Nitrite still higher

[Connershawzz]

Last week my nitrite was around 1ppm so I did a big water change on Friday , was hoping that would help with the nitrite , didn’t seem to help much , Any suggestions on what to do? All the other levels to my tests seem ok , nitrate is below 20ppm
Ph is 7.6. Nitrites at around 3 now , It’s getting into the scary range . Should I just try another water change , maybe 80% then add a bottle of live bacteria?
Thanks in advance

 

[Magnum Man]

have you tested the water you are adding to the tanks, for Nitrate??? my source water in this area is know to have higher nitrates

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. If your tank is under 30 gallons of water volume, you need to perform 50 percent water changes twice a week. New tanks should be dosed with a bacteria inoculant according to instructions in addition to the tap water conditioner every time you perform a water change.

10

 

[Connershawzz]

Hello. If your tank is under 30 gallons of water volume, you need to perform 50 percent water changes twice a week. New tanks should be dosed with a bacteria inoculant according to instructions in addition to the tap water conditioner every time you perform a water change.

10

Mines 36 and I do a 60%-70% water change weekly and obviously the softener , declorinator , and stress coat , and also quick start with the change every time. Would a faulty filter cause this? Or a wrong type of filter cartridge

 

[Connershawzz]

have you tested the water you are adding to the tanks, for Nitrate??? my source water in this area is know to have higher nitrates

I tested it about a month ago and it didn’t have an unusual high anything (other then hardness cause I’m in Utah and the water is terribly hard) but bichir like somewhat hard water so it isn’t to bad.

 

[Essjay]

If nitrite is showing up it's either the tank isn't properly cycled yet or you've done something to kill the bacteria. What's the ammonia reading?

Note that API Quick Start contains nitrite eaters which only grow at very high nitrite levels. It contains Nitrobacter species while the ones that 'eat' nitrite in aquariums is Nitrospira.


You can use salt to mitigate the effects of nitrite. There are detailed instructions on how much to dose in the second part of this.

Rescuing A Fish In Cycle Gone Wild - Part Il

Part II SO YOU STILL WANT TO KEEP CYCLING WITH FISH? If you are determined to ignore the above advice in Part I and still think you want to proceed with a fish in cycle, then you need to be aware of the information presented below. SOME IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT AMMONIA Ammonia in water exists...

www.fishforums.net

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello again. Have you tested the water straight out of the tap? The EPA has some pretty strict rules for public water supplies. My guess is, there's something going wrong with the testing.

10

 

[Fishfunn]

Mines 36 and I do a 60%-70% water change weekly and obviously the softener , declorinator , and stress coat , and also quick start with the change every time. Would a faulty filter cause this? Or a wrong type of filter cartridge

Here is an excellent video of how to lower ammonia and nitrites in the aquarium using SeaChem Prime and SeaChem Stability: How to lower ammonia in tank

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Stability here is a waste of money here as it does not contain live bacteria, only spores. The nitrifying bacteria do not forn spores.

Understand how using an ammonia detoxifier works. Whatit does is to convert ammonia to a lest toxic form. The problem with this can be twofold. The forst is that the bacteria can not=use that form as efficiently as the actual ammonia. Since the bacteria reproduce in resposne to excess ammonia and thayis not longer there, they reproduce more slwoly. This means that it will take more time for a permanent solution to happen.

Also, it is the chloride in the salt (s0dium chloride) which block the nitrite from entering a fish. Once inside the fish it will take anywhere from about 23 to 73 hours to leave the fish, However, if there is still nitrite in the water it will keep going in without the chloride present in the water.

There are several ways yo deal with ammonia that will solves the problem v.s ways that just postpone it:
1. Add live bacteria in a bottle- which means Dr, Tim's Only and Only or Tetra's Safe Start or Safe Start+.
2. Add filter squeezing/rinsings from a cycled tank. Substrate and some decor may also help from a cycled tank.
3. Add live plants. These use ammonium and also host live bacteria on their root/stems/leaves.

Ways to block/remove ammonia which will not solve the problem longer term but will protect fish for a while:
1. Use Poly-Filter which absorbs it.
2. Use ammonia detoxfiers.
3. Do water changes which can be a very slow process to fixing things and may fail to be a solution only a postponement.

The bacteri reproduce in response to their being more ammonia or nitrite than they need to thrive. The reverse also holds true. When there is less ammonia available the bacteria will slow or stop reproduction. Because bacteria will be dying, their numbers will decrease until they are back in balance with the lower level of ammonia being supplied.

 

[Connershawzz]

Stability here is a waste of money here as it does not contain live bacteria, only spores. The nitrifying bacteria do not forn spores.

Understand how using an ammonia detoxifier works. Whatit does is to convert ammonia to a lest toxic form. The problem with this can be twofold. The forst is that the bacteria can not=use that form as efficiently as the actual ammonia. Since the bacteria reproduce in resposne to excess ammonia and thayis not longer there, they reproduce more slwoly. This means that it will take more time for a permanent solution to happen.

Also, it is the chloride in the salt (s0dium chloride) which block the nitrite from entering a fish. Once inside the fish it will take anywhere from about 23 to 73 hours to leave the fish, However, if there is still nitrite in the water it will keep going in without the chloride present in the water.

There are several ways yo deal with ammonia that will solves the problem v.s ways that just postpone it:
1. Add live bacteria in a bottle- which means Dr, Tim's Only and Only or Tetra's Safe Start or Safe Start+.
2. Add filter squeezing/rinsings from a cycled tank. Substrate and some decor may also help from a cycled tank.
3. Add live plants. These use ammonium and also host live bacteria on their root/stems/leaves.

Ways to block/remove ammonia which will not solve the problem longer term but will protect fish for a while:
1. Use Poly-Filter which absorbs it.
2. Use ammonia detoxfiers.
3. Do water changes which can be a very slow process to fixing things and may fail to be a solution only a postponement.

The bacteri reproduce in response to their being more ammonia or nitrite than they need to thrive. The reverse also holds true. When there is less ammonia available the bacteria will slow or stop reproduction. Because bacteria will be dying, their numbers will decrease until they are back in balance with the lower level of ammonia being supplied.

Awsome , I did some research and came to the same conclusion, I added tss last night , my bottle only had enough for 25 gallon which I didn’t know so my wife is on her way to the fish store this morning to get another batch for me to pour in to even it out.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

You may not need more bacteria. The bacteria in the two products I mentioned are usually dormant when they are poured into the tank. The presence of ammonia and nitrite wake them up and they go to work. This will happen in a matter of hours. And when they wake up there will normally be more ammonia and nitrite than they need. So they will begin to reproduce fairly fast.

Under optimal comditions the ammonia ones take about 8 hours and the nitrite ones 1/2 day. Depending on your ammonia and nitrite readings you may be able to add a small amount of salt and be OK. Take a look at this article are ammonia and nitrite
https://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il.433778/

 

[Connershawzz]

You may not need more bacteria. The bacteria in the two products I mentioned are usually dormant when they are poured into the tank. The presence of ammonia and nitrite wake them up and they go to work. This will happen in a matter of hours. And when they wake up there will normally be more ammonia and nitrite than they need. So they will begin to reproduce fairly fast.

Under optimal comditions the ammonia ones take about 8 hours and the nitrite ones 1/2 day. Depending on your ammonia and nitrite readings you may be able to add a small amount of salt and be OK. Take a look at this article are ammonia and nitrite
https://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il.433778/

Ok that makes sense , how long should I wait to test? And also I’m not supposed to water change for a week either right ? Should i scoop the poop out once a day? And I’m slowing down feeding to 1 time every other day. I’d prefer not to put salt in since I just barely cycled it out a week ago