Problematic! 5ppm Nitrite. 3+ Year Old Tank.

[emilythestrange]

Since changing tanks i have tested my water tonight and to my shock the nitrite could be up to 5ppm. its a plum purple colour. never ever had anything above 0ppm.

I have now got the fluval U3 instead of fluval 2 plus ( i replaced the new foam inserts with the old 2plus ones, so the same media is in the filter.

I have changed from gravel to sand.

I have added 3 pieces of mopani wood, which i boiled for three days, however the water is still brown.

Would the tannin affect the colour of the water?

Ammonia is 0ppm (checked tonight)


I re tested the nitrite and still got the same high reading, then tested my regular tap water which was 0ppm.

help!

also... one of my huge ghost shrimps has died ! i noticed the night before he was going slightly pinky in colour, but was behaving normally. the next morning i found him dead on the bottom of the tank, he looked like a prawn! in colour..

I have 5 teeny cherry shrimp who are fine and two other huge ghost shrimp who are still alive.

 

[Nightstar99]

Since changing tanks i have tested my water tonight and to my shock the nitrite could be up to 5ppm. its a plum purple colour. never ever had anything above 0ppm.

I have now got the fluval U3 instead of fluval 2 plus ( i replaced the new foam inserts with the old 2plus ones, so the same media is in the filter.

I have changed from gravel to sand.

I have added 3 pieces of mopani wood, which i boiled for three days, however the water is still brown.

Would the tannin affect the colour of the water?

Ammonia is 0ppm (checked tonight)


I re tested the nitrite and still got the same high reading, then tested my regular tap water which was 0ppm.

help!

also... one of my huge ghost shrimps has died ! i noticed the night before he was going slightly pinky in colour, but was behaving normally. the next morning i found him dead on the bottom of the tank, he looked like a prawn! in colour..

I have 5 teeny cherry shrimp who are fine and two other huge ghost shrimp who are still alive.

My mopani wood stained the water for months. I wouldn't boil it though, the tannins are good for the water.

 

[fishprotector]

Sounds like you are experiencing a mini cycle. You need to do large water changes of around 80% daily until the nitrite levels decrease. They are more toxic to fish than ammonia.

 

[emilythestrange]

would the tannins change the water colour result on the API freshwater liquid dropper kits?

Sounds like you are experiencing a mini cycle. You need to do large water changes of around 80% daily until the nitrite levels decrease. They are more toxic to fish than ammonia.

Is this due to the change in substrate or the change in filter? the new filter include the biomax and also carbon aswell as foam... would that have anything to do with it?

 

[fishprotector]

Tannins would not cause the results, they simply change the water colour. Have you added any new stock, placing a larger bio load on the filter?

 

[emilythestrange]

Tannins would not cause the results, they simply change the water colour. Have you added any new stock, placing a larger bio load on the filter?

2 male guppies recently (3 days ago) I thought this would be fine with the larger filter and more of a surface area than before..

so would the darker water then affect the darkness in the nitrite readings?


how long does it take to stop a mini cycle

 

[Nightstar99]

would the tannins change the water colour result on the API freshwater liquid dropper kits?

Sounds like you are experiencing a mini cycle. You need to do large water changes of around 80% daily until the nitrite levels decrease. They are more toxic to fish than ammonia.

Is this due to the change in substrate or the change in filter? the new filter include the biomax and also carbon aswell as foam... would that have anything to do with it?

Thats a good question actually. The only way I would know to find that out would be to ask the company.

 

[fishprotector]

Although the old substrate will have housed a percentage of bacteria, it will have been a very small level and almost insignificant compared to that in a filter. As long as you transferred all of the media into the new filter and did not wash it too vigorously or in tap water then you should not have damaged the colony. It will most likely be a combination of the new fish being introduced as bacteria takes time to replenish itself and a small loss of bacteria in the gravel and thetransfer of the media.

Large water changes are the way forwards until the levels drop.

 

[emilythestrange]

Ok thanks.


Am i overstocked?

I have:

20 Endlers live bearers (male)
8 male platys
2 gold neon tetras
1 black neon tetra
1 albino corydora
2 male guppies
5 tiny cherry shrimp
2 amano/ghost shrimp

in a 110l juwel rekord

 

[fishprotector]

Oh and carbon will not affect nitrite levels. It will help remove the tannins though, but becomes saturated and pretty much useless after around ten days. It will then act as another surface to allow bacteria to colonise on. Most people swap it for more sponge pads unless you specifically need it.

I wouldn't say overstocked, but you have single or low numbers of several fish that prefer shoals.

 

[emilythestrange]

Oh and carbon will not affect nitrite levels. It will help remove the tannins though, but becomes saturated and pretty much useless after around ten days. It will then act as another surface to allow bacteria to colonise on. Most people swap it for more sponge pads unless you specifically need it.

I wouldn't say overstocked, but you have single or low numbers of several fish that prefer shoals.

yes im aware of the tetra / cory problem, i used to have tetras and now ive only got a couple left, no fish store will take them, unless its a backstreet general petstore where they are all dead in the tanks.
The cory i've had since the beginning of my fishkeeping, when i knew less and let my sister pick one! i tried to buy other cory's to keep him company, but it never works out as they are 500% smaller

 

[emilythestrange]

update; did two large water changes over the weekend, cut down on my feeding, and now its 0.1ppm or 0ppm i will be checking up on it very regularly

 

[fishprotector]

That's great, glad you got it all sorted.

 

[sadguppy]

Mini-cycles are traumatic but in my experience short lived. I have found my ammonia-eating bacteria to be hard as nails but the nitrite converters can be knocked out simply by an overzealous clean!

However with daily water changes the effects usually last under a week.