Nitrite Will Never Drop!

[Robris]

For the last 9 days now ammonia has been 0.25 and nitrite 2.0

Not a single change of them levels in 9 days, my tank is now about 1 month old and even if im doing a fish cycle shouldnt bacteria build up eventually to kill nitrite? I dnot get it and its dam frustrating lol.

 

[rdd1952]

What kind of test kit ae you using? It could be inaccurate. When the ammonia dropped back to .25, you should have added more ammonia. Any time it drops down close to zero, bump it back up to 4 or 5 ppm. What is the pH in the tank and what is the water temperature? Both of those can have an effect. Low pH or temperature slows the process.

 

[Lynda B]

You have fish in there? What kind and how many? What types of chemicals are you using?

Tanks take various times to cycle, with or without fish. Don't lose your patience.

How often are you doing water changes? And how much water are you changing?

For a month old tank, you shouldn't have ammonia readings any more.

 

[Robris]

Im using an API master test kit. The tank has the fish that are in my sig. pH is 7.2, kH is 4. I have just done a 70% water change and the reading is still 2.0 lol. The test tube comes out fairly dark purple. And for some reason I get 0.25 ammonia straight from the tap. I am starting to doubt this test kit

 

[Amunet]

We get a 0.25 ammonia reading from our tap as well.
That's really nothing to worry about since the bacteria in your tank should get rid of that no problem.
Just be patient.
The nitrite in our tank has been spiking deep purple for well over a week now.

 

[Robris]

We get a 0.25 ammonia reading from our tap as well.
That's really nothing to worry about since the bacteria in your tank should get rid of that no problem.
Just be patient.
The nitrite in our tank has been spiking deep purple for well over a week now.

ok cool at least its not only me, I'll be patient

 

[rdd1952]

You might want to take a water sample to the lfs and have them test the nitrite and maybe even the ammonia to see if your kits are indeed faulty. They do have a shelf life and although it is about 3 years, I guess it's possible you got one that had been sitting around in a warehouse some where. What is the date on the label of the bottles? That would tell you when it was manufactured.

 

[Robris]

My test kits are fine. My Nitrite was still above 2.0 until today. Basically I added "JBL FilterBoost" into my Hang-On Filter, its like small rocks (like gravel) little did I know they didnt stay in the filter and got spat straight back out lol. Anyways it writes on the box that its "Specially Cultured bacteria for effective breakdown of organic matter in the filter".

Boy did it work! It sat in the bottom of my tank for approx 5 hours and my nitrites are down to 0. After 3 weeks of my nitrites staying above 2 they are now 0 with this bacteria I added, at least I know it works.


Too bad that my fish are already sick from the high levels. One of my electric yellows is almost all white, lost all of its colour.

 

[ArauraDiscus]

OOO my tanks doing this as well, but I have been waiting for the nitrite to cycle for over a month. Nitrite takes longer to cycle than ammonia, but it shouldn't take this long.

 

[Robris]

OOO my tanks doing this as well, but I have been waiting for the nitrite to cycle for over a month. Nitrite takes longer to cycle than ammonia, but it shouldn't take this long.

thats exactly what I thought, it should take longer, but mine was just taking too long and this bacteria I added work a treat, the only bad thing is its sitting on the bottom of my tank mixed with gravel so when I vac it out, or when it wears out, Im thinking I will have the high nitrites problem again. Its almost like my filter didnt want to grow any bacteria for removing nitrites, mind you I have a aqua one 300l/h hang on filter with only one little square piece of filter wool in there so its not like I have good bio-filtration by any means.

 

[rdd1952]

I would be very careful with thinking the tank is completely cycled because of the stuff you put in. If it didn't stay in your tank, then it didn't help with the process as it has to be in the water flow to form bacteria or process nitrite or ammonia. It may have absorbed some though. Just keep testing the nitrite and ammonia to make sure they don't come back and the nitrate to see that it is rising, meaning that the process is taking place as it should.

 

[Osphromenoides]

Part of your problem might b your water changes. 70% is quite a bit. Scale back to 25% every 2 wks till u even out.

 

[rdd1952]

Part of your problem might b your water changes. 70% is quite a bit. Scale back to 25% every 2 wks till u even out.

With high nitrites, she has to do larger water changes on a frequent basis to keep the level as low as possible.