0 - 5ppm in a night?!

[sunday]

I have a 5.5 gal tank which is currently fish-in cycling. It's finished the ammonia spike and is now going through the nitrite spike, with rigorous water tests and changes from myself. Last night I got it down to 0ppm (by 3am) and now, within 5hrs it is back at 5ppm. I am a bit at my wits end with how quickly it's spiking - single fish is being fed minimally, I have a planted tank, and I am diligent in water changes and gravel vacuuming. I have also been adding Pure Aquarium balls to try and somehow help.

I have a bottle of Prime arriving today to detox it (once I've got the level back down with pwcs), but aside from this does anyone have any ideas on what else to do? I have an established koi pond outside I may have to seed from but I don't want to do this unless as a last resort really. Thank you.

 

[Delapool]

Hi, is this nitrite that is spiking up now?

 

[sunday]

Hi! Yes, it's been spiking since last Friday and I have been doing multiple water changes (per day) since then to try and keep it down. Feeling a bit better now I have prime to detox it but concerned about how quickly it's building up :L

 

[Delapool]

Unfortunately the bacteria to consume nitrite are playing catch-up and you need more of them. Conversion I have below. A small pinch of salt will also help protect against nitrites but Prime sounds good. Keep an eye on ph and don't let it drop below 6.5 or so.

1 ppm ammonia --> 2.7 ppm nitrite --> 3.6 ppm nitrate.

For every gram of ammonia oxidised into nitrate 4.8 grams of oxygen is used, 7.14 grams of calcium carbonate is used (now you know why pH crash can occur in tanks with to little buffering capacity). Hope this helps.

 

[Krill Aquaria]

How are the levels within your tank doing today? I noticed you mentioned that you purchased Seachem Prime to assist with detoxification.

If you are still having an issue with your nitrite levels, I would recommend giving Seachem Stability a try. I rely on this product as means to help establish any of my new aquariums. Stability contains beneficial bacteria to assist with the breakdown of organic waste through the nitrogen cycle. Adding the bacteria within Stability will hopefully assist with the breakdown of nitrites within your system.