Nitrite Headache!

[KENYA]

HELP PLEASE.MY NITRITE LEVELS IN MY TANK ARE 2.0,THEY DID JUMP SKY HIGH BUT ARE GRADUALLY DROPPING,HAVE GOT FISH IN THE TANK THAT HAS BEEN SET UP FOR 4 WEEKS.DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW I CAN QUICKLY REDUCE THESE LEVELS FURTHUR?

 

[WILDER]

Need more info on size of tank in gallons for litres.
How many fish and which type.

 

[KENYA]

Need more info on size of tank in gallons for litres.
How many fish and which type.

60 LITRE TANK,7 NEONS,5 LAMPEYES,PLECO

 

[WILDER]

Thats fine, what type of pleco is it as some grow massive, plecs are massive waste producers.
Is it possible to look at nitrite and nitrate reading.

 

[KENYA]

Thats fine, what type of pleco is it as some grow massive, plecs are massive waste producers.
Is it possible to look at nitrite and nitrate reading.

PLECO IS ONLY SMALL,AND AS HE GROWS AM LOOKING TO UPGRADE TO BIGGER TANK.AMMONIA LEVEL IS 0 NITRITE LEVELS ARE NOW 2.0,HAVEN'T TESTED NITRATE LEVEL THOUGH.THANKS FOR REPLYING TO POST.

 

[rdd1952]

The quickest way to reduce ammonia and nitrite in a cycling tank is with water changes. Just do 15 to 25 percent water changes once or twice a day until you get the nitrite back under .5 and continue to do at least 1 a day to try to get it under (and keep it under) .25 until it finishes cycling. How long has it been since you saw an ammonia reading?

 

[GoldLenny]

You are in the middle of the nitrogen cycle. Do a series of four 25% PWC's (partial water changes), one PWC every two hours, to get the nitrites down below 0.5ppm. Fish acclimate to bad water as it gets bad so they have to be slowly acclimated back to good water.

Add 1/10 teaspoon of salt AFTER doing the series of PWC's. This won't keep the nitrites down but it will keep the fish from being poisoned by the nitrites in the water. Continue doing daily testing and do 25% PWC's whenever the nitrites get over 0.5ppm. Whenever you do a 25% PWC, you have to add a very small pinch (1/40th of a teaspoon) of salt to replace the salt you removed with the PWC.

 

[KENYA]

Thats fine, what type of pleco is it as some grow massive, plecs are massive waste producers.
Is it possible to look at nitrite and nitrate reading.

PLECO IS ONLY SMALL,AND AS HE GROWS AM LOOKING TO UPGRADE TO BIGGER TANK.AMMONIA LEVEL IS 0 NITRITE LEVELS ARE NOW 2.0,HAVEN'T TESTED NITRATE LEVEL THOUGH.THANKS FOR REPLYING TO POST.

i have only recently starting testing the water and the ammonia level has been 0 every time its the nitrite level i hav een having probs with,first time i tested for nitrite it was 2.0 then it shot up within 3 days to 5.0 now its gradually dropng and is back at 2.0 just really want to get it to 0 so i can add more fish.

 

[martyn21uk]

Just be patient, its worth the wait.
Well done for finding the caps lock button by the way!

 

[KENYA]

Just be patient, its worth the wait.
Well done for finding the caps lock button by the way!

sorry about the caps lol,have done a 25% water change today levels of nitrite still reading 2.0,ammonia 0.fish seem to be fine.my coldwater tank is reading 0 for nitrite and 0.25 for ammonia.grrrrrrrr

 

[KENYA]

Just be patient, its worth the wait.
Well done for finding the caps lock button by the way!

sorry about the caps lol,have done a 25% water change today levels of nitrite still reading 2.0,ammonia 0.fish seem to be fine.my coldwater tank is reading 0 for nitrite and 0.25 for ammonia.grrrrrrrr

just an update,have been doing 25% water changes and the nitrite level is going down,thanks to all for advice.Kenya.xxxxxxxxxx

 

[Miss Wiggle]

sounds like none of your tanks are cycled properly, have a read of this which will explain it all to you and tell you what to do.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=175355

 

[KENYA]

sounds like none of your tanks are cycled properly, have a read of this which will explain it all to you and tell you what to do.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=175355

thanks for the advice.my daughters coldwater tank i mentioned in other posting has three fish in it.the nitrite level in my tropical tank is coming down,is that still not right?thanks for the link most appreciated,your marine tank looks great btw.i wouldnt know where to start with one of those!lol thanks again

 

[Miss Wiggle]

coming down is better than going up, but any reading for ammonia or nitrite that isn't 0 is a danger to your fish so you need to do daily water changes until they both are consistently at 0.

thanks, start saving now then if you want a marine tank. they're not as hard work as people make out providing you set them up correctly in the first place, and this means not cutting any corners and being prepared to splash the cash a bit! It's very rewarding though and I love my marine tank best of all!

 

[KENYA]

coming down is better than going up, but any reading for ammonia or nitrite that isn't 0 is a danger to your fish so you need to do daily water changes until they both are consistently at 0.

thanks, start saving now then if you want a marine tank. they're not as hard work as people make out providing you set them up correctly in the first place, and this means not cutting any corners and being prepared to splash the cash a bit! It's very rewarding though and I love my marine tank best of all!

just a quickie,my mate has an established tank i see about mature filter media being transfered into my filter,would that be a section of the filter sponge/