Nitrite = Aghhh!

[jamjar]

hi there
im really worryed i checked my water earlyer and the readings for my 60l tank was nitrite 1.6mg/L, ammonia 4.9,ph 7.0 i didnt check the nitrate but i done a 25%water chage to try and get the nitrite down but it done nothing and now all my fish are at the top gasping for air. i was wondering if i done a 100% water change would this solve the problem? ive had the tank about a month.

plz help.

 

[rabbut]

hi there
im really worryed i checked my water earlyer and the readings for my 60l tank was nitrite 1.6mg/L, ammonia 4.9,ph 7.0 i didnt check the nitrate but i done a 25%water chage to try and get the nitrite down but it done nothing and now all my fish are at the top gasping for air. i was wondering if i done a 100% water change would this solve the problem? ive had the tank about a month.

plz help.

Ok, you need bigger waterchanges, to bring ammonia and nitrite down to 0.25ppm. The gasping at the surface is most likely ammonia poisoning setting in The ammount of water to be changed, is calculated through ratios, for example, tank water ammonia 1, nitrite 1. tap all 0. you can either do 1 75% change, or two 50% changes. If the volume to be changed is greater than 75%, do it accross two or three changes, with an hour or so between changes.
Have the ammonia and nitrite leavels ever been 0, or is this still the initial cycle? In this case a 100% waterchange would be best from a labour point of view, less water to be changed...... However, remember to get the temp approximatly the same to reduce the initial shock, when introducing the fish again. Given the ammount of ammonia, the "plop" techinque of acclimatisation will reduce the fishes stress (less time in toxin filled water).
What has been done to the tank recently? Have you cleaned the filters? If so how?
HTH
rabbut

 

[jamjar]

yer my ammonia and nitrite has been 0 since i had the tank up and runing, by the sounds of it i dont think ive cycled it properly,ive been doing a 25% water change each week and i had no trace of nitrates but now theres been and spike of them. would it be ok for me to put the fish in a tempary tank and do a 100% change of water in 1 go?

 

[rabbut]

would it be ok for me to put the fish in a tempary tank and do a 100% change of water in 1 go?

Yes, that would be fine.
Whenever you have to clean filter media, do a maximum of 50% in one go, and only clean in old tank water, unless it is designed as a mechanical or chemical filter. Cleaning filter media under the tap will kill the benificial bactiria. How have you been cycling the tank uptill now?
HTH
rabbut

 

[jamjar]

um wen i got the tank i put declorined water in it and some cycle liquid in it and left it for 2 weeks but all the water was perfect, so i added fish. was this wrong and wat shall i do now?
ive also had a problem with cloudy water, its all ways been cloudy apart from wen i first set it up wat could this be?

thanks for the help

 

[rabbut]

um wen i got the tank i put declorined water in it and some cycle liquid in it and left it for 2 weeks but all the water was perfect, so i added fish. was this wrong and wat shall i do now?
ive also had a problem with cloudy water, its all ways been cloudy apart from wen i first set it up wat could this be?

thanks for the help

OK, unfortunately you are cycling fish-in. This will mean a large amount of waterchanges, sometimes 4 50% changes a day, to keep ammonia down. Test the ammonia and nitrite twice dayly, and if either turn up a value of greater than 0.25, two 50% changes minimum are needed to reduce the ammount of ammonia or nitrite.
There will be a lot of work in this for you, however, it will be rewarding in the long run. Good for the upper body strength though.
HTH
rabbut