Overstocked, high nitrite

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kimball2014

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 7, 2015
Messages
18
I have been cycling my first 5 gallon tank for the past 5 weeks and now that I think of it, I overstocked the tank :facepalm: I initially had one betta in it and I should've stopped stocking more.

1 x betta
1 x albino cory
1 x zebra danio
4 x ghost shrimp
1 x african dwarf frog

Anyways, I am still cycling the tank. The ammonia level has been steady at or below 0.25ppm for the past 7 days but the nitrite has been a big problem. I am doing daily 20% PWC to get the nitrite level down but in couple hours, the nitrite spikes up off the chart. So now I am doing daily 20% PWC twice a day (morning and evening) I am using Prime as a conditioner and also to detoxify the bad nitrite.

So now my question is,

1) Since the bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrite are established, should I just keep doing PWC till the bacteria that converts nitrite to nitrate are established? (there are currently 5ppm nitrate)
2) If prime detoxify the ammonia and nitrite for 24-48 hours, what's the point of doing PWC? Can't I just use Prime every 24 hours without doing water changes?
3) Is my tank too overstocked? I can rehome Betta to another small tank but cannot upgrade to 10G or larger tank at this moment :(

:banghead:
 
Water changes also replenish nutrients in water that the fish and to a lesser extent, the bacteria use. Pwc's are always welcome in moderation of course. Danios and cories like schools so they should come out regardless of size. You are indeed overstocked for 5g. If u want to continue cycling with fish, id let it go for 2 weeks without pwc and see if ur nitrites drop, which will also give a nitrate spike

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If you do a pwc, wait a week and perform a small wc, about 10-15% but id still say let it go and just give the bacteria time. From my experience, anything under 20 gallons takes me forever to cycle. I cycled my 45g in 5 weeks, took my gf's 10g 7 weeks

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I haven't done any PWC as you recommended. The nitrite is still high but nitrate went up to 7ppm (It is somewhere between 5ppm - 10ppm) =)

I will keep doing a light feeding and see what happens in the next day or two.

One question, when you guys say "bacteria bloom", does that only apply to the bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrite? because the water was very cloudy when ammonia was high and as nitrites spikes up, the water has been crystal clear. The nitrate is going up so I believe there are some bacteria that converts nitrite to nitrate but was just curious..

As a first time fish keeper, I learned a lesson. I won't ever do a "Fish In" cyclling lol
 
Because your over stocked, I would suggest you ask your lfs for a bag of friendly bacteria, put this in your filter, this will set your tank on a safe mode for your fish, as soon as you put it in..........and cycle your tank
 
Def overstocked. Danios and cories do better in schools of more than 5. Adf also like company. Personally the 5g with the beta and 3-4 Adf would be a good mix. Maybe your lfs would re home the others? Your smaller tank could just be a shrimp tank and re home danio and Cory as they really do need bigger groups an a larger tank

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Thanks for the replies. Yes, I definitely need to upgrade the tank size. I am thinking to get 20G long tank for community tank and keep 5G tank for betta and 4 x ghost shrimps.

Today I checked the water parameter again, the nitrite is still high but nitrate spiked up to 20 ppm as well. I will give it a day or two and will check the water parameter again to see if nitrite can go down.
 
Updates: Nitrite was high even after PWC so I did 90% water change to see what happens. It has been almost 20 hours since I did the water change and ammonia is at 0, nitrite 0.25 and 20 nitrate.

think i am finally getting there
 
Nitrites and ammonia will be high until the tank is cycled.. I would do daily 50% water changes AT LEAST to keep your fish alive....
 
I've had 3-5 gallon tanks cycle overnight with a piece of filter media from another tank. I tried it several times with 4ppm ammonia just to see what would happen.


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my tank has been cycled. 0 ammonia 0 nitrite 40 nitrate. I did 90% water change and it has been 24 hours since. still 0 ammonia 0 nitrite 5 nitrate!! yay
 
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