Worried About High Nitrite Levels...

[simonero]

I have a 10gal tank that has been cycling with fish for ~4 weeks.  I have 0 ammonium and my pH is generally around 7, though today it was 7.5.  Not worried about that because I'm going brackish soon.  My nitrite has been high for over a week now, though.  It was .75 maybe 5-6 days ago.  Today he said it was "as high as it would get" and that he "couldn't tell exactly because it was off his color chart".  I'm not 100% convinced the color matched to be THAT high (~5-8) but regardless it was for sure at least 1.25, which isn't good...
 
Also, just to note, I've been dealing a bit with protein buildup, noticeable as bubbles at the top of my tank.  He told me to get rid of the protein film using newspaper and didn't seem worried about it.
 
He said that because I've already tried putting in bacteria (weeks ago during the ammonium portion of the cycle.  Which I later read was a scam..) that there's nothing I can do but wait, and reduce the frequency of feeding (live blackworms) to every other day.  He also said that because my fish are still alive with such high nitrite that they will probably live through this and that I shouldn't be too worried.
 
What do you guys think?  Is "just waiting" and reducing feeding, as well as ~25% partial water changes every 2-4 days, sufficient?  Should I be more worried or take action in any other way to help my tank cycle more efficiently or protect the health of my fish?

 

[fluttermoth]

Big water changes, until you're not reading any nitrite at all. Repeat tomorrow, and continue until it's cleared. You should really invest in a set of test kits of your own; ones for ammonia and nitrite at the very least.
 
Any level of nitrite can case long term health issues for, or even kill, your fish, so you need to reduce it ASAP.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

It is normal for nitrite to spike more slowly and well after ammonia has dropped.
 
Your store guy is uninformed. The viable bottled bacteria should not be dumped into a overly high ammonia level- about 5ppm+, So if one has too much ammonia that would harm them, so would too much nitrite.
 
Depending on how saline you plan make your brackish will determine which bacteria will end up doing the work in it. In a higher salinity (10 ppt or 1.007 specific gravity and above) they are the same as the SW ones, in lower salinities they are the same as the FW ones.