Nitrite spike!!!!

[Hannah67654]

Hello everyone could do with some help I’ve been keeping Fish for many years and thought I knew best!!! I have 120 L angelfish breeding tank and I had a huge white hydra outbreak. So I took all the gravel out cleaned everything down and put them back in but foolishly I had forgotten that I’ve only recently put a new external filter on the tank only been running for 10 days and now I have a huge nitrite spike!!!! I’ve been fighting this for nearly a week now doing daily water changes of 30 to 50% dosing the tank with microbe-lift special blend and microbe-lift nitrite-out I also put some floss from another tank and placed it in the canister. But it doesn’t seem to be helping at all any advice would be appreciative? And before anyone is negative I know I messed up big-time and I’m trying to solve the problem I don’t need any negatives thank you in advanced

 

[Aiken Drum]

Without a cycle the only way to reduce nitrite is through water changes.

Aquarium salt is a treatment for nitrite poisoning.

Try to reduce feeding to slow down nitrite production.

Try and get some established filter media for your filter or add a biological booster eg. Dr tims one and only. I wouldnt recommend Seachem Stability as people often see elevated nitrite with its use.

Adding some plants will take up ammonia and therefore reduce nitrite production.

How are the fish? How elevated is your nitrite?

Edit: i don't think the microbe lift special lift is a biological booster. I think its more like API stresszyme that consumes detritus rather than aids the nitrification process.

 

[Hannah67654]

Thank you for the advice I’ve been dosing with salt every day after the water change. The fish seem fine swimming around active eating OK they’re not gasping for air at the top or lost color still come and see me when I go to the tank and the females even cleaning her cone preparing to lay another batch of eggs. The level is 0,2-0,4 ppm The highest was 0,6 ppm my pH is 7.5 The ammonia was reading at0,1 ppm and kH was 8 this is all done with drop liquid tests. ��

 

[Hannah67654]

 

[Aiken Drum]

When you said a massive spike i assumed high whole numbers of nitrite. Those levels are fine, in keeping with what you would see during a fish in cycle. Keep up with what you are doing. Your fish are fine, risk to their health is low. Might need to keep doing what you are doing for a few weeks while your cycle re-establishes.

 

[Hannah67654]

From the instructions on the bottles if used together they can really help you cycle a tank don’t know how much truth there is in it I know it’s really expensive stuff but that doesn’t always mean better. It’s always worked wonders on my community tank.

 

[Hannah67654]

Thank you I really appreciate it got really worried as for me that is a huge nitrite spike!!! My tanks mean a lot to me so I always try to keep them perfect and really don’t want to harm my poor angels ( Matilda and Wolfgang ) especially as they’ve just started laying eggs for me in the last month i’ll keep doing what I’m doing daily water changes treating the tank with salt and hopefully in a few weeks I should be past it. ����

 

[Aiken Drum]

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From the instructions on the bottles if used together they can really help you cycle a tank don’t know how much truth there is in it I know it’s really expensive stuff but that doesn’t always mean better. It’s always worked wonders on my community tank.

Its not a brand im familiar with but i read the manuals. Im fairly certain they wont assist the cycle based on what i read.

The nitrite out. Lets assume it does what it claims. If you remove nitrite then you are depriving the beneficial bacteria of food to grow. Therefore your cycle wont fully establish and you have to use the product for ever more in lieu of your cycle or deal with a spike when you discontinue its use.

The special blend seems to be more a detritus/mulm eating product than beneficial bacteria. When the detritus breaks down it produces ammonia, so a product that consumes detritus into a form other than ammonia will help your cycle. But, as per my comment on the nitrite out it deprives the beneficial bacteria a food source to grow and again your cycle wont establish and you need to keep using the product in lieu of a cycle.

I might be reading the manual wrong and misinterpreting what they do. As per my other post though, you are doing fine. If you are able to manage the nitrite at those sorts of levels through water changes then i don't see the need for all the other treatments. If you are seeing no improvements over the next few weeks then thats another concern though. I would try and get some bottled bacteria. Ive had best success with Dr Tims One and Only. They are hit and miss, but wont do any harm.

 

[Hannah67654]

Thank you I really appreciate it I will take your advice and just do a water change and put salt in after and see how I go thank you so much you’ve put my mind at ease???