High Nitrites

[Aqualady40]

Is it safe to say I can do PWC's 1-2 hours apart to get nitrites to 0 during 5.5 week of fish-in cycle? If not, please advise me....

Was
Ammo .25
Trite was 2.0-5.0

Now
PWC 25% 1hour later 75%
Ammo .50
Tries.50

 

[jondamon]

You also need to make sure that your source water doesn't have any nitrites in it.

Once confirmed as zero nitrites in your source water perform 50% PWC every 2 hours until nitrites are 0.25ppm or until you can't lift any more buckets for that day.



Jon

 

[Aqualady40]

You also need to make sure that your source water doesn't have any nitrites in it.

Once confirmed as zero nitrites in your source water perform 50% PWC every 2 hours until nitrites are 0.25ppm or until you can't lift any more buckets for that day.



Jon

Results immediately from tap are (done yesterday):
Ph:7.4
Ammo:0.50
Trite:0
Trate:0


Results after 24 hours sitting are (done this morning):
Ph: really looks like 8.2 but very well could be 7.4
Ammo:1.0
Trites:0
Trates:0

Since I have done 25% first, then I did a 75% 1hour later, is it best to wait 2 or more hours for the next 50%? And is it okay to shoot for 0 trites?

Where do I go from here with these tap results? What should my target be on my tests?

 

[jondamon]

Your tank targets should be

Ammonia zero
Nitrite zero
Nitrate less than 20ppm.

These results are based on a fully cycled tank.

During your fish in cycle you should try to keep levels under 0.25ppm for both ammonia and nitrite. However with 0.50ppm of ammonia in your tap it will be hard to keep ammonia under 0.5.


Jon

 

[Aqualady40]

Your tank targets should be

Ammonia zero
Nitrite zero
Nitrate less than 20ppm.

These results are based on a fully cycled tank.

During your fish in cycle you should try to keep levels under 0.25ppm for both ammonia and nitrite. However with 0.50ppm of ammonia in your tap it will be hard to keep ammonia under 0.5.


Jon

So my question remains...Do I keep doing PWC's TODAY until I get trites down between 0-.25?

If so, hour many hours in between each?

so far, I did the 25% around 9:30 a.m.
then the 75% around 11:30 a.m.

 

[shellieca]

So my question remains...Do I keep doing PWC's TODAY until I get trites down between 0-.25?

If so, hour many hours in between each?

so far, I did the 25% around 9:30 a.m.
then the 75% around 11:30 a.m.

When I was fish in cycling I did a minimum of a 50% water change each time & if my test results showed higher then I did a bigger WC. Personally I'd wait an hour or two then test again & if need be do a water change. Fortunately neither my ammonia or nitrItes never really got above .5, I was doing 50%+ water changes about every 3 days.

 

[Aqualady40]

When I was fish in cycling I did a minimum of a 50% water change each time & if my test results showed higher then I did a bigger WC. Personally I'd wait an hour or two then test again & if need be do a water change. Fortunately neither my ammonia or nitrItes never really got above .5, I was doing 50%+ water changes about every 3 days.

Lucky you....Ok well it has been 2 hours since the 75% PWC and I did test one hour ago...which had brought things to the .50 (ammo and trites)....

I know the bb don't live in the actual water...so just worrying about cycle stalling and fish breathing easy....any input is accepted....

Do you think its safe to do another PWC now since it has been 2 hours since the last one which was 75%?

 

[shellieca]

Lucky you....Ok well it has been 2 hours since the 75% PWC and I did test one hour ago...which had brought things to the .50 (ammo and trites)....

I know the bb don't live in the actual water...so just worrying about cycle stalling and fish breathing easy....any input is accepted....

Do you think its safe to do another PWC now since it has been 2 hours since the last one which was 75%?

I would do one more water change of 50%+ to get the levels to at the most .25 preferably lower. Its a pain I know, there were a couple of times I did multiple changes in a day.

 

[Aqualady40]

I would do one more water change of 50%+ to get the levels to at the most .25 preferably lower. Its a pain I know, there were a couple of times I did multiple changes in a day.

heehhe...I do not mind since I have a syphon and my sink is 10ft away if not closer...so no problem doing the PWC...QUESTION...so to clarify...I CAN do PWC until I see 0 nitrites?

 

[tamtam]

heehhe...I do not mind since I have a syphon and my sink is 10ft away if not closer...so no problem doing the PWC...QUESTION...so to clarify...I CAN do PWC until I see 0 nitrites?

yes. The biggest risk with water changes is shocking your fish. So be sure you temp match your water and you will be fine. You want to wait about an hour between changes just to be sure you get an accurate reading but doing them back to back until you get it down is fine. You can go until you get 0 but so long as it's .25 or lower it's good.

 

[Dreadz]

If your water source is testing at 0.5ppm ammo you need to find a way of sorting that out too! Loads of people over there in the US seem to swear by Prime. It's a water conditioner that binds the ammo for 24hrs so it's not harmful to your fish but is still available for your BB to consume. Another option would be RO or mineral water. The RO unit costs initially but buying mineral water gets expensive in the long run!

 

[Aqualady40]

yes. The biggest risk with water changes is shocking your fish. So be sure you temp match your water and you will be fine. You want to wait about an hour between changes just to be sure you get an accurate reading but doing them back to back until you get it down is fine. You can go until you get 0 but so long as it's .25 or lower it's good.

Great, thank you!

 

[dwayne.aycock]

I would suggest patience in your water changes. So much water moving through your tank in such a short time may cause problems. If you do a 50% water change, wait 24-48 yours before trying another one, otherwise you risk the strong possibility of shocking your fish. Even though your BB are in the filter media and substrate, they still need time to adjust to water changes. Remember that they are microscopic and thus delicate. Having nitrate is in itself all bad. It is an indication that your nitrites are converting over to a less toxic form nitrate, which your plants and BB use as food. I found that vacuuming my tank helped my levels by removing excess materials, and giving my BB time to catch up.
Good luck!
Dwayne