high nitrite NO Ammonia

[booginish]

hi i just recently started up my 55 gallon tank again about a month ago. I had a case of a ich a few weeks ago(whiped out now). I do frequent water changes and do tests every week. my ammonia has bin very low(.04,.05 maybe) my ph has bin stable at 7.5 and my nitrite at .03. i just did a water change 2 days ago, and iv had 2 albino corys and 2 zebra danios(the rest died from ich, didnt want to restock right away) for quite sometime now. So i decided today to purchase 10 zebra danios(very healthy in appearance). After adding them this morning i did tests about 20 mins ago and my ammonia was at 0(which leads me to believe my tank is cycling properly), ph still stable at 7.5, but the wierdest thing was that my nitrite was at .07 maybe even .08. I havent done tests in a lil over a week ago so i cant determine whether its from the new fish addition or not. i use seachem stability(seems to work great), and biozorb bag to remove wastes and phosphates. i just want to know if this is normal at this time in the cycle or if this is something new that i should be concerned about? All my fish are eating playing and haveing a good time my water temp is at bout 76-77 degrees, no fish are displaying wierd activity at this time, so im stumped as to why the levels are so high?

 

[buddha_red]

Your tank is still cycling if you have nitrites that high.

 

[booginish]

how often should i be doin water changes with nitrites that high, and are those levels lethal to my fish?

 

[buddha_red]

Typically weekly water changes are best. 30% is a good amount.

Yes nitrites are toxic, so you want to keep them as low as you can. PWC's will help

 

[booginish]

im sorry i dont know what pwc stands for? plz verify

 

[buddha_red]

Im sorry its short for partial water changes

 

[booginish]

so im thinking il do 10 % every 2 or 3 days and that will be adequate? tell me if im wrong or if i should still do a big one at the end of the week?

 

[buddha_red]

I've always done weekly changes but you can split up the changes into smaller amounts. the important thing is to change the water regulary.

 

[gzeiger]

I would say you should change water as needed to keep chemistry in a safe range. Test frequently, preferably daily, while there is a non-zero nitrite reading.

It is normal to have a brief period while cycling where you have nitrite with no detectable ammonia. Since the nitrite-consuming bacteria have no food available until the ammonia-eating bacteria are well esatablished, you will have a time where all ammonia is being consumed but the nitrite-eater have not yet reached a population size that can keep up. This shouldn't last long. I think a week is the longest report I've heard, although it is somewhat temperature-dependent (warmer is faster).

 

[booginish]

jus did a water change and im gonna test right away. but ya i have my tank at round 75 76 degrees(vairies because i live in a place that gets colder than the northpole at night, i use a 300 watt rena heater just to keep up, it works great), but all my fish seem very happy playing, haveing a good time, eating twice a day, i accidentally sucked up my cory but he escaped in time(oops). il keep you guys updated. you guys have bin so much help i really appreciate it. the last forum i was on i asked one question, the only guy to answer me gave me crap for not useing a period(bunch of complete children). it was just stupid and no help at all. you guys are a fresh change. thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!

 

[gzeiger]

You'll catch fish in the gravel vacuum with some regularity. Try to avoid it, but they never seem to get hurt by it. Just make sure you check the water in the bucket before you throw it out, especially if you end up with guppies or something that can produce small fry unexpectedly.

Once the nitrite goes to zero on its own you can go to the weekly or less often schedule for water changes, but while the filter is still getting established it may be necessary to change water every day for a little while to keep nitrite in a safe range. They're breathing their own urine, after all, so they'll appreciate fresh water.

 

[timwag2001]

i agree with the daily water changes. i'm having a nitrite prob myself. ideal nitrites is no nitrites. i change 25 - 30% of mine everyday right now.

dont over feed

 

[fort384]

So long as you are using a good dechlorinator, you will not slow the cycle by doing daily water changes. The good bacteria you are after generally don't stay in the water, they attach to filter media, plants, walls, substrate etc. While you are cycling with fish in the tank, the more PWCs the better until your ammonia and nitrate reach 0.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

I'm running into a similar problem.

I'm trying to cycle a 5 gallon corner tank. The tank is cycled to the point that ammonia levels can go from 5ppm to zero over night, but both nitriate and nitrate levels are through the roof. I just did an 80% PWC and immediately tested my levels. NO3 is about 10ppm, while NO2 is something OVER 1ppm. Since I started cycling this tank, it's been impossible to get NO2 levels below 1ppm, even with multiple PWC, without risking allowing the ammonia bacteria to starve and having to add more ammonia... which of course imediately shots NO2 levels back up.

 

[booginish]

just keep up with water changes, ul see improvement soon trust me