Finnaly have nitrites now what?

[Mustangman11224]

Hey all... I am doing a fish in cycle and tested my tank and have nitrites up to 1 ppm or higher I am doing a 60% water change anything els I should be doing or just wait for nitrates to start working. Thanks
Dan

 

[jamlo]

Hey all... I am doing a fish in cycle and tested my tank and have nitrites up to 1 ppm or higher I am doing a 60% water change anything els I should be doing or just wait for nitrates to start working. Thanks
Dan

Keep doing what your doing. Test your water parameters every day until you get 0 Ammonia and 0 Nitrite. Try doing pwc's every few days or everyday if your parameters shoot up.

 

[Mustangman11224]

Ok thanks.. Does it look like I need to do
Another water change here's what it looks like I just did one but it isn't to zero.

 

[Fidgetromeo]

As long as nitrites are under 1ppm I wouldn't worry. There needs to be some for the bacteria to feed on to start making nitrates

 

[jamlo]

Ok thanks.. Does it look like I need to do
Another water change here's what it looks like I just did one but it isn't to zero.

Until the bacteria colonies have fully developed you will continually get Nitrite levels usually for a couple of weeks. Doing pwc's dilutes the Nitrite not actually removes it. So in short, at that concentration you should be ok. Maybe do one tomorrow once they have crept up again.

 

[BBradbury]

Fish-In Tank Cycling

Hey all... I am doing a fish in cycle and tested my tank and have nitrites up to 1 ppm or higher I am doing a 60% water change anything els I should be doing or just wait for nitrates to start working. Thanks
Dan

Hello Mus...

Such a large water change will remove quite a bit of the food your microscopic bugs need to feed on to grow to the point they'll cycle your tank. The idea behind the "nitrogen cycle" is to grow the beneficial bacteria. So, the smaller the daily water change, the faster the cycle. Does that make sense?

Just a suggestion, however. You're the tank keeper.

B

 

[Mustangman11224]

Ok thanks everyone this helps alot!!

 

[Mustangman11224]

Does this look like I need to do another water change? I did one yesterday but I don't want to mess up my cycle I am doing a fish in cycle so I don't want to hurt the fish, but I don't want to screw up my cycle... Here's a pic

 

[jamlo]

Does this look like I need to do another water change? I did one yesterday but I don't want to mess up my cycle I am doing a fish in cycle so I don't want to hurt the fish, but I don't want to screw up my cycle... Here's a pic

Yes I would another water change to be on the safe side as it appears your nitrite has gone again since yesterday. You can so daily water changes without messing up your cycle. Water changes dilute the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, they don't as such remove the beneficial bacteria. The bacteria colonises in your filter media mainly, but also in your gravel and ornaments. Try feeding your fish less so the levels are lower for a few days (less food = less ammonia and so less nitrite).

 

[Mustangman11224]

Ok thank you... I will do another water change and feed less.

 

[Coyne]

Ive done two different fish-in cycles, so Im not an expert. However, both were successful and only took about 2 1/2 weeks each (3 1/2 if you count the one week grace period to make sure its cycled).
I was testing my water twice a day... once in the morning and then about 12hrs later in the evening. If my ammonia or nitrites ever hit .25ppm (or higher) I would do a 50% water change. Sometimes this was once a day and sometimes it was twice. This would put me at roughly .125ppm, which isnt harmful to the fish, but still enough for the BB to feed on.

Far from an expert on the subject. I mainly did a lot of question asking here and then researching the answers to fill in any blanks.
Hope this proves useful. Good luck.

 

[Mustangman11224]

Thanks!!! This does help I thought I was doing to many changes... But I'll keep up the daily changes hopefully it will cycle soon lol it's taken about 2 months maybe a little less

 

[Coyne]

Also, I used the Top Fin Bacterial Supplement with every water change. There's some controversy as to whether or not this type of stuff works. Since I used it on both tanks, I dont have anything to compare it to. However, I often read that it takes people 1-3 months to do a fish-in cycle and mine took less than one... so I lean towards the idea that it helps speed things up.

 

[Mustangman11224]

Yea... I used some bacteria when I started the tank out with ammonia drops and a fish out cycle... Unfortunately it didn't work and I had to get my fish out of my ten gal.... If I had gotten more it probably would have worked... I'm at almost two months now lol... Kinda wish I used the bacteria...