Nitrite Levels Off The Chart

[phantomlink]

I have a tank I'm trying to save and have been doing water changes and testing the water daily. Yesterday my Nitrite levels were off the chart so I did a 50% water change and today they are fine. The problem I am having is my Nitrite levels have been off the chart from the start and wont go down. My ammonia is always low but the Nitrites wont seem to turn into Nitrates. I decided to test my tap water today and theres almost none so I know the source isnt from there. Here is today's test with the tubes as follows:
1) Tap water - Nitrate
2) Aquarium - Nitrate
3) Tap water - Nitrite
4) Aquarium - Nitrite

Thanks for any help

 

[toshapetriji]

No4 is aquarium Nitrite or Nitrate?

 

[phantomlink]

No4 is aquarium Nitrite or Nitrate?

Nitrite, sorry for the confusion I'm still getting the two mixed up and typed the wrong one in this morning

 

[Salam]

Are you doing a fish in cycling? Is the filter powerful enough for the tank? Is the tank overstocked? What fish are in and what are the dimensions?

Do a huge water change now, like 90% and then test again and please also answer the above questions so we can help more.

 

[phantomlink]

Are you doing a fish in cycling? Is the filter powerful enough for the tank? Is the tank overstocked? What fish are in and what are the dimensions?

Do a huge water change now, like 90% and then test again and please also answer the above questions so we can help more.

The filter is a Fluval U2 so it is powerful enough for a 20gallon tank, the tank isn't overstocked at all There are only three fish in it right now, a guppy a pictus catfish, and a striped raphael catfish. It wasn't meant to be a fish in cycle ( my giant tank will be fishless ) but I thought using some stuff from my 30 gallon would have sped up the process when I set it up like 5ish weeks ago. The tanks dimensions are 24x12x16 and I do have some Nutrafin cycle that I've been adding with my water changes as well. My large tank wont be ready for over a month so I know I might lose these last three fish, but I'd rather save them for the big tank

Also... how often should I do the water testing? Not sure how quick it takes the bacteria to produce

 

[Salam]

So, did you transfer filter media from the 30 gallon tank to this tank? Nitrite takes about the double the time to be processed by the filter bacteria, hence it seems to be sticking around for longer.

As the nitrite is so high you should ideally test twice daily or at least daily and react when necessary as in perform large water changes. Sometimes you have to do consecutive changes in order to bring the nitrites down to 0. From your picture it looks like your nitrite is 5ppm, right? You should really do a few water changes in a row then. If you change only 50% of the water, you still have 2.5ppm of nitrite left, so the more you take out the better and the repeat until you see 0. I know it's tedious, but the only way to save your fish now. Then hopefully it should stay low or at a less toxic level and the water changes can be a bit smaller depending on testing results hence I suggested testing daily.

 

[phantomlink]

Alright, I'll do a 90% water change now and later tonight and test again this evening

 

[Salam]

Great. I'm sure it will bring the levels down. Just don't forget to dechlorinate the new water

 

[phantomlink]

Great. I'm sure it will bring the levels down. Just don't forget to dechlorinate the new water

I did use dechlorinator, I got a giant jug since the GOOD fish store is 2 hours away and I'll need it when my 125g is ready to go. I figured I would ask while I had peoples attention, but how long does it take to take effect? if its not near instant then wont the water change kill all the bacteria I'm trying to save? Just wanting to know ahead of time when I'm ready for water changes if I need to keep a bunch of 20l buckets full of water

 

[Salam]

Which dechlorinator do you use? Seachem prime (the best!) is instant.

 

[phantomlink]

Which dechlorinator do you use? Seachem prime (the best!) is instant.

Big Al's water conditioner ( http/www.bigalspets.ca/fish/additives/multi-purpose-water-conditioner-64-fl-oz.html )
Like I mentioned... theres only two LFS here and they are both priced very... expensive this place is two hours out of town but way cheaper, and even ships to me if I need it. A lot of the stuff I read on here is mostly for Europeans I think

 

[Salam]

Seachem Prime in the USA There you go, this is honestly the best stuff on the market and is easily available in America. It's best value for money as you only need one capful (5ml) to treat 200 litres, so it is going to last you a long time.

 

[phantomlink]

Thanks for the link, I'll look into that. From that products description it almost sounds like an instant cycle liquid heh

 

[Salam]

It does help with ammonia. Don't know exactly how it works, but it keeps it at bay and at the same time it dechlorinates. (Someone more sciency will probably come along and explain ) The 100ml should last you a long time, you will need about half a capful for your tank for each water change, that's 2.5 ml.

Edit: Be warned, it stinks! It smells like sulphur, but it's totally normal.

 

[phantomlink]

I still have my Fluval in the tank for now, but I installed one of my AquaClear 110's I was saving for the larger tank thinking I could get it semi cycled with the sponge from my mom's tank and help save the 20 gallon I got running now. If I left the Fluval inside will the bacteria still mix around, or should I turned it on so its running the water through as well? Its kinda overkill on the power of filtration but the sooner I get the 110 ready, the quicker my 125 gallon will be to stock