NITRITE LEVEL DANGEROUS

[jolaf]

Hi everyone,

I have a 30 G tank three guppies in it now after treating for ick for a 10 day increment doing water changes every other day of about 25 -30 % my nitrites are off the chart. My nitrates are a litle pink which means with my test kit safe range. Hardness PH and Alkalinity are all normal. How can I get the nitrites down. I have had my tank for 2.5 months it has cycled once about 4 weeks in but is it doing that again? Helppppp

 

[Durbkat]

Vacum, vacum, vacum the tank and make sure you have plent of oxygen in it. Like if you have a power filter also put an air pump in it. Or better yet take the fish out into another tank with fish already in it (if you have one) Or take them out in to another tank with good water. And do something soon or they will all suffocate and die. Because when the nitrites are high they can't get enough oxygen through their gills. And if you can't get them out put an air pump in their and vacum clean the tank and feed the fish every other day with a very small amount once every other day.

 

[jolaf]

So if I unplug the pump while i vaccum it will take alot of water out. I think that i s why I am probably not vaccuming enough bad stuff because UI lose so much water. I havve oneof those pump five times and the water starts flowing out. Can you suggest another vaccum? Or is mine alright to take out more water say liek half of the tank then refill?

Vacum, vacum, vacum the tank and make sure you have plent of oxygen in it. Like if you have a power filter also put an air pump in it. Or better yet take the fish out into another tank with fish already in it (if you have one) Or take them out in to another tank with good water. And do something soon or they will all suffocate and die. Because when the nitrites are high they can't get enough oxygen through their gills. And if you can't get them out put an air pump in their and vacum clean the tank and feed the fish every other day with a very small amount once every other day.

[snapback]902507[/snapback]​

 

[jolaf]

Forgot I also have a huge airstone running the width of my 30 G tank. The filter seems to be doing fine the the fish dont look gaspy or anything yet.

So if I unplug the pump while i vaccum it will take alot of water out. I think that i s why I am probably not vaccuming enough bad stuff because UI lose so much water. I havve oneof those pump five times and the water starts flowing out. Can you suggest another vaccum? Or is mine alright to take out more water say liek half of the tank then refill?

Vacum, vacum, vacum the tank and make sure you have plent of oxygen in it. Like if you have a power filter also put an air pump in it. Or better yet take the fish out into another tank with fish already in it (if you have one) Or take them out in to another tank with good water. And do something soon or they will all suffocate and die. Because when the nitrites are high they can't get enough oxygen through their gills. And if you can't get them out put an air pump in their and vacum clean the tank and feed the fish every other day with a very small amount once every other day.

[snapback]902507[/snapback]​

[snapback]902509[/snapback]​

 

[rdd1952]

More than likely the medication killed off your bacteria colony. Some medications will.The only way to control the nitrite is to do water changes to keep it down. What exactly is the nitrite reading> Also, what is the ammonia reading? I would suggest 25 to 30 percent water chagnes daily or even twice daily to get the nitrite down to .5 or lower. As you know, ammonia and nitrite should both be 0 but for now, concentrate on keeping them under .5 till the tank cycles again.

It sounds like you are fine with the airstone you have running. As long as the fish aren't gasping and staying at the top, they have plenty of oxygen. If you can find it (you can order it here), you might want to get some Bio-Spira. I haven't used it myself but from what I have read, it works and will basically cycle your tank instantly. It is a product that is useless though unless it has been constantly refrigerated. I wouldn't waste my money on products like Cycle or Prime though. They are pretty much useless from what I have read. I even tried Cycle and couldn't tell that it did any good at all. Good luck.

 

[jolaf]

My ammonia is about 20 between white and very light pink. My nitrite level is at 10.0 very dark pink for those of us who use a dip stick. My hardness is between hard and soft, my alkalinity is ideal at 125, and my ph is around 7.2. I jsut did a 40 % water change after doing one this morning of about 25% I will take a reading in the morning. I do feel that the water change is the answer. I took out the plastic plants while I vacuumed the heck out of the tank It is looking better already and should be at least clear by tomorrow. Hopefull that will work. Thank yopu for all of your timely advice I really needed that reassurance and also the advice of a better vacuuming process. I am checking out a new one tomorrow so I dont have to do such large water changes when vacumuming Thanks again I will post in a day or two

More than likely the medication killed off your bacteria colony. Some medications will.The only way to control the nitrite is to do water changes to keep it down. What exactly is the nitrite reading> Also, what is the ammonia reading? I would suggest 25 to 30 percent water chagnes daily or even twice daily to get the nitrite down to .5 or lower. As you know, ammonia and nitrite should both be 0 but for now, concentrate on keeping them under .5 till the tank cycles again.

It sounds like you are fine with the airstone you have running. As long as the fish aren't gasping and staying at the top, they have plenty of oxygen. If you can find it (you can order it here), you might want to get some Bio-Spira. I haven't used it myself but from what I have read, it works and will basically cycle your tank instantly. It is a product that is useless though unless it has been constantly refrigerated. I wouldn't waste my money on products like Cycle or Prime though. They are pretty much useless from what I have read. I even tried Cycle and couldn't tell that it did any good at all. Good luck.

[snapback]902527[/snapback]​

 

[Durbkat]

Well you could ask your lps to show you the right size vacum cleaner for your size tank. And I find the ones where you submerge the whole thing in water then stick the small end of the hose in the bucket a good one to use.

 

[jolaf]

That is what I have and you are right it works fine. my nitrites are still at the high end of the testing stick at 10.0 this morning. The PH has risen to a very high alkaline. I think I need to help it go down with medicine but am not sure. Teh fish aer fine and swimming and eating great no wierd behavior. Gosh i don't know what I woudl do without advice at times I have learned more about fishkeeping here in the last few months.
Thanks everyone.

Well you could ask your lps to show you the right size vacum cleaner for your size tank. And I find the ones where you submerge the whole thing in water then stick the small end of the hose in the bucket a good one to use.

[snapback]903011[/snapback]​

 

[rdd1952]

I'm not certain what type measurement you are using. Ammonia at 20 ppm and nitrite at 10 ppm would mean you defintely wouldn't have any fish left. Ammonia at even 3 ppm would be more than most fish could handle for more than a day or so.

As for a vacuum, I just use a syphon like you can get an any LFS. I have both a medium size (use on the 75 gallon) and a small one (for 29 gallon). I found that if I used the bigger one on the 29 gallon, I filled the bucket faster than I could vacuum everything up. The smaller one has about equal suction but gives me much more time.

 

[Raz]

Its simple. Your making too many water changes. If you have cured the fish of ick useing methylene blue and 78 degree temp and a 1/4 water chg every 2 days over 10. Then I would just let the tank sit and cycle. It will take a few days to a week...

You have to let the bacteria grow again..It would help if you described your filteration system on that 30 Gal tho...undergravel with airstones or powerheads...External box type??...I could tell you a timeline with more info...but for 3 guppies...not really worth the time...lol

btw...your overfeeding...thats why your ammonia levels are so high....

 

[jolaf]

Thanks but the 3 guppies were all that was left haha I will do as you say thanks again.

Its simple. Your making too many water changes. If you have cured the fish of ick useing methylene blue and 78 degree temp and a 1/4 water chg every 2 days over 10. Then I would just let the tank sit and cycle. It will take a few days to a week...

You have to let the bacteria grow again..It would help if you described your filteration system on that 30 Gal tho...undergravel with airstones or powerheads...External box type??...I could tell you a timeline with more info...but for 3 guppies...not really worth the time...lol

btw...your overfeeding...thats why your ammonia levels are so high....

[snapback]903457[/snapback]​

 

[jolaf]

I have a tetratec pf150 with the builtin heater dual filters and a sponge with a siphon outlet.

Its simple. Your making too many water changes. If you have cured the fish of ick useing methylene blue and 78 degree temp and a 1/4 water chg every 2 days over 10. Then I would just let the tank sit and cycle. It will take a few days to a week...

You have to let the bacteria grow again..It would help if you described your filteration system on that 30 Gal tho...undergravel with airstones or powerheads...External box type??...I could tell you a timeline with more info...but for 3 guppies...not really worth the time...lol

btw...your overfeeding...thats why your ammonia levels are so high....

[snapback]903457[/snapback]​

 

[rdd1952]

Adding some carbon to your filter will remove the medication. It will just take a while for the tank to cycle again. If you can find someone that can give you some filter media or even a small amount of substrate in a stocking or soxk from and established tank to add to your filter that would definitely speed the cycling.

 

[jolaf]

Thank you so very much. The nitrites are really bad but the fish seem ine. Let us hope for the best and that the tank will cycle quickly.

Adding some carbon to your filter will remove the medication. It will just take a while for the tank to cycle again. If you can find someone that can give you some filter media or even a small amount of substrate in a stocking or soxk from and established tank to add to your filter that would definitely speed the cycling.

[snapback]904120[/snapback]​

 

[Raz]

Dont feed the fish for 4 days...your lacking the denitrifying bacteria....they will grow in the cycle...but dont feed the fish for now as you will only increase ammonia levels and cause more harm...Just let the tank run for 4 or 5 days,