Rising Nitrites, Some Advice Please.

[fozziebear]

ok well ive got a 25 gal tank, running an undergravel plus a filter with a agitator, with one danio in it (named guinea pig as hes a test fish lol not very humane but they are only £1.60) and ive got a nutrafin test kit that does PH ammonia nitrite and nitrate, ive tested 3 days in a row, and the ammonia is around 0.6 the nitrites were 0.3 on the first and second day, then rose today, so i treated the tank with nitrivec, and did a small water change, the ph has stayed stable at 8.0 and the nitrates are very high (but i also tested a sample of the tap water after it had been treated with safeguard to get rid of chlorine and chloramine, and both looked very similar), so i thought that water changes wouldnt make any difference to the nitrate level? anyway i just wondered what advice you could give me about bedding it in and if anything would speed up the process, the tank also has java moss in it, and also could you give me some advice on numbers of fish, i used the calculator on practicalfishkeeping, and it said i could keep about 12 inches of fish, so thats 6 danios, but could i possibly put in more at a later date when the tank gets more and more matured? also how long would you recommend soaking mopani wood for before putting it into the tank, thanks a lot in advance, angus.

 

[fozziebear]

well just been down to my LFS and got my water tested got a 85% out of 100 need to reduce ph a bit and keep on with the nitrite treatment problem solved.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

How long has this tank been set up exactly and are you using dechlorinator in the water changes you do- how do you go about cleaning the filter?
Inch of fish per gal rules are only rules of thumb so to speak, many types of danio's are technically sub-tropical fish (19-23 degrees) and prefer a strong current in the tank with plenty of oxygen, so if you can make the tank this way this would be for the best if you want the danio (and future danios) stay healthier and happier for longer- a group of 6 danios of the same type would be good as they are sociable shoaling fish. What type of danio do you actually have ?
I really wouldn't advise changing the ph though, altering it is a stressful buisness for fish and once you change it, it be very difficult to get it to settle down anytime soon as it fluctuates with water changes. Danios are tough and very adaptable fish, yours will have already adapted to the ph- unless you are keeping very fragile/sensitive fish like discus, there is no need to change ph at all (it is best left alone really).
I would not advise relying much on your lfs for advice, afterall they will sell you anything given half a chance and most of their staff are not very educated at all on fishkeeping (most staff will be students just doing the job for a little extra cash), they are not experts so i would not expect and expert opinion from them. Doing your own research is the best way to avoid buying unesarsary or bad things or fish for your tank set up .

 

[fozziebear]

How long has this tank been set up exactly and are you using dechlorinator in the water changes you do- how do you go about cleaning the filter?
Inch of fish per gal rules are only rules of thumb so to speak, many types of danio's are technically sub-tropical fish (19-23 degrees) and prefer a strong current in the tank with plenty of oxygen, so if you can make the tank this way this would be for the best if you want the danio (and future danios) stay healthier and happier for longer- a group of 6 danios of the same type would be good as they are sociable shoaling fish. What type of danio do you actually have ?
I really wouldn't advise changing the ph though, altering it is a stressful buisness for fish and once you change it, it be very difficult to get it to settle down anytime soon as it fluctuates with water changes. Danios are tough and very adaptable fish, yours will have already adapted to the ph- unless you are keeping very fragile/sensitive fish like discus, there is no need to change ph at all (it is best left alone really).
I would not advise relying much on your lfs for advice, afterall they will sell you anything given half a chance and most of their staff are not very educated at all on fishkeeping (most staff will be students just doing the job for a little extra cash), they are not experts so i would not expect and expert opinion from them. Doing your own research is the best way to avoid buying unesarsary or bad things or fish for your tank set up .

thanks for the advice he(i think) is a zebra danio, i heard they can be kept at room temperature is this not true? i have an air curtain and a spray bar on my filter to make the water a bit more oxygenated and faster flowing, i just put some mopani wood in the tank today with some java moss tied to it, im hoping it wont leach out too much, i boiled it a fair few times before i put it in, do you think i could keep say 2 weather loachs and some danios in a tank this size? im using safegaurd it gets rid of chlorine and chloramine, also im cleaning the filter in the tank water nothing else, my LFS is surprisingly good, but i do get the feeling they'd try and sell me anything, im thinking about getting a heater and going tropical but im really not sure because this is my first tank and im not very experienced.

 

[Loobie]

Going by your previous message about you Ammonia being 0.6 and nitrite 0.3 I wouldn't consider putting any more fish in the tank until these are at 0, by adding any more fish will add to the ammonia and nitrite and will just mean you are making work for yourself in doing water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrites as low as possible.

If you have these under control then fine add away....... not too many tho

Sorry if I've got the wrong end of the stick but just thought I'd add my bit anyway

 

[fozziebear]

Going by your previous message about you Ammonia being 0.6 and nitrite 0.3 I wouldn't consider putting any more fish in the tank until these are at 0, by adding any more fish will add to the ammonia and nitrite and will just mean you are making work for yourself in doing water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrites as low as possible.

If you have these under control then fine add away....... not too many tho

Sorry if I've got the wrong end of the stick but just thought I'd add my bit anyway

you have and you havent, your quite right to remind me that, but im not stocking for atleast a week or two, my ammonia is at 0.0 now and my nitrites are 0.3 still but im treating the problem and doing daily water changes, i was just wondering on stocking possibilities, and if zebra danios are really ok for coldwater (room temp) tanks, and if i could fit weather loaches and danios in my tank.