Nitrite Levels

[michtank83]

I have a 10us tank, that has been set up for a little over a month, and went and got my water tested on saturday (7/29) and was told my nitrite levels were high and to do a 50% water change. So I did that and vaccumed the gravel. Yesterday I went out and bought the Mardel Master Test Kit and tested my water, and my Nitrite was 10.0ppm which according to the test chart is toxic, and I did a 20% water change that day and added a teaspoon of AmQuel+ to lower the nitrite levels which I wnet back store and was told to use this. Today I also did a 20% water change and added AmQuel+, and the Nitrite was 10.0pmm. What should I do! I have been doing aleast 20% water changes every weekend since I got the tank, and been using Cycle ever week which I was recommended to use, I use Auqa Safe ever time I put new water in the tank.

Other Levels
pH 6.8
Alkalinity 80ppm
Hardness 120ppm
Nitrite 10.0ppm
Nitrate 20ppm
Ammonia 0

Occupiants
3 Neon Tetras
1 Bloodfin Tetra
1 Angle
2 Platies
1 Dwarft puffer
1 Tuxedo guppy
1 underwater frog
2 Diferent types of algae eater ( dont know what kind)

Thanks for any help.

 

[WILDER]

Added to many fish to soon, you are only meant to add a few hardy fish to cycle the tank, plus an angel fish needs to be in a 30gal tank, the plec you will have to find which type it is as some of them need large tank, plus plecs are massive waste producers.
Do not touch the gravel while the tank is cycling, you only start to vacum the gravel when ammona is 0 and nitrite is 0, all you can do is carry on with the water changes but don't do large ones or the cycle will take for ever, and increase aeration in the tank.

 

[michtank83]

How often should I do water changes? 10-20% every day or every other day. Should I continue to add Cycle to the tank weekly and AmQuel+ as reccomended. I have a bubble stick in the tank along the bottom, will that help increase the aeration. Once again Thank You.

The algae eaters are a chinese algae and I think the olther is some type of a small catfish. It mainly hangs out behind the heater.

 

[WILDER]

Best to watch the fish and check stats for water changes, yes the bubblewand is fine, you will need to rehome the chinese algae eater need a larger tank and they are aggressive.

http/www.aquatic-gardeners.org/cyprinid.html

 

[beez]

any other reasons why the nitrite might be so high??? im experiencing the same problem with my 55 gallon tank. but- i didnt add fish too quickly, few here and there- its been running about 3 months now and the nitrite is sky high. amonia is 0 ph is good (7.2) fish seem healthy (minus some ich which is FINALLY clearing up) i recently added my first 3 live plants- but i even added those 1 week apart from one another. any ideas on why this is or how i can get the nitrite down is greatly appreciated. thanks

 

[MHunt]

I cycled my tank with 5 guppies. And after one week i had a nitrate level of 4.0 ppm! This was tested at the same time as a water change and a week later my Ammonia was trace, and nitrites were 0.

Just be patient, feed your fish sparingly to minimise the amount of waste they produce. You might leave it a couple of days between water changes to give the bacteria in the filter time to populate effectively and remove the nitrite naturally. It is more stressful for the fish unfortunately, but they are in the tank now, so there is little more you can do about that.

By the way the guppies were all fine and i now have a tank stocked with the fish you see in my signature.

 

[CBBP]

if he is having nitrIte problems shouldn't he try some Bio-spira? I tried it on my 29 gallon and it was instantly cycled... I mean can;t you jsut use it on a cycled aquarium to give it the needed levle of bacteria?

 

[tttnjfttt]

if he is having nitrIte problems shouldn't he try some Bio-spira? I tried it on my 29 gallon and it was instantly cycled... I mean can;t you jsut use it on a cycled aquarium to give it the needed levle of bacteria?

Bio spira or filter media from an established tank is a good idea, however, these levels are in the extreme range, and i doubt the bacteria would be able to remove the toxics faster than a partial water change. One other thing that can be done to help the fish is to add some aquarium salt (assuming the fish can handle salt). That helps reduce the toxicity of nitrites.

 

[CBBP]

if he is having nitrIte problems shouldn't he try some Bio-spira? I tried it on my 29 gallon and it was instantly cycled... I mean can;t you jsut use it on a cycled aquarium to give it the needed levle of bacteria?

Bio spira or filter media from an established tank is a good idea, however, these levels are in the extreme range, and i doubt the bacteria would be able to remove the toxics faster than a partial water change. One other thing that can be done to help the fish is to add some aquarium salt (assuming the fish can handle salt). That helps reduce the toxicity of nitrites.

yes but a bag of bio-spira should be added after a water change to give more bacteria after a few water changes... in my 29 gallon a a 30 gallon rated bag of bio-spira processed .25 ppm of nitrIte in 2 hours +the fish that where in it. (I added alittlew ammonia to see if bio-spira worked before I added fish) and now they are in and seemingly happy.. thoguht it needs more light and plants..

 

[michtank83]

Thanks for all of your help. My nitrite levels are going down there around 3.0 - 4.0ppm, compared to 10ppm yesterday. I talked to someone from my LFS and they suggested me to wait about 48 hrs before I do another water change to give Amquel+ and the cycle a chance to work. All my fish seem to be doing fine, besides my Tux Guppy who mainly hangs out at the top of the tank just floating, and once and a while he will get active a swim around.

One more question when you guys add Amquel+ and Cycle do you add it the the water in the tank or the water in the filter?

Once again thank you!

 

[tttnjfttt]

In a mature tank, you should NEVER have to add bio spira. In a mature tank, you should NEVER see ammonia or nitrite readings. In a mature tank, you should have no need for this product. Even after water changes, you are not removing a significant amount of bacteria. The reason for this is the bacteria do not swim around, they live in a set place, the gravel, the filter media, the decorations.

A nitrite reading of 10 is off the chart, and immediate action should be taken. Immediate meaning don't even run to the LFS, reduce the nitrite levels first. After that, bio spira would be a good choice.

One more question when you guys add Amquel+ and Cycle do you add it the the water in the tank or the water in the filter?

Don't waste your money on Cycle. It is a worthless product that they use to get money from people. I have tried using it to end mini-cycles twice and saw no difference in the time needed for my water stats to go back to zero.

Since you are using amquel +, the nitrite is neutralized, which is good, since it can no longer harm the fish. I would keep doing water changes and redosing the amquel to protect the fish. You can just toss the amquel straight in the tank. You do want to keep as much pure water in the tank and get out the nitrite in there.

Be sure to keep an eye on the guppy, he sounds like he is sick.

Good luck!

 

[Jade2672]

Hi!

Our tank is experiencing problems with Nitrite levels; can I use Amquel+ too?? Where can I obtain said product?

 

[CBBP]

I didn't say my 29 gallon was mature haha.

 

[tttnjfttt]

Hi!

Our tank is experiencing problems with Nitrite levels; can I use Amquel+ too?? Where can I obtain said product?

In normal situations, I do not recomend using products like amquel. Its more like an emergency last resort thing, where even water changes cannot quickly bring down very high levels. What are your water stats? How old is your tank? How big is your tank and what fish are in it?