High Nitrite & Plants

[scooterlindy]

I'm completely new to being a fish mom and I recently upgraded from an established 12 gallon tank to a new 20 gallon tank. I've been testing my water daily as I had to move my fish sooner than I planned on it because the filter in the old tank died - so I moved filter media to the new tank along all the decorations from the old tank and let the tank run for 24 hours and then added my fish - so far the water has been perfect except for the ph is at 7.6ppm - consistently, I've treated it with ph down but it stays at 7.6ppm no matter what I try, even with water changes. However, I went out of town this weekend and didn't test the water Friday, Saturday or Sunday. When I tested the water last night, everything was fine except my Nitrite - it was at 0.5ppm. So my plan is to do a 25% PWC tonight when I get home - I prepped the water last night and it should be good to add tonight (I have city water, so I like to treat it and let it sit 24 hours before I add it to the tank). Is there anything else I should do? I currently only have 2 tetras in the tank. I know I need more as they like to school but I had to go out of town last minute this weekend and now my water isn't right, so adding friends will have to wait. My boys are acting fine and eating but reading on Nitrites, I'm worried they are being harmed.

Also, I'd like to add some real plants to the tank - as a new fish mom, I don't want to bite off more than I can chew, so to speak. What are some easy plants to add? I've seen the moss balls that I like but I'm not sure how to go about adding plants. I currently have rocks as my substrate - will I need to change that?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Toad]

Anubias is a good low light plant the doesn't need soil, just needs to be tied to driftwood or rocks. I would suggest that you stop worrying about ph levels as most fish sold commercially are used to ph levels that don't meet their 'suggested' ph in the wild. Trying to use chemicals to bring it up or down can cause drastic swings in ph levels, which are harmful and sometimes fatal to fish.

 

[scooterlindy]

Thanks! I have stopped worrying w/the ph - since it is always 7.6ppm, I figured that's just where my water always is going to be and most everything I've read has stated exactly what you said - what they are used to isn't what their natural ph level would be. Sorry, I should have made that clear. Right now, I'm worried about the Nitrite level and getting that down.

 

[jeffruth]

As Toad said, a consistent PH is more important then the correct PH in a lot of cases. There will be times that it matters, but generally it is better to have it consistent.

As far as the nitrites, just stay on top of the water changes. Sounds like the tank might be doing a mini cycle.

Java Fern and Java Moss are easy plants to start with. They like rocks and driftwood if your going that route. Not high demanding. Good luck

 

[scooterlindy]

Ok, thanks to both of you! I'm assuming I'm correct in not getting any additional fish or snails until I get the nitrites back down? I'd like to add more tetras and 2 snails.