Need some advice

[donnatippett]

My husband bought me a new 26 gallon aquarium and he also got a 46 gallon aquarium from a family member, including all her fish, but the problem is that we now have fish in my 26 gallon tanks which the water seems to be testing good, but we used some of her water to transport the fish and we put it back into the 46 gallon tank and the water levels seem to be out of control, we have since removed half of the water and put new water in the tank, but the water is still testing with high levels of nitrate and nitrite, also we set up a 10 gallon tank and also have some of the fish in that as well and he used some of the old water in that tank as well. What should we do to get this water problem under control? In the 26 gallon tank we have chilids, goldfish,tetris, and an algee eater. In the10 gallon tank we gave goldfish as well. Please advise.

 

[melosu58]

Moved to the FW forums. This forum is for technical support of the site.

 

[happygirl65]

Hi there and welcome!

We need some information to help you better. So, if you could please answer the following:

Do all three tanks you mentioned have fish in them right now?
How long has each been set up?
When the family member gave the 46 did you use existing gravel, filters etc?

It sounds to me like the tanks are still cycling. It can be a long process (a month or so) You are on the right track with changing half of the water. Keep testing and if the ammonia or nitrite is .5 or above then you should do a large water change. And if you haven't already check out the articles on the site regarding the nitrogen cycle.
But in the mean time get back to us with a little more info and we can go from there.

 

[jsoong]

You often get a mini-cycle with moves, as the bacteria die during transport & setup. Keep up with the pwc's & it should not last too long. Also, when you started the new tanks, did you transfer some of the bacteria from the established one? Seeding the tank will greatly speed up this cycling process.

It would be helpful to post your tanks & their inhabitants/size. There may also be issues with bioload & compatibility <eg mixing the goldfish with cichlids.>

 

[happygirl65]

It is also helpful to know that the bacteria lives mostly in the rocks, decor and filters....not so much in the water itself. Hope that helps.