nitrite spike

[timwag2001]

HI everyone!
OK. here's the story...
1 year ago i inherited a 30 gallon (my very first aquarium) with an emperor 400. it was grossly neglected! couldnt even see the fish! i cleaned it up and have taken good care of it since. weekly pwc and everything. all was well. Utill... i bought a 55 gal. the guy at my lfs told me that i can just dump all off my water in to that one with my old filter and wouldnt have to worry about cycling. apparently false. i'm having huge nitrite problems. daily 25% pwc for a week and a half and i have just got it down to around 0.3 mg/l. my fish arent very happy and would like your advice. why cant i control my nitrites?

 

[jsoong]

To transfer your biofilter, you need to move not just the water, but the filter, substrate & all decorations. You are prob. going through a mini-cycle right now. Good thing is that these tend not to last too long .... Just continue on with the pwc's till the cycle is reestablished.

What fish you have? If salt tolerant, you can add a bit of salt to protect against nitrite poisoning in the meantime. You don't need a lot, about 0.05% will do. <Don't add salt if you have plants!>

 

[timwag2001]

ok. i just updated my signature so hopefully it will tell you more at the end of this message. the substrate and the decos are the only things i didnt move. i didnt want artificial plants anymore so i tossed them and i wanted a more natural looking substrate instead of my original blue and purple gravel.
as far as salt i always add 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt to 5 gallons of water during pwc's. are my plants not tolerant of that?

 

[timwag2001]

ok my sig didnt post that time. i'll try again

 

[timwag2001]

how bout now?

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

check your tap water or whatever water you are filling the tank with, it may have a nitrite count on its own. (and a nitrate count of 10)


My well water has a nitrite reading of .25 so if I was to do rabid water changes the level would never drop below that.

The biofilter worked to reduce the tanks reading to lower than my tap water.

Just something to consider..... many people's water already has a nitrite/nitrate reading some would consider "not perfect" for your fish.

 

[verucaproduce]

Most plants aren't that crazy about salt. Some fish don't do well with it either. Probably better not to use it unless you are using it to medicate. Also, most of your beneficial bacteria will not be in your water column, so transferring water to a new tank is pretty much a waste.

 

[timwag2001]

my tap is less than .3 mg/l nitrite. which is the best reading my test kit gives.

you know what though. my tap water seems to be kinda hazardous to my fish. i MUST use a conditioner for my well wate or bad things happen. even though all of my tests show that its fine. i've had clean tap and tank water tested by the pet stores also

 

[timwag2001]

good to know. i thought everything was in the water. which means that my ammonia and nitrite carried over and that is all, huh. well. except what was in my bio wheel and filter.

 

[verucaproduce]

Well the filter will help, but you will still have to check your levels often and do quite a few water changes to keep everything in line.

 

[timwag2001]

To transfer your biofilter, you need to move not just the water, but the filter, substrate & all decorations. You are prob. going through a mini-cycle right now. Good thing is that these tend not to last too long .... Just continue on with the pwc's till the cycle is reestablished.

What fish you have? If salt tolerant, you can add a bit of salt to protect against nitrite poisoning in the meantime. You don't need a lot, about 0.05% will do. <Don't add salt if you have plants!>

so how long do you suppose this spike might last?