Help With High Nitrites In Aquarium

[transferman509]

Hi all:

I have been in the aquarium hobby for some time now,but this problem i am having has got me kinda stumped right now, im hoping someone can shed some advice on this topic.

I have a 20Gal Aquarium with just 2 parrot chiclids and 3 large danios. They have been in it about 2 weeks now. The other day i tested the nitrites and it was off the top of the scale, with the test kit it is a very very dark purple, which i know is high nitrites.

I first did a 50%water change adding a water conditioner to the new water, let it ciruculate over night, and retested,it was still high, so i did another change this time only about 25%. Same, i let it circulate overnight,and the test results were still off the chart.

This time i added some cycle condtioner to the water and retested hours later, still high it nitrites. Every time i do a water change i make sure to syphon off most of the debris on the bottom.

Any ideas people,what should i do, take the fish out clean out the tank and start over??

The funny thing about all this, the fish are not stressed ,they act normal, they eat ok,they look good.

Any help would be greatly appreciated very much.

 

[WILDER]

Not sure on parrot cichlids how big are they as your tank could be overstocked.
Increase aeration and add some salt but not sure with the parrots so check it out first.
One teaspoon to 5 gals.

 

[Spooky76]

Hey - I wouldnt do a complete change, I would keep doing smaller frequent water changes until it drops to an acceptable level. I would do about 10% twice / three times a day to get it down.

Obviously your filters cycling for some reason, could it be you didnt add enough water conditioner and nuked all your bacteria ?

You could also add some tetra easy balance if your doing alot of water changes.

Has it come down at all ?

 

[-germ-]

What dechlor do you use?
What test kit?

 

[merry78]

I know they probably wont last with cichlids, but could you chuck some live plants in there? Might help a little bit, just to slow down the increase.....

 

[transferman509]

I am using the Nitrite test kit by Nutrafin,the one where you use an eye dropper to get the water, put it in a test tube and add five drops of solution #1 and #2.

I will keep doing small water changes each day to see if the results come down.

I dont have any live plants in the tank, just two small fake ones and a few peices of river rock make into caves so the parrot fish can hide.

 

[Spooky76]

I would invest in some plants then as advised. They help keep your nitrates down, espesially the fast growing ones, also your fish will like them. They might nibble the bushy ones, but you should be OK, only costs about £5 for 5 plants near me.

 

[Daveyg1969]

Hi Transferman509, the same thing is being discussed in this thread also, hope it helps.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=215572

 

[Angel_Queen]

So you saw no change in the NitrItes when you tested the water after the water change? Daft question, but could there be a problem with your test kit? Have you had the levels double chacked with your LFS?