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Hi! So, I'm In the third week of cycling my 5 gallon betta tank. I already had some old filter media from my other tank, so everything has been going pretty quickly. I got nitrites after about a week, and I got nitrates a week after that. Now, my problem is that my nitrites won't go down. My ammonia will go down to zero in about twelve hours, but my nitrites are consistantly off the charts. When I test for nitrites, the water turns purple before I even shake it up!
I heard that high nitrites can actually stall the cycle, so I did a 30% water change. I tested the water about two hours later, and nothing had changed. I did another 20% water change about 40 minutes ago and tested it again, but my nitrites were just as high.
I just don't understand how it could still be this high, even though I have nitrates. I even tested the water I put in my tank to see if maybe that had nitrites in it. It came up zero. Does anybody know why my nitrites could be this high and how I could lower them? Or do I just have to wait longer? Thanks!
I heard that high nitrites can actually stall the cycle, so I did a 30% water change. I tested the water about two hours later, and nothing had changed. I did another 20% water change about 40 minutes ago and tested it again, but my nitrites were just as high.
I just don't understand how it could still be this high, even though I have nitrates. I even tested the water I put in my tank to see if maybe that had nitrites in it. It came up zero. Does anybody know why my nitrites could be this high and how I could lower them? Or do I just have to wait longer? Thanks!