water changes(cycle)

[booginish]

my tank has bin cycling for a bout a month now and i over crowded it a bit at first(12 danios 2 albino loaches), but there all still alive and well. i noticed alot of nitrite in my water yesterday so one of the members on this site recommended a 50 % water changes(worked very well). and today i tested and found a high level of nitrtites again(.08) so i did another big water change. but i read on another site that doin to big of a water change kills your amonnia/nitrite recycling bacterium, so how big of a water change should be done in a 55 gallon tank with a nitrite level of .08? i imagine tomorrow there gonna be the same but i guess i wont know til then, i did notice the level went down a little today after the big change yesterday, so im not to sure how big of a change i should be doin?

 

[booginish]

.08 was what i meant in the brackets i dont know why it made a smiley face

 

[neilanh]

Just to clarify what the people on the other site were talking about.

Bacteria will build up their population based on how much food is available to them. So, if you have 5ppm of nitrIte, you will build up a much larger population than if you have 1ppm.

That's true, but - eventually - your tank will reach an equillibrium where you have an adequate population of bacteria based on the amount of waste your fishes are producing, then everything will remain in balance as long as something doesn't go wrong, or the balance will adjust and react accordingly as you add or remove additional waste products (i.e. more fish).

Now, here's where the real downside to cycling with fish comes in. In order to maintain your fishes health, you need to do a water change whenever the nitrIte level gets up to 0.5ppm or above (this counts the same for ammonia, but it appears you're beyond that phase). The downside in doing this, is the abundance of food for the bacteria isn't there, so they don't build up their population as quickly. Whether or not 0.5ppm is the right place to do a water change is highly debateable, but, it is the most recommended approach.

And yes, I suspect that tomorrow you will find the same results, a high level of nitrIte in the tank again. This is because your fish are generating a decent amount of waste, and you have already established a sufficient colony of the nitrifying bacteria that consume the ammonia. Now, you have to wait for the other type of bacteria, that consume the nitrIte, to establish themselves.

 

[booginish]

your awsome, good advice. now just one question, is there any type of additive i could purchase to remove nitrites? thus reducing the levels of nitrites and reducing the amount of water changes i have to do thus making the bacterium colonize faster because they will have less waste to worry about.

 

[booginish]

and yes my ammonia readings are 0 ph still stable at 7.4

 

[jsoong]

One thing that would protect against nitrite poisoning in fish is salt. you don't need a lot (less than 0.01% - or a teaspoon in your 55 gal). Some fish (the loaches) might be sensitive to salt, although at such low level, most would think that it is OK.

Another alternative would be using something like Prime to bind the nitrite (& ammonia as well). Problem is that Prime lasts only 24 hrs or so, so you have to redose daily. <and it is a bit of a guess work as it messes with your test kit.>

I think you can afford to let the nitrite go above 0.08. <BTW, you got the funny face because 8+) gave you the smiley.> You can prob. go to a 0.2 peak with the fish you have (esp. if you decided to get a bit of insurance with a pinch of salt) ... but do keep an eye on the fish in case of trouble. <Signs of nitrite poisoning - brown gills, gasping at surface, rapid breathing, lethargy.>

ARG - Aquarium & Pond Info - The use of salt in the freshwater aquarium or pond

 

[booginish]

you know what im sorry i meant to say .8 on my previous post

 

[booginish]

i have aquarium salt and i used it a long time ago to rid my tank of ich(worked great), and i actually overdosed it, and my albino corys survived just fine so i think i might add a little bit of salt. it wont hurt my danios(zebra) to much will it?

 

[booginish]

and you mentioned it would be ok to add salt with a low level of nitrite(.08) but as i said i was mistaken my nitrite levels were actually .8 probly less, so should i still add a teaspoon of salt, or should i add more of a adequate amount to acommodate the nitrite levels(.8)?

 

[jsoong]

The dose is a Cl level at least 30x that of your nitrite. Even at 1 ppm NO2, you only need 30 ppm Cl or about 0.01% = 22g of salt for 55 gal. That is just over 1 Tablespoon.

The danios will be fine at that level of salt. However, I would be doing water changes at 0.8. Aim for 0.5 so you have a bit of room for the NO2 to peak between your checks & pwc's.