannot get nitrites down even after water changes and chemicals.

 

[ajhainey]

How high is sky high? 2ppm? 5ppm? Any nitrate yet? Are you sure there no nitrite in your tap water? How about nitrate, any of that in your tap water? Have you tried adding filter sponge/gravel from an existing tank? Or a 'bacteria seeding' liquid like 'Cycle' or 'Stress Zyme'?

If you don't have any seeding material it takes a while for the nitrite->nitrate bacteria to appear. Even with seeding it took mine about 3 weeks to stabilise...The most helpful thiing to know is whether you have any tank nitrate at all yet...

HTH,

aj xx

 

[jengraham]

Thanks for your help. no nitrites or nitrates in tap water. tank water nitrites 4-5ppm, nitrates approx 100ppm.

 

[ajhainey]

ok - that may well be beyond me, its kinds wierd, calling expert folks! In the meantime let me see what I can think of...

To have nitrates of 100ppm you must have a fairly large bacteria colony so that rules out a tank that hasn't started cycling yet...And you say water changes aren't helping, but the tap water is clean

My first thought given the latter fact is are you sure your test kit is working? Other than that lets go back to basics...

What size is your tank? What fish are in it? How often do you do a water change? How much water do you change when you do this? Do you use a dechlorinator when you change the water? Have you recently washed out/changed the filter sponges? Did you wash them in tap water? What filter do you have? Do you have an ammonia reading in the tank? Have you recently messed up/changed the gravel in your tank? I just noticed you said 'even with chemicals' - which ones did you try?

My second theory (hence all the questions) is that the tank is seriously overloaded for this point in its cycle and/or you aren't changing enough water to keep on top of things...but those figures are very, very high...I'm suprised you aren't seeing side effects...

Sorry for the endless list of questions - its complicated to diagnose at a distance To answer your original question btw I wouldn't advise adding any fish till you see a 0 nitrite reading at least 3 or 4 days in a row...

For now, given you say the tap water is ok, I would start doing some serious water changes (2 times 25-30% a day, for example) and see if the numbers start to come down...

HTH

aj xx

 

[sinistral]

What kind of fish do you have in the tank? What size is the tank? How frequently are you doing water changes, and what size are the water changes?

My second theory (hence all the questions) is that the tank is seriously overloaded for this point in its cycle and/or you aren't changing enough water to keep on top of things...but those figures are very, very high...I'm suprised you aren't seeing side effects...

I agree with this completely. For you not to experience a lowering of nitrites and nitrates despite water changes suggests not only a high bioload but also insufficient frequency and size of water changes. I'd second aj's recommendation about picking up on the water changes. Good luck~

 

[jengraham]

HI,THANKS FOR REPLYING, did a 50% water change last pm. Today nitrites are.5ppm, ammon0, nitrates10ppm. Do you think i should do water change daily? used Tetra Aquasafe in water change .Fish i have 3black widowtetra,4Guppies. Thanks again JEN.

 

[sinistral]

Hello Jen,

Glad to hear your parameters are much improved today. I'd continue testing on a daily basis and do water changes based on what your results are. Again, I'm curious how big the tank is. Is it a 10g?

 

[jengraham]

my tank is 15g I feel this hobby is taking over my life. By the way how do I get my location shown? jen.

 

[Liliano]

my tank is 15g I feel this hobby is taking over my life. By the way how do I get my location shown? jen.

You can access your location in the "My Controls" section
Edit profile or something like that

 

[ajhainey]

Once the cycle is finished its pretty simple to maintain the tank - its just the first few weeks that are a bit time consuming! Glad to hear parameters much improved

Just keep doing enough water changes to keep nititrites under 1-0.5ppm - not ideal but bearable as far as I know. When cycling I try and test everyday and water change only as needed. To give you some idea - apart from one horrible bit where I had to do two a day over one weekend, twice a week was generally enough.

Remember this is supposed to be fun!

aj xx

 

[sinistral]

15g is not a bad sized tank I hope you are pleased with the hobby taking over your life, as it is truly rewarding and really enriching on a number of different levels Aj's right; the cycle is the worst part of it (and if your fish get sick, that can be a bummer and time consuming too). You also might want to reply to the validation email that you should have gotten by now to validate your account.

Best of luck~

 

[jengraham]

Thank you all, hopeto hear from you again.

 

[jengraham]

hello,one month on and things seem to be coming together. so i have found out patience is the key. i have now happy fish,well they keep smiling, i envy them able to eat your children,and no social services intervention.

 

[sinistral]

Glad to hear things are working out!