Help - Dangerously High Nitrite Levels And Green Algae

[katypoo]

hello

i have recently bought, setup and stocked a river reef 50 aquarium. I originally had a 30ltr coldwater tank with a fluval 2 filter, stocked with fantails and danios. When the last of the fantails died we decided to go tropical. This is how i set up the tank

1) Transferred content of old tank to new 94l rive reef using my existing gravel, water and quite dirty filter. Added thermometer and the last 2 danios.
2) after 2 days, danios ok, temp ok and topped up water to middle of tank (adding filter start and tap safe).
3) next day added water to top of tank (with filter start and tap safe) and switched on new pumps. Left my old fluval in to help bactria levels.
4) After a week i did the Ph and nitrite/filter check tests. Ph was the ideal 7.5. nitrate test very very pale pink which the info given says is ok and expected.
5) added 4 pandy cory and 4 dwarf neon rainbow fish

I have regularly topped up with filter start. shop said i could not overdose this but i am not sure?

Now a week later the filter check comes back dark pink. i have added large amounts of filter start. there is horrible green algae over my plants, rocks and now the side of the tank. did a 25% water change yesterday.

HELP in a panic dont know what to do!!

any help appreciated.

 

[pippoodle]

what is the actual reading for the nitrates hun?
if it's under 100 it's not going to harm the fish - even though it's best to aim to keep it under 40 - many people say under 20
What are the results for ammonia and nitrites - as these are the deadly ones

the only way to get rid of the nitrates is to do another water change - try 50% (dechlorinated water as near to tank temp as possible) right away

If you are using test strips these are very unreliable - and i would advise you to get a liquid test kit , tetra or api master test kits are great

filter start can make algae grow and i dont think you actually need it in your tank now if your other results are 0 (ammonia and nitrites)

If its high nitrites do a 75% water change then test again tomorrow , if its high again tomorrow then do 25-30% daily until you have 0 readings for ammonia and nitrites

 

[rdd1952]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

The problem is that you have overloaded your filter. Even though you probably were fine with the 2 danios since the filter ame from the tank they were on, when you added 8 more fish at once, you put too much strain on the bacteria colony. Bacteria usually take about 24 hours to double their mass so when you added that many fish, the bacteris needed to double quintuple is numbers.

For now, you should be doing water changes of 50% to get the nitrite and ammonia (you are using strips which don't test for it but I guarantee it is also high) down to .25 ppm or below. DO them as needed (several times a day if necessary) until ammonia (go get a good liquid master kit that tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH and throw the strips away) and nitrite are back to 0.

As for the Filter Start, the bacteria in a bottle products are pretty much useless. You won't do any harm by adding it but you also won't be doing any good either.

How long do you have your lights on and is the tank ever exposed to direct sunlight? If the green algae is the dreaded blue-green algae, it is almost impossible to get rid of. Over feeding and too much lights are the 2 prime causes of it.

 

[waterdrop]

Hi there and Welcome to TFF!

You did a great job transferring over your old dirty filter! Most beginners have no clue to do that, so good job!

pippoodle has got you started and I agree with all that advice and it looks like rdd1952 might be writing something up too, so you're in good hands already with some experienced members. Sounds like you've got good energy to learn and are ready to do the right things for your tank, so you've come to the right place.

The reason the LFS said you couldn't overdose filterstart is because its only purpose is to make money for them and the manufacturer. The only thing it does, from what I hear here, is mess up the tank (as you've observed) or do nothing! As pippoodle says, the things to focus on are ammonia and nitrite and as you start reading the pinned articles at the top of our forum about the Nitrogen Cycle and about cycling in general, the reasons for that will begin to make sense.

Since you were concerned about preserving your dirty filter and wanted to use a "filterstart", you are probably aware that one of the functions of a filter is the biological aspect. There are two species of bacteria you want in there to process the toxins that come mainly from fish waste. The size of these two colonies goes up and down slowly to match whatever fish stocking load the tank has. When you added a bunch of new fish at once, your bacterial colonies probably didn't have time to respond and grow fast enough and as a result, you've got excess ammonia and nitrite(NO2) in the water. I'd recommend at least daily 50% water changes right away and one of your first tasks after that is to get down to the store and pick up a good test kit if you don't already have one.

Many of us use and like the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. This is a liquid-reagent based test kit and will give you the more accurate readings you need to judge how your water changes are going. Your goal will be to adjust the frequency and percentage of water changes such that ammonia and nitrite are never back up and over 0.25ppm when you can next get back to your tank for another test and potential water change.

The algae is less urgent, and its good to get in the habit of scrubbing this off with your weekly tank maintenance when its present. We can work on things like your light hours and any plant care techniques you are using.

When you do water changes you will need to use conditioner (your "tapsafe" I believe) and roughly temperature match (your hand is good enough) and by the way, don't be afraid of water changes, they are your friend!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[pippoodle]

good luck katy poo and let us know how things go