tank chem discrepancies

[Apache]

Hi All,
We have a new (about 6 weeks old) 30 gal hex tank that houses 1 Betta, 3 Corys, 1 USD cat, 1 cardinal tetra, 2 Leopard veil Angels, 1 Golden Nugget plec. The tank also has 2 Amazon sword plants. We know that the plec will outgrow the tank, but currently they are all quite small, and they have plenty of room to grow in their current tank (per the 1 in/ 1 gal rule). We are treating a mild case of ich right now too.

Our biggest concern however is the tank chem tests... Ph has always been good (b/w 7 - 7.5). We had an ammonia spike about a week ago, which has now fallen. But we are having problems with the NO2- It's been very high for the last couple weeks or so, despite weekly 30% water changes and gravel vacuuming. The last reading (tonight) was: pH = 7.0, NH3 = 0, NO2 = 3.3+

We tested our Betta tank (2 gal that gets 90% water change per week), and all the levels came out at very good levels.

What's going on? Any help or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[clutterydrawer]

Sounds like you havn't cycled your tank. Read the pinned "Avoiding and Treating New Tank Syndrome" thread in this forum for more details on that.

If so, the fact that you have high nitrIte is normal. the nitrIte part of the cycle is the longest part. these poor water conditions are probably the cause of ich in your fish, you need to do very frequent water changes to keep it below 1ppm. to be honest I'm surprised your fish are alive at all, they must be survivors. good luck.

 

[Apache]

Yeah, the NO2 was great for a while and now is way too high, and has been, even after we do 30%+ water changes... I, too, am amazed that the fishies are still alive! Although the last card tetra died last night, but not a big surprise since his 6 buddy card tetras all died within the first week.

The water has been very clear and the ich is clearly up nicely, so hopefully the tank will finish cycling soon! Thanks!