High Nitrite levels

[tjcichlid]

Hello! I am new to the site and the aquarium hobby. I am trying to get a 29 gallon african cichlid aquarium up and running. As of now my nitrite levels are too high to introduce the cichlids to the aquarium though. My LPS gave me 3 giant danios and 2 java fern plants to help get the cycle started. It has been a week now and the levels have not changed. What is the timeline for this process. I am trying to be patient with this. Any and all comments and help would be greatly appreciated. I am excited to be a part of the community and a fellow hobbist!

[jsoong]

Welcome to AA!!!

Time of the cycle depends on your water temperature, how much seeding you have & how high you let the levels go. Starting from scratch in a cold water tank (75F), it took me about 8 weeks to get through the NO2 phase. I would think that yours would be faster. (You have some bacteria seeding with the ferns & your temp is prob higher.)

[tjcichlid]

Thank you! I guess I have a few more questions then. Is there anything I need to be doing to control the levels. I assume I should be doing water changes every couple of weeks. I was told minimal feedings. Are the plants adding nitrite to the water? They appear to have some decay to them. The temp of the aquarium is 80F. Thanks for the info!!!

[jim692]

Originally Posted by tjcichlid

Is there anything I need to be doing to control the levels. I assume I should be doing water changes every couple of weeks. I was told minimal feedings.

Test the water daily and keep a log of ammonia and nitrites. this will tell you when water changes are necessary. most advise a pwc when either level reaches 0.50 ppm. This may mean pwc's every day to 3 days depending.

Originally Posted by tjcichlid

Are the plants adding nitrite to the water? They appear to have some decay to them. The temp of the aquarium is 80F. Thanks for the info.

everything than is organic and decays in the water adds to the ammonia level. then is converted to nitrites by bacteria and then to nitrates by other bacteria. the nitrates are removed by pwc's and the consumed by the plants also.

[jsoong]

If you want to keep your fish healthy, you can't let the levels go too high. 0.5 is the usual safe limit for hardy fish. That generally means water changes every day or 2 rather than weeks!

Plants will remove nitrogenous waste from the tank (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates ... doesn't matter, they do it all). They will moderate your peaks & reduce your need of water changes. That assumes healthy plants. Any dead or decaying plant will add to the waste level. If any leaf looks like it is melting/rotting, remove it. <PS - Java ferns can have black dots on the leaves, these are starting daughter plants & don't necessarily mean decay. But if any part is rotting, by all means prune it.>