JamesonFishi
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2022
- Messages
- 4
I'm having problems with my nitrite levels.
I have a 10 gallon tank with 2 tetra glofish (I had 3 but 1 died last week). I've had the tank going for about a month, and it came with a PF10 Tetra Whisper power filter. I was told to change my filter cartridge monthly, and this filter cartridge has been in there about two and a half weeks now, and I was also told to do a 30% water change every two weeks. I'm new to this, so I'm not sure if that's ideal or not. All the levels on my 5 in 1 test strips were where they should be the first few weeks, but the nitrites have started spiking. I noticed this first last week. On Thursday the NO2 was at 5ppm, and my smallest tetra died, so I did some 50% water changes and added some water balance until I got it back down to pretty close to zero. I've been checking the levels more frequently the past few days, and NO2 has stayed low, but today it's back up at 3ppm. Since Thursday's spike I've decreased the amount I've been feeding them (a pinch of food once a day, they usually eat all of it).
I already lost one fish, and I want to keep the other two as healthy as I can, but I don't know what's causing these spikes or how to make them stop. I've read that it can come from uneaten food, poop, or the filter. I haven't gotten a gravel vac yet, but I know that would help. Any advice on what the cause might be and how I can prevent it from happening again? Also, is there anything I can do to make this easier for the fish while I sort this out?
Thanks!
I have a 10 gallon tank with 2 tetra glofish (I had 3 but 1 died last week). I've had the tank going for about a month, and it came with a PF10 Tetra Whisper power filter. I was told to change my filter cartridge monthly, and this filter cartridge has been in there about two and a half weeks now, and I was also told to do a 30% water change every two weeks. I'm new to this, so I'm not sure if that's ideal or not. All the levels on my 5 in 1 test strips were where they should be the first few weeks, but the nitrites have started spiking. I noticed this first last week. On Thursday the NO2 was at 5ppm, and my smallest tetra died, so I did some 50% water changes and added some water balance until I got it back down to pretty close to zero. I've been checking the levels more frequently the past few days, and NO2 has stayed low, but today it's back up at 3ppm. Since Thursday's spike I've decreased the amount I've been feeding them (a pinch of food once a day, they usually eat all of it).
I already lost one fish, and I want to keep the other two as healthy as I can, but I don't know what's causing these spikes or how to make them stop. I've read that it can come from uneaten food, poop, or the filter. I haven't gotten a gravel vac yet, but I know that would help. Any advice on what the cause might be and how I can prevent it from happening again? Also, is there anything I can do to make this easier for the fish while I sort this out?
Thanks!