nitrate and nitrite up

[Briarmoor]

My 10 gallon community tank is 2+ weeks old. I have been testing the water daily with the jungle labs Quick Dip test strips which say they are medical and scientific quality accurate. Who knows. Anyway, I did check one in new water I was aging and they didn't show any nitrite or nitrate.

However, in the 10 gallon I am getting levels of almost 40 for nitrates and levels of almost 3 for nitrites, both worry me, the latter more. This is after a 10% water change yesterday when the levels were approaching the same. So do I keep changing water every day to keep the levels down until the bacteria get built up enough to cope? I try to set the water out for a day or 2, plus put the correct amount of Start Right drops (to eliminate chlorine and chloramine, neutralize harmful metal, and add electrolytes the bottle says), plus Stress Zyme (supposedly speeds development of biological filter). I also make sure the water is room temp and add it back slowly so the temp of the tank doesn't fall.

I am concerned the NO3 and NO2 is high, but also concerned that the frequent changes are not good for the fish either. What else, if anything, can I do to keep the fish healthy while we get through this cycling thing?

So far, everyone is eating well and looks good. No more Ich. The plant is doing good too and growing stems with new buds on them. I am also seeing algea on a rock or 2 and noticed that the otto and corys are not interested in that type of algea. I saw one check it out and not clean it.

Okay, any ideas are appreciated. I have 1 gold gourami (2 inches right now), 3 corys (little), 1 otto (little), and 5 neons (grew some in 2 weeks). I have to cycle a 55 gallon to move the gourami into, but it is not ready.

Pam in TN

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Your tank is just still cycling, the best thing you can do is water changes, i would do a 40-50% water change right now as you realy don't want the nitrites to exceed 1 at best- nitrates don't matter too much and most fish can tolerate them fine in levels up to 60 but you should still keep an eye on them as they indicate to you how far you are through your cycle.
Basically just keep doing those water changes on a regular basis to help keep those nitrites down

 

[Briarmoor]

Your tank is just still cycling, the best thing you can do is water changes, i would do a 40-50% water change right now as you realy don't want the nitrites to exceed 1 at best- nitrates don't matter too much and most fish can tolerate them fine in levels up to 60 but you should still keep an eye on them as they indicate to you how far you are through your cycle.
Basically just keep doing those water changes on a regular basis to help keep those nitrites down

Thanks for the advice. I will change out half the water today. I had an issue with the neons and the LFS guy (this is the premier fish place in this area and they seem to know a lot) said the high pH could be what killed some of them. Since I use tap water and it has higher pH here, was upwards of 7.8 in the beginning, but now after a few changes, tank is around 7.2, should I consider with a big change using something besides tap water to avoid shocking the neons? I used pH decreaser and everyone said stop it (basically) , so I don't want to do that again since everyone here says it's not good to mess with it. I read a little about RO water and distilled but that distilled didn't have good minerals in it anymore.

I don't want more neons to die and they are looking very good right now, the best they have yet. Lots of color to them, no Ich now, and eating like little pigs (what the gourami doesn't nab off the surface). Can't wait to get her piggish self out of there so they can eat without competing with her. I feed little bits at a time over 5 minutes and she thinks it is all for her.

Pam in TN
10 gallon - 1 young Gold gourami, 5 neons, 3 little corys, 1 otto (all been through hell with new tank owner)

55 gallon - not cycled, nothing in it yet, but new home to "Salami Gourami" soon

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yeah the neons most likely died through the cycling process itself, they are quite fragile fish and tend to die alot when theres ammonia or nitrites, the ph will also most likely settle down to a stable number on its own once the tank stats become more stable at the end of the cycle .
I agree with moving the gourami to the larger tank, the only other thing i'd advise is you should feed your corys catfish pelets to supliment their diet and the oto alage wafers to also supliment its diet.
Are you using dechlorinator in the tap water before you add it to the tank? Normal tap water is fine as long as you dechlorinate it properly before adding it to the tank

 

[paulthegreat]

Tetra easy balance will take care of the tap water. A piece of root wood will help to keep th pH down. I do a 40% water change with a gravel vac once a week to keep the nitrates down and get rid of poo and excess food. The nitrites should disappear when the tank is cycled, Tetra bactozym tabs will help to build the benificial bacteria almost at once if you can get them, they are availble here but it seems not everywhere.

 

[rdd1952]

The higher pH is probably due to the cycling process. Ammonia will tend to push the pH up some. As long as it's steady and stable, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Most fish can adapt to almost any pH as long as it is stable. They struggle with fluctuations and swings.

 

[Briarmoor]

Okay, I went by the LFS and one of the guys there didn't seem all worried about the levels (too bad, I am anyway). He said do not more than a gallon or 2 out of the tank. I am thinking I can't get the levels down that way. I don't care if the cycle time is lengthened, but I don't want to kill the fish if possible. Nitrites were at 40 and nitrates between 3 and 5, not good at all. But the fish seemed okay although they could be sustaining damage I realized.

I did the 50% change anyway when I got home. I added a new dechlorinator to the add in water that is also supposed to detoxify nitrite and nitrate to non toxic substances that can be removed, something called Prime. The tank dropped a degree or 2 even though I added the new water back slowly over a few hours. I noticed several hours later that the fish are not looking as good, the neons are paler and the gourami keeps moving its mouth at the surface. But then it scours around for food. No fast swimming or other weird behavior. Did see it bump into a few things. Egads, I've blinded the poor thing. The aerator is going as is the filter. The corys are just running around eating stuff and the otto is cleaning like all is normal. What is going on? I just know I will kill these fish yet, even though I am trying to help them.

Pam in TN and the fish in hell with a new tank owner

 

[Briarmoor]

Oh, just to add. The dechlorinator I used in the beginning is called Start Right and the fish had no problem with it at all. I also used Stress Zyme and they didn't get bothered with that either. Then I buy this $8 death in a bottle. I should have just left the 2 N's alone and seen what would happen. Or just did the water change without the Prime. Hindsight is 20/20. Dogs are definitely easier than fish.

Pam in TN

 

[Valyrian]

You said your fish died after using a water conditioner called Prime by Seachem? If so, then that must be what killed my goldfish

 

[Briarmoor]

You said your fish died after using a water conditioner called Prime by Seachem? If so, then that must be what killed my goldfish

No, my fish didn't die, but got in a bad way after using the Prime. I can't say for sure it was the Prime, maybe they were just stressed by a 50% water change? Maybe the couple of degrees change in tank temp did it? I don't know. But I am sticking to the Start Right for now until I know more and get this tank cycled. Too many variables to juggle. I just want to keep my nitrates managable for now.

Pam in TN