jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Keep it 20 & below & your fish will be happier. 
nitrite HELP
- Thread starter Stacie3972
- Start date
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Stacie3972
Aquarium Advice Regular
So do I need to be checking my nitrate?
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Stacie3972 said:
With the water changes you have been doing, they are likely as low as they can go. Check your tap so you know what this reads & then just keep an eye on them. You should see them start to rise as your nitrites are processed.
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Stacie3972
Aquarium Advice Regular
Ok will check all now. Doing fish less cycle on my 30 gallon that I just set up and started cycling thanksgiving day this seems to be the way to go no water changes just testing and adding ammonia no fish in the tank but that's okay I can wait. Also would adding some live plants be good for my tanks. I've never delta with live plants before but would like to try it.
shellieca
Aquarium Advice Addict
Stacie3972 said:
For what it's worth when I do fish IN cycles, I do a 50%+ water change when my ammonia/nitrites are .5 or higher or my nitrates are 40 or above. This meant my water changes were about every 3 days with temp matched water & Prime as my water conditioner. Granted I didn't have the number of fish you do, one tank took 8 wks to cycle & the other approx 6 wks.
Live plants are very much a good idea and will help the balance within the tank. I would stick with true aquatic plants unless you want to re plant every 6 weeks. There are some very hardy plants out there such as java fern though I would check what plants do better in the type of water conditions you have before buying.
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Stacie3972
Aquarium Advice Regular
What kind of sub material is best for plants? I have sand is this okay and how deep does it need to be my 50 gallon is about and inch and a half my 30 about an inch.
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Stacie3972
Aquarium Advice Regular
I tested my nitrate yesterday and there 0. I'm guessing that's not a good sign. My. Nitrites were 5.0
Ammonia. 25 which is awesome considering my source water is 1.0
Ammonia. 25 which is awesome considering my source water is 1.0
First of all...nitrate of zero is fine....nitrate of 5 is the one you need to sort...by pwc.
As far as sub is concerned....its not a major issue....i have two tanks one with gravel one with sand both planted.
Sand is defo better as roots can spread quicker....my plants in gravel are doing just fine.....
As far as sub is concerned....its not a major issue....i have two tanks one with gravel one with sand both planted.
Sand is defo better as roots can spread quicker....my plants in gravel are doing just fine.....
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Unfortunately, some water changes are in order to drop your nitrites down. Zero nitrate is expected because you have been doing lots of big water changes. Sand is fine for plants, too. If you find they are not staying in place either add more sand or get some plant anchors to keep them in place. I have no problem keeping plants in about 1 1/2 to 2in of sand except for when my guys get really bored.
Dreadz
Aquarium Advice Activist
Stacie3972 said:
As someone has said you need to bring your nitrite right down. Levels of 5ppm could stall your cycle and can be toxic to your fish. Out of interest what is your ph? Its quite normal for ph to be a little off during cycling but if it drops too low that can also stall the cycling process. When your fish-in cycling you can't really stick to a regimen of PWC's, you just need to follow what your test results tell you. If ammo or nitrite register at .25 or more do pwc to bring them back down.
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Stacie3972
Aquarium Advice Regular
The thing that's driving me crazy is I can do 2 75 pwc back to back and have 0 nitrite 4 hours later test again and it's right back at 5.0 nitrite!
librarygirl
Look It Up
Welcome to the nitrite phase. Nitrites tend to shoot up so it's important to keep on top of them. Plus with as many fish as you have, that's causing the nitrite to spike so fast. The nitrite phase takes about 3 weeks on average; how long have nitrites been showing up? Hang in there, it won't last forever.
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Stacie3972
Aquarium Advice Regular
Starting my 3rd week today
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Stacie3972
Aquarium Advice Regular
Ok so I just pulled up and moved all my decor and plants and vacuumed the ever livin CRAP out of my sand. I found so much fish poop and food you would have never thought it was only up such a short time. Dropped my nitrites from 5.0 to. 25 in ONE 75 pwc. WAHOOOOOOOO! SOOO I guess this might have been some of my issues seeing as before it took 2 75% pwc to drop it to. 25 and I did it in one. I thought I was vacuuming better than that but obviously I was wrong!
shellieca
Aquarium Advice Addict
Stacie3972 said:
LOL. That's GREAT! I've heard it can take some doing to get the hang of cleaning sand. I have gravel so I just smoosh the vac as far down as it'll go into the gravel but I know you can't do that with sand.
tropicalfishlady
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Bish67 said:
Agreed,live plants much better
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Stacie3972
Aquarium Advice Regular
Well all the excitement was for nothing. Just tested my water and right back up to 5.0 nitrite :-( I want to cry! I wonder if I should wash my filter its so stopped up it running back out from where the intake tube is?
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