nitrites

[woo]

I just did a water test today..first time in a few weeks.

My nitrites read at about .25ppm..maybe because I replaced my filter media last week (eheim substrat pro).

I know nitrites are really bad for the aquarium, so is there any way to speed up the process to get the nitrites back to 0? Any help is appreciated.

 

[willowthepoet]

throw in some prime?

 

[Andos99]

When was your last water change and how big was it?

 

[woo]

I do 25-30% water changes weekly.

And I threw some Amquel Plus in a little while ago.

 

[Fishingdood]

could throw some plants in it ...also ...you might want to cut back on the amount of water you are changing out mabye 10% to 15%....everytime u do a change the tank has to rebuild that water to the already previous water conditions...I.E. losing bacteria...also changing out the filter media will also have a effect....give it a couple days I am sure it will even out

 

[mattrox]

Water cahnges don't affect the bacterial load very much if at all. It was probably the media change that prompted the mini cycle. Just keep up your pwc's. Perhaps 15% every second day until the cycle has finished. Even 20% if nitrites build up too much.

 

[Pufferpunk]

you might want to cut back on the amount of water you are changing out mabye 10% to 15%....everytime u do a change the tank has to rebuild that water to the already previous water conditions...I.E. losing bacteria

There is no bacteria in the water column. It only lives on surfaces. I do 50% weekly water changes... have been for 26 years.

 

[jrp1588]

Whew, had me worried for a second. I too have been doing 50% changes every week for a while. Thought I'd been killing my fishies. lol

 

[Zaffy]

I've been having a problem with nitrites as well, My kit is giving me a reading of around 10ppm nitrite, well into the "danger" zone. It's been this way for about 3 weeks. I've been doing regular 25% water changes (2-4 days), and at the suggestion of the lfs I've been adding Prime after the changes.

The tank is a lightly stocked 20g, 2 red wag platys, 1 male dwarf gourami. other parameters in the tank are stable and well within safe.

is there something I'm doing wrong? or something I could be doing better?

 

[rich311k]

What kind of test kit are you using? That just doesn't make sense.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Sounds like something could be rotting in your tank. More than likely though, the kit is wrong, cause at 10 nitrItes, your fish would all be dead. Sure that isn't nitrAtes?

 

[woo]

Mine is back at 0 - I don't know if I messed up on the test or what, but it seems to be okay now.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Well, all those WC sure didn't hurt! Glad to hear that is straightened out. Is it 0 on your test kit? Cause at 5, my fish were struggling to stay alive!

 

[Zaffy]

Glad you're all straightened out Woo. I don't mean to hijack your thread, I can make a new one if you want.

What kind of test kit are you using? That just doesn't make sense.

I'm using This 5 in one kit I'm positive that it's the nitrIte at 10pm, nitrAte is between 20ppm and 40ppm (in the safe zone on the kit). I took a water sample to my lfs and they tested it as well.

The fish seem to be doing fine, they're eating normally, I'm not seeing any strange behavior, the female platy has given birth to 2 sets of fry.

other parameters have been steady for several weeks
ammonia ~0
GH between 150-300
KH 180
pH 7.8
Temp constant 78F-80F

 

[Pufferpunk]

Not very accurate test. Better to use Aquarium Pharmecuticals.

 

[Pufferpunk]

I don't believe those kits are very reliable. Get Aquarium Pharmecuticals.

 

[rich311k]

I would get the test Puffer suggested. Did the store give an actual reading or did they just say it was high? I would do a water change 25% for a couple of days.