Freshwater Newbie- having nitrite/nitrate issues

[nicbmik]

Hi Everyone-

Prior to now, my only experience with aquariums was a betta in a fishbowl. I walked out of Petco about a month ago with a new 20G tank and several new fish. As I've read more and more, I realize we were the victims of bad advice and shouldn't have bought any fish yet. Because of that, we never truly gave our tank time to properly cycle- we added the fish after about a day. Luckily, we haven't lost any yet and there are no signs of stress. The issue is the nitrite and nitrate levels are consistently high, and I'm doing water changes every 5 days or less. I've read that it can take up to/over a month for a tank to stabilize, so I didn't want to go buying random products to even out levels if I should simply be patient. I'd appreciate any advice or insight!

 

[Candi1990]

Hi Everyone-



Prior to now, my only experience with aquariums was a betta in a fishbowl. I walked out of Petco about a month ago with a new 20G tank and several new fish. As I've read more and more, I realize we were the victims of bad advice and shouldn't have bought any fish yet. Because of that, we never truly gave our tank time to properly cycle- we added the fish after about a day. Luckily, we haven't lost any yet and there are no signs of stress. The issue is the nitrite and nitrate levels are consistently high, and I'm doing water changes every 5 days or less. I've read that it can take up to/over a month for a tank to stabilize, so I didn't want to go buying random products to even out levels if I should simply be patient. I'd appreciate any advice or insight!

I am no expert by far but i prefer the fish in cycle. My numbers stayed high for a couple of weeks. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in but i think your doing the right thing. Prime helped me alot. The water conditioner wasnt enough.

 

[Caliban07]

Hi Everyone-



Prior to now, my only experience with aquariums was a betta in a fishbowl. I walked out of Petco about a month ago with a new 20G tank and several new fish. As I've read more and more, I realize we were the victims of bad advice and shouldn't have bought any fish yet. Because of that, we never truly gave our tank time to properly cycle- we added the fish after about a day. Luckily, we haven't lost any yet and there are no signs of stress. The issue is the nitrite and nitrate levels are consistently high, and I'm doing water changes every 5 days or less. I've read that it can take up to/over a month for a tank to stabilize, so I didn't want to go buying random products to even out levels if I should simply be patient. I'd appreciate any advice or insight!

Hi nicbmik welcome to AA.

What fish and how many did you buy?
What are your numbers for ammonia,nitrite and nitrate exactly?
Are you using strips or a liquid testing kit?
Have you tested your tap water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
Are you aware of the need to use a dechlorinating product in your tap water before putting the water in your tank?
What is your aquarium waters pH and temperature?
How long has the tank been set up?
What filter are you using?
Are you using live plants?

The more we can understand about your set up the better we can help you.

 

[Mebbid]

Every 5 days or so isn't quite soon enough to keep nitrites down in a cycling tank. You might need to increase that to every other day with a 50% water change. Limiting feedings to one small one daily is also a good plan to keep parameters in check.

 

[librarygirl]

Water change are patience are key; throwing random products in the tank can cause more harm than good. How high are the nitrites? They are as toxic as ammonia so you want to keep them low. Water changes every 5 days doesn't sound like enough to me, but it would depend on your levels. Here are two guides if you haven't seen them yet:
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

 

[nicbmik]

Hi nicbmik welcome to AA.

What fish and how many did you buy?
What are your numbers for ammonia,nitrite and nitrate exactly?
Are you using strips or a liquid testing kit?
Have you tested your tap water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
Are you aware of the need to use a dechlorinating product in your tap water before putting the water in your tank?
What is your aquarium waters pH and temperature?
How long has the tank been set up?
What filter are you using?
Are you using live plants?

The more we can understand about your set up the better we can help you.

Thanks everyone for your interest/help!

We have:
3 neon tetras
3 mollies (dalmation, gold, black)
3 fancy guppies
1 rubbernose pleco
1 platy
(we also have a breeder box with 4 molly fry- one of our ladies came to us pregnant.)

-With strip tests, the nitrite levels are both consistently between 5 and 10 ppm; nitrate is around 40 ppm. I tested the tap water (after treating it with both API Stress Coat and Stress Zyme and the numbers were where they were supposed to be, so I know the strips aren't expired/inaccurate.
-Temp is between 74 and 76, and pH is consistently in the 6.5-7.0 range.
-We've had the tank set up since Jan. 2- it was a Tetra starter kit from Petco, and the filter is Tetra Whisper EX20.
-We have a combination of both fake and live plants, but I don't remember what they were- one looks like a fern.

 

[Caliban07]

Thanks everyone for your interest/help!



We have:

3 neon tetras

3 mollies (dalmation, gold, black)

3 fancy guppies

1 rubbernose pleco

1 platy

(we also have a breeder box with 4 molly fry- one of our ladies came to us pregnant.)



-With strip tests, the nitrite levels are both consistently between 5 and 10 ppm; nitrate is around 40 ppm. I tested the tap water (after treating it with both API Stress Coat and Stress Zyme and the numbers were where they were supposed to be, so I know the strips aren't expired/inaccurate.

-Temp is between 74 and 76, and pH is consistently in the 6.5-7.0 range.

-We've had the tank set up since Jan. 2- it was a Tetra starter kit from Petco, and the filter is Tetra Whisper EX20.

-We have a combination of both fake and live plants, but I don't remember what they were- one looks like a fern.

Ok. That's quite some bioload for a uncycled 20g. Firstly, the test strips are notoriously inaccurate so I would consider investing in a liquid test kit such as the API master test kit. Nitrites need to come way down which means lots of 50% water changes. Nitrites reduce the blood cells ability to carry oxygen which would cause fish to gasp at the surface for oxygen. I would recommend investing on some Seachem prime as this detoxifies ammonia nitrite and nitrate for 24-48 hrs. Nitrates should be less than 10 also.

You need to do water changes to get nitrites down to a safe level. I would look at your stocking now and maybe think about returning some of the fish. Neons need to be kept in schools of at least 6 and the pleco needs a bigger tank.

Mollies platies and plexus have high bioloads and will contribute to high nitrates and lots of water changes even when the tank has cycled