Nitrite Lvls And Cycling

[AdrianJames]

So my aquarium has been set up almost 6 weeks now with fish in for 4 weeks. My ammonia has risen and now I have the nitrite spike of pretty much .1ppm every morning. I was changing 90% of the water every day for 2 weeks until I went to the pet shop to ask Why I wasnt noticing a decline in the Nitrite lvls. They said its because I was changing too much of the water! They recommend to only take out a third of the tank water so that Nitrate has a chance to build up. (The aquarium shop is a speciality aquarium shop, not a pet store)
Is this right? Because I first made a post about this and people were telling me to change 90% of the water out every time I have the .1ppm reading! But that isnt giving a my tank a chance to build up good bacteria. I also use a water condition that decreases Ammonia and Nitrite lvls.
Taking out a third, I still have a reading of about.25ppm nitrite. I have done this for the past two days and the guppies seem ok so far...

So what should I be doing??

I have 5 guppies in my 60l planted tank.

 

[KittyKat]

I was changing 90% of the water every day for 2 weeks until I went to the pet shop to ask Why I wasnt noticing a decline in the Nitrite lvls. They said its because I was changing too much of the water! They recommend to only take out a third of the tank water so that Nitrate has a chance to build up. (The aquarium shop is a speciality aquarium shop, not a pet store)
Is this right?

What they said is not the cause of the problem. The problem is that fish-in cycles are slow. Yes, they are slow most likely because lower concentrations of ammonia and nitrite are involved, but the alternative is harming animals, which I cannot support in any way and this is why I almost always recommend fish-less cycles.

Have you tried testing nitrite in something that you know has 0 ppm for comparison?

Because I first made a post about this and people were telling me to change 90% of the water out every time I have the .1ppm reading! But that isnt giving a my tank a chance to build up good bacteria. I also use a water condition that decreases Ammonia and Nitrite lvls.

A filter can cycle with undetectable amounts of ammonia and nitrite (for some reason, I get the feeling that I've said this before…). The bacteria will build up regardless of what the day to day reading is, it just takes time. Dechlorinators like Prime and Stress Coat only make ammonia and nitrite temporarily safe for the fish, they do not prevent the bacteria from using them.

Taking out a third, I still have a reading of about.25ppm nitrite. I have done this for the past two days and the guppies seem ok so far...

They will very likely "look ok" until you find them dead because they suffocated.

 

[AdrianJames]

I was changing 90% of the water every day for 2 weeks until I went to the pet shop to ask Why I wasnt noticing a decline in the Nitrite lvls. They said its because I was changing too much of the water! They recommend to only take out a third of the tank water so that Nitrate has a chance to build up. (The aquarium shop is a speciality aquarium shop, not a pet store)
Is this right?

What they said is not the cause of the problem. The problem is that fish-in cycles are slow. Yes, they are slow most likely because lower concentrations of ammonia and nitrite are involved, but the alternative is harming animals, which I cannot support in any way and this is why I almost always recommend fish-less cycles.

Have you tried testing nitrite in something that you know has 0 ppm for comparison?

Because I first made a post about this and people were telling me to change 90% of the water out every time I have the .1ppm reading! But that isnt giving a my tank a chance to build up good bacteria. I also use a water condition that decreases Ammonia and Nitrite lvls.

A filter can cycle with undetectable amounts of ammonia and nitrite (for some reason, I get the feeling that I've said this before…). The bacteria will build up regardless of what the day to day reading is, it just takes time. Dechlorinators like Prime and Stress Coat only make ammonia and nitrite temporarily safe for the fish, they do not prevent the bacteria from using them.

Taking out a third, I still have a reading of about.25ppm nitrite. I have done this for the past two days and the guppies seem ok so far...

They will very likely "look ok" until you find them dead because they suffocated.

So in your opinion what should I be doing? apart from starting off with a fishless cycle instead. Should I be changing 90% of the water every single day? and using Prime? Or in my case, Im using Sera Toxivec which is a water conditioner which also decreases Ammonia and Nitrite. Isnt Prime the same as that?
thanks Oh and I have tested the new water that I put in the tank each day for Nitrites and its 0ppm.

 

[AdrianJames]

I am just so confused and lost as to what to do! Each person I speak with says a different thing, contradicting the last person I spoke to....I have spent many days and weeks browsing across the web with the same results.
The shop I go to is well know, if not famous Aquarium shop in LONDON. They have over 300 aquariums and they all look immaculate and healthy. The shop is abundant with hobbyists and biologists of tropical and salt water fish. The woman gave me this information and while I do understand that fishless cycling is probably a better root to go down next time, Im at a loss as to what to do with Fish in cycle. Seems like my only option is to watch my fish die because I cant control the Nitrite lvl right. I changed my water at 9:30am this morning and had a reading of 0ppm and now at 7:30pm Its back at .1ppm!!

I dont mean to sound like an a.ss in this post....just read it back. Just frustrated.

 

[sadguppy]

You will get there don't worry Take a deep breath, keep up the changes and they won't die, remember although fish-in cycles aren't recommended now, going back a few years it was the norm and yet people (and fish!) got through it.

 

[AdrianJames]

You will get there don't worry Take a deep breath, keep up the changes and they won't die, remember although fish-in cycles aren't recommended now, going back a few years it was the norm and yet people (and fish!) got through it.

hahahah I know, I am calm I just dont know what to do with these water changes cause I have a .1ppm every single morning even with 90% water changes daily! Then someone tells me to do 1/3 water change to keep the good bacteria forming...then I hear No, thats not right.... so what is right??

 

[sadguppy]

Change as much as you need to to get levels under 0.25ppm. One day soon you'll wake up and it will be 0, and you will not know what to do with all your free time!

 

[Xraymark]

Had a read over the fish-in-cycle advice on this site and recommends not to let the ammonia and nitrite get above 0.25.
From this then you should relax a little and do 50% change once 0.25ppm is reached for your nitrite.

 

[AdrianJames]

Had a read over the fish-in-cycle advice on this site and recommends not to let the ammonia and nitrite get above 0.25.
From this then you should relax a little and do 50% change once 0.25ppm is reached for your nitrite.

Ok, then that means I have to do 90% water change once a day cause I have a 1.0ppm reading every single morning. Guaranteed it goes from 0ppm to 1ppm over night. SO TIRING! cannot wait until its OVER! I am never doing this again, thats for sure

 

[Xraymark]

Maybe think about adding a few plants. That will help absorb some of the excess waste and ease your water changes.

 

[KittyKat]

So in your opinion what should I be doing?

Doing water changes to keep nitrite as close to 0 ppm as possible and never letting it *reach* 0.25 ppm. I very strongly advise you to never wait until 0.25 ppm before doing a water change because that just increases the risk to your fish.

Do the water changes regularly and eventually, your filter will cycle; 6 weeks is not all that long really, given that most fish-less cycles take 4-8 weeks and most fish-in cycles take 6-10 weeks.

 

[AdrianJames]

So in your opinion what should I be doing?

Doing water changes to keep nitrite as close to 0 ppm as possible and never letting it *reach* 0.25 ppm. I very strongly advise you to never wait until 0.25 ppm before doing a water change because that just increases the risk to your fish.

Do the water changes regularly and eventually, your filter will cycle; 6 weeks is not all that long really, given that most fish-less cycles take 4-8 weeks and most fish-in cycles take 6-10 weeks.

Ok so If I was to do that I would be getting up every 4 hours in the night to change water because thats how fast it rises....No joke. I did a water change at 9:30am and by 1:30pm it was .25ppm then by 7:30pm it was 1.0ppm. So I should be changing 90% about three times a day? Thats crazy!???

Ps to the message above the last. My tank is heavily planted.

 

[Xraymark]

Yeah thats a hectic amount of water changes. Its only 5 fish. Maybe think about bringing them back to the shop and going fishless. Its alot easier. Just testing no water changes.

Whats your Ph. If low less toxic to fish but the cycle can take longer.

 

[sadguppy]

You can only do so much. At least you care which is already streets ahead of a lot of fishkeepers. Use your experience to advocate fishless cycling whenever you can and don't feel too badly about it.

 

[KittyKat]

Ok so If I was to do that I would be getting up every 4 hours in the night to change water because thats how fast it rises....No joke. I did a water change at 9:30am and by 1:30pm it was .25ppm then by 7:30pm it was 1.0ppm. So I should be changing 90% about three times a day? Thats crazy!???

Have you considered cutting down on the feeding to once every 2-3 days? That would reduce the amount of ammonia going into the water, which in turn would reduce the nitrite that is produced.

Ps to the message above the last. My tank is heavily planted.

Can we see a photo? I am wondering if you have any non-aquatic plants in there that might be rotting and adding to the ammonia.

Whats your Ph. If low less toxic to fish but the cycle can take longer.

More of the ammonia is ammonium at lower pHs, which is why it is less toxic, but nitrite is more difficult because it depends on the species. For some species, there's no difference regardless of the pH; for some, nitrite is more toxic at lower pHs; for others, it's more toxic at higher pHs.