Nitrite Spike

[ICEEGRL]

I have a 29 gal. with 3 female mollies and 1 unidentified cory. It has been cycled for some time now. Everything has been going great. Today I open the top to feed, and there is this smell.... NOT GOOD!
I checked and sure enough it is spiking! I don't get it. Nothing is new. My nitrites are2.5 and nitrates about 15. Amonia is 0.
I am doing water changes (20%) weekly. I change the filters one at a time biweekly. I am running a whisper 30/60 with the double filter things. (one on each side of intake) It also has 2 of the bio spong things in it too. I don't mess with the bio sponges, only the filter part.
I don't understand what could be causing this.
HELP
I just did about a 30% water change. I am still getting the same readings. The smell is not so strong though. I added a little amquel plus to detox for now. I will do another partial later.
The problem is I can't find the problem!
Any ideas?

 

[ox5477]

Your changing the filter media. The most you should need to change this (and this is in a 'messy' tank with fish like puffers, oscars....etc.) is 6 monthes. Most tank you could prob go 8 to 10 monthes before even think about changing filter media. Your tank is spiking and freaking out because it can't establish enough of a colony to process the nitrite. Nitrates at 15 ppm is fine, you don't need to worry unless you get upwards of 60 to 100 ppm, then worry about that.

If your filter media looks grungy, then just rinse it in your tank and then do a water changing vacuuming up all the crap you shook off of the media. If you change it or rinse it under the tap, your killing and removing your bacteria.

I don't know what amquel plus is but I would stop adding it as if you don't need it, then there is no reason to add un-needed chemicals to your tank which may cause problems with your stocking. Also, the smell is usually normal. Living animals are in the water and they excrete their waste into it..... if you did that into a big pool 24 hours a day, then that water would smell too so don't get worried by the smell.

Also.... one last note, your cory is prob very lonely, they like groups of 5 to 6 of their own kind so I would recomend getting 4 or 5 more of them They would appreciate it.

 

[newfishaddict]

The fact that you have had the tank for a while AND you seem to notice a new smell, tells me a problem could be occurring...

If the smell is musty, fishy, or like plants it is ok... is your tank planted? How many plants? What is the smell like? Is it like rotting chicken (very nasty rotten smell) but still a bit sweet? If yes, this is pseudomonas an opportunistic pathogen of some fish. The nitrite reducing bacteria in aquariums can take 6 weeks to fully establish thus I do agree that you are changing filters too often but I don’t agree with the above user regarding filters and changing frequency; your level of stocking of fish, plants and feeding methods can drastically alter how often you should change your filters.

If you have two filters with two filters in each , thus 4 media with biological filtration capacity, then you should ensure that at least one of the 4 filter media is always at least 6 weeks old. Thus I would rinse, in treated water, one of the 4 filter media at MOST every 11 days, thus you will always have filter media that is at least 6 weeks mature. I would rinse media well, in treated water every 15 days if I were you, if you have lots of plants; and rinse every 20-25 days if you have no/few plants.

 

[ICEEGRL]

I must have explained wrong. I will try again. On each side there is a bio spong which I never change. So far I haven't even had to rinse. The two of them are about 8 months old. There is a filter just before that on each side. Those two do the physical filter with the chemical filtration in them. These are the two that I change. I do them one at a time so that they get changed once a month.(not at the same time though)

My tank has 5 bulb plants in it for now. I am checking into other kinds of plants trying to decide what I should get.

I have 3 female mollies and 1 cory. The problem is I found out mollies need salt. I added salt then found out that the cory don't. I also recently found out that the cory likes company(I was told wrong at first) Now I don't know what to do. I would like more corys, but I don't want to make them unhappy in the brackish water. Would they be ok and the mollies too if I went maybe half of the salt? This is why I don't have more fish yet. I am unsure what to get so I am doing alot of reading and asking.

The smell was sort of like amonia and rotten eggs. I never had a smell before. I checked the stats first then started trying to correct the problem. My nitrites have been 0 for a long time now. I can't figure what happened.

The amquel plus removes/ detoxifies nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, chlorine, chloramines, and heavy metals. You can use it for water changes and spikes so you don't poison the fish. I use stress coat for water changes and this for spikes. I have it because I didn't start right. I made alot of mistakes in the beginning, but I am getting much better as I learn.

I thought I finally had this right. I haven't had a problem in this tank in a long time. Now this.

Any ideas?


I almost forgot... there is also a Hydor Ario 2 turbo air pump with led in there too. It is basically just a fancy sponge filter. It also doesn't ever get changed. I should have enough bio not to be getting spikes. I am confused!

 

[ICEEGRL]

Does any one have any ideas?
I can't find the problem.

 

[mark.w.jones]

Is this your filter?

http/www.aquariumguys.com/whisperpower.html

Just trying to get an idea of how your filtration works.

Owning mollies can be limiting somewhat because as you mentioned they do prefer slightly warmer saline conditions. Definitely steer clear of most catfish species as most are not scaled and therefore can not cope with the salt. You currently have very few fish in a rather large tank as well, therefore you will not have a huge amount of bacteria present in your filter media and sponges. As such you need to stock slowly ie 2 / 3 fish then leave for at least a week to allow the bacteria to grow to deal with the extra waste being produced. Obviously keep an eye on water stats in this time and the repeat until you are fully stocked.

First things first thou you need to get your water chemistry under control. I wouldnt waste your time or money with either the amquel or the stresscoat. Your tank requires neither and all they do is serve to mask and hide problems.

Filter media, sponges and wool only really need changing when they are falling apart or looking really, really crappy. Even then only change about half of them at a time. Ideally they should be quite gungy and dirty looking. This means theyre doing their job. Dont over clean any of them as this can cause the spike you mentioned. Also be careful not to overfeed, again this can cause a build up of waste leading to a spike. By the sounds of things you have it all under control again. Just keep an eye on your stats for a week or two and barring any problems you are ready to stock.

As far as stocking is concerned I dont have a clue as I have never kept mollies. Ask in the liverbearers section for some advice.

good luck

 

[Tolak]

Sometimes due to seasonal changes or other situations your water company will jack up the chlorine/chloramine/buffers. It's a regular thing with my water supply. Double dose with dechlorinator, I do this with Prime on a regular basis. Large water changes will help as well.

 

[ICEEGRL]

http/www.tetra-fish.com/catalog/product.aspx?id=577
Hopefully this will show you what my filter is. Mine is way bigger than the one on that site you found. If this does take you to the right place where you can see it let me know becouse I have a question about filter placement.
I think I may have it set up wrong. please check it out. Mine is the whisper advanced pf 30-60.
Thank you.
By the way, it is still doing it. I can't get my nitrites back to 0!

I will also start doing larger water changes, and up the dechlor.
Thank you so much!

 

[Tommy Gunnz]

Correct me if I am way off base here, but your filter media that you explain you are changing (i.e. not the bio filter media) will not really help too much in the way of filtering nitrites out of the tank. That is if you are talking about just the filter media itself and not any bacteria that is growing on it like it does in the bio filter media.

Honestly, the filter media that you are changing is going to account for just a small portion of removing nitrites from the tank (well, not removing, converting is more the term) and the only way to significantly reduce the number of nitrates in your tank is to take out the water in a water change.

That being said, I agree that you are changing your filter media too often and instead of changing them all of the time, I would suggest like the others have, that you simply rinse them out every other water change using the system you have for changing them. However, I would not just rinse them in some conditioned water but rather fill a bucket with some of the water from your water change and rinse them in that water. This will help ensure that the bacteria do not get shocked by very differing water types as well as using this water in a timely manner will help reduce the chance that the rinsing water is too cold or too hot.

It is also true that Mollies are actually a brackish water fish, meaning that they do best in a tank that has a spacific gravity around 23, which is on the very lowest scale of salinity needed to keep most saltwater fish. Of course, this is not an absolute need for keeping mollies, but at least now you know. Also, putting aquarium salt in the tank will not be the best course of action for a brackish water tank but rather the same salt as is used in marine tanks is preffered.

I have to say as well that I do not agree with the statement about scaleless fish not being able to cope wtih having salt in the water (sorry JonesyUK). I believe this myth (in my opinion anyways) came about by thte fact that scaleless fish are harder to treat for Ich than fish with scales. They are this way because Ich can latch on the them better and that most medicines commonly used to treat Ich can irritate their 'skin'. However, IMO and IME based upon some readings as well as having treated Ich on clown loaches, the more natural Ich treatment is preferred which is to raise the temperature of the tank and dose with aquarium salt. This method just speeds up the lifecycle of Ich so that it dies before the fish does.

Anyways, I think the bottom line here is that you either have that pathogen that newfishaddict1 brought up (I am not familiar with it so I wouldnt know for sure) or you are overfeeding or are taking enough bacteria out of the tank with the filter media that you are changing to create a situation in which the bacteria colony cannot keep up with the wastes.

Hope this helps a little bit.

 

[ICEEGRL]

I was told that carbon had to be changed once a month or it could start putting the bad stuff back in the tank. That is why I was changing it like that. I was putting in new carbon, and trying to make sure not to do both too close to the same time. If leaving the carbon in longer is not a prolem I will definately stop. How will I know when it does need to be changed though? Does carbon do something that will clue me as to when it needs to be replaced?

The other thing is I am thinking I may have the filters in the wrong order. Does it go through the mechanical and chemical one, then the bio one, Then back in the tank, or the other way around. It seems like I am growing the bacteria in the wrong filter. I need the bacteria in the bio insert instead of my carbon filter, but if I swap them around then all the gunk gets in the bio thing. If I keep it as is When I have to change my carbon I am killing my bacteria.

There is one of each kind on each side.(4 in all) What order do they go in?


I am sooo confused!!!!!!!