help with lowering nitrites

[snaily]

Hi guys. My tank went into a cycle again. I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong. I'v had the tank set up for about three months now. Its a 55 gallon and stocked with 7 angels, 1 dinosaur Bichir, 1 apple snail, and 1 elephant snail. Here aremy water parameters..

Ammonia .25
Nitrate 10
Nitrite 1.5
Hardness 75
Chlorine 0
Alkalinity 80
pH 7.2

I tested my tank about two weeks ago and my nitrite levels were at 3.0 and nitrate levels were at 30. I immediately did a 50% percent water change and added dechlorinator for my tap water. Repeated the WC at 25% every day since then and added an entire bottle of prime three days ago to help detoxify the tank. What do I need to do and what am I doing wrong?

 

[54seaweed]

What's wrong you ask!!
slow down stop rushing!!

your showing nitrites your tank isn't cycled

I'd be bringing all the livestock to local pet shop to hold till you get your tank properly cycled

you may have thought you cycled fully
your tank needs time to build a good bio load
you overloaded the load way too fast causing your tank to crash
that's a lot of stock for a 3 month old tank IMO
never rush anything with a salt or fresh water tank it never works
as you are now finding out !!

 

[snaily]

Well I guess I have no idea then. I waited until my tanks nitrites were at 0 before adding anymore fish. How long does a person need to wait after that to stock their tank?

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[bud29]

Hi guys. My tank went into a cycle again. I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong. I'v had the tank set up for about three months now. Its a 55 gallon and stocked with 7 angels, 1 dinosaur Bichir, 1 apple snail, and 1 elephant snail. Here aremy water parameters..

Ammonia .25
Nitrate 10
Nitrite 1.5
Hardness 75
Chlorine 0
Alkalinity 80
pH 7.2

I tested my tank about two weeks ago and my nitrite levels were at 3.0 and nitrate levels were at 30. I immediately did a 50% percent water change and added dechlorinator for my tap water. Repeated the WC at 25% every day since then and added an entire bottle of prime three days ago to help detoxify the tank. What do I need to do and what am I doing wrong?

It looks like your tank isn't quite cycled. Test your water every day, and if your ammonia or nitrites are over .25, do a water change to lower them. Also, only add the amount of prime that is recommended. You probably shouldn't add a whole bottle.

What test kit are you using?

 

[snaily]

Aye. I was told by an "experienced" fish keeper to put the whole bottle in. I'm almost ready to be done with these sites and just figure everything out on my own because I either get the wrong advice or somebody jumps down my throat right away. Makes the learning experience great guys!!

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[bud29]

I don't think anyone necessarily tries to come across as rude, they are just very passionate about fishkeeping and seeing something askew can get them a little worked up - nothing personal. As for wrong advice, it is usually a good idea to get a second opinion/fact check.

 

[snaily]

I do not consider it to be a "passion" for anyone who is willing to be rude to people also trying to dedicate their time to the same passion! Maybe its just me but when some one is willing to admit their mistakes and ask for help, people with more experience should not be making rude comments and should be helping. This is third post on this site that I have asked for help and immediately had a rude comment with not so much helpful info coming from it. I do agree with the second opinion. I actually did get a fourth opinion on the prime with all answers being the same.

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[Brookster123]

It's simple really, when determining who to take advice from.. when the instructions on the bottle say one thing, some random dude on the Internet says to do something completely off the reservation?? Probably shouldn't listen to him anymore you're in decent shape over there. Just keep an eye on the water levels and change as needed.. if your angels start looking awfully stressed you may want to explore other options.. it's always key to stock slowly when doing a fish in cycle.. your tank will build bb to suit what's currently in it, when you add more fish the biofilter needs time to catch up.. I know you can over dose 3x-5x prime to detox am and trites. So depending on the size of the bottle than it may have been the right thing to do.. a 100 ml bottle??

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[snaily]

I think it was a 125 ml but that could be wrong.. It was the smallest of the three bottles at Petco. Thank you brookster for the info. Keep doing the water changes to help with the nitrites until they are back to where they should be? My fish are seemingly happy. Everyone has become more active than usual, eating fine, and seem to be peaceful still.

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[Brookster123]

Even still.. not all that outrageous. . And you can/should 3x dose prime until you level out to 0 0 10-20 or cycled!

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[Grumble69]

I had a similar situation. I had a tank that was set-up that I was pretty sure had cycled. And after adding some fish, I had a nitrite spike. My guess is that my bacterial colony hadn't reached a sufficient size to handle the new fish.
You would have never guessed it from the fish. They appeared just fine, which is why we do the water tests in the first place. Anyway, I used Prime and did daily water changes. And after about a week, my nitrites went away.