High Nitrite\nitrate, New Fish, What To Do....

[LRPRESTO]

Hi all! I am just wondering how else I can get the nitrite and nitrate levels lower. I talked to the LFS people and they gave me AmQuel plus and Cycle for my 45 gal. tank. They also recommended putting aquarium salt in but I still show my nitrate level at 20, nitrite at 3.0 (water is soft and alkalinity is at 40, PH is at 6.8) This tank has the large sized goldfish (one lionhead, one pearl (golf ball looking fish) and one big orange topical looking gold fish, and one snail too!) I got the fish yesterday and the tank has been up and running for almost a month. Before I put the fish in the nitrate level was 0 and the nitrite level was 0.5. What am I doing wrong here? Thanks for your time and help!

 

[Castellop123]

Cheers...

 

[LRPRESTO]

Hi! I did a 30% water change as suggested by Corin yesterday. I checked the water and it is still at Nitrate- 20mg and Nitrite 3.0mg. The AmQuel Plus and Cycle don't seem to be helping. Anyone else know of anything else I can do? Also, how do I get rid of oder? The tank has a bad smell to it. I am afraid it is going to make my house stink. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tessla]

How big are your goldfish? They're high waste producers, the bigger they are the more waste. If you can take a couple back and only add one at a time as the tank cycles, you'd be better off. You may even want to consider starting off with small goldfish, they grow very quickly but it will still give your filters time to adapt to the waste increase. The tank odor is probably fish waste, give it a good gravel vac with each water change if you aren't already. Any hollow ornaments you have that can hold stagnant water inside will also get an awful smell.

I'm assuming by "up and running for a month" you mean you've had it set up and filters going without doing any fishless cycling? Look at a few of the articles on cycling if you haven't already and get yourself an ammonia test kit, preferably the liquid kind as they're a bit more reliable than test strips. The best way to reduce nitrite and ammonia levels while your tank is cycling is to feed sparingly and do daily water changes. Hardy fast growing live plants like anacharis will also remove nitrogen products from your water and take some of the cycling stress off of your fish.

 

[LRPRESTO]

My fish are bigger in size and (non returnable) I have been vacuuming the gravel with the water changes. I had two ghost fish it the tank while cycling it that are now back in my other tank. I have an under gravel system and a whisper filter in the tank. I haven't gotten a lot of waste out of the tank from the fish (but then again I have only had them a few days!) I do have two hollow ornaments (that are quite beautiful) I took them out and cleaned them. Can I keep them and just clean them weekly? I also have one live plant (some kind of fern that the fish find quite tastey!) Thanks for your help!

 

[Tessla]

So you did a proper cycle, excellent. If you have some filter media to spare from your other tank, that would help your new goldfish setup a bit as well. You've still got a sudden jump in bioload so I'd keep an eye on your readings and do frequent water changes. Goldfish tend to be very hardy so they should be fine so long as you keep on top of things while your filter adjusts. Undergravel can be a pain and really isn't the best for really messy fish like goldfish, but it works (heh, I've used it with supplemental exactly like you're doing actually, just keep an eye on water stats.) Maybe consider an upgrade in the future but your filtration should be fine for now. You can keep the ornaments with no trouble if you clean them out every week, I've also heard of people filling them with plaster of paris or something similar to keep them from filling with stagnant water if you want to try that.

 

[LRPRESTO]

Thanks for your encouraging words! Heres a dumb question from an obvious "newbie"... What is filter media? Also if I add some salt to the tank will it hurt the fish if I dissolve it in a cup of water and pour it in? (These fish are so cool! When I put my hand in they come over and swim by it. I have been doing it a couple of times a day and they come right up to me now and I can pet them without them being spooked away.) Did you read my problem with the lionhead? It has no symptoms but just a white fluffy spot that seems to move when the fish moves. (I wish I could tell if it is a he or a she) I am worried this may be something because of the high levels. What do you think? I do have some Maracyn and some Tetracycline Tablets. I don't know if I should use either of these or just wait.

 

[Tessla]

Filter media would be whatever your filter uses to grow beneficial bacteria... hang on backs, canister filters and such usually use sponges and ceramic media, if you have an undergravel set up the media would be your gravel.

A littie bit of salt won't hurt the fish, make sure that you do dissolve it first to prevent salt burns. Also make sure that it's aquarium salt, kosher salt or similar as table salt contains iodine that will poison your fish. For now, I'd keep an eye on the white stuff (sounds like a fungus?) and try to keep the water as clean as possible, the salt may help as well. If you could get a picture of it, maybe someone here can ID it, but it's best to wait until you know for sure what it is.

Nice to see a "newbie" keeping goldfish in a proper tank rather than a bowl for once. Hopefully your fish do well!

Edit: forgot to add, since goldfish are such little pigs and will eat all day if you let them, remember to go easy on the food especially while sorting out your water. It's better to under feed than over feed, and especially right now.