Molly Malone
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- May 27, 2016
- Messages
- 11
Hi all,
New to any fish/aquarium forum, in terms of posting a question. So, thought I'd give it a try to get some help with lowering my nitrites.
Couldn't stand not having a pet of any kind anymore and dug up my old aquarium out of the basement to clean it out and see what equipment still worked. In the mean time, set up a glass terrarium "bowl" and had lots of issues/didn't realize small tanks were harder to cycle (~5 gal), etc. seemed to have forgotten everything I knew about fish keeping and aquaria, etc.
Subtropical/temperate freshwater set up (moderately planted): 2 Bloodfin Tetras and 2 White Cloud Mountain Minnows, which would have been tight as it is, but the local PetSmart gal recommended I get 2 Albino Cory Cats as well, which put it over the top. I lost a White Cloud due to my own harassment in attempting to keep the 5 gal clean while setting up the other one. I was just doing too much, forgetting what I'd known, and listening to the wrong person at PetSmart (there are a couple who know what they're doing, but not all).
So, I hurriedly cleaned up and set up the regular 10 gal and my fish expert at the preeminent (I'm not being sarcastic, they really are extremely knowledgeable) area aquarium store, suggested I go ahead and get them out of the small tank and into the 10 I'd had running now for a few days and just cycle that tank w/those fish. (mid-April set up)
So, they are all doing well and seem happy. However, my cycle seems to have stalled with high nitrites that I can't seem to get down even with massive water changes.
API test results: (tap water is pH 7.6, 0 NH3, 0 N2, and 0 N3)
pH 6.5 (I had a Terracotta pot--yes I know that should be neutral, but that was the only addition--that lowered the pH significantly, from 7.3 to 6.3-- and have used neutralizer a few times, but w/all the massive water changes, you'd think I wouldn't need it)
Ammonia 0
Nitrites ~5 ppm
Nitrates ~15 ppm
Doing say 20% water changes each day would usually result in a drop from 4 or 5 down to ~1.5 but it would be up the next morning to 4 again. Now the PWCs don't seem to be having any indicator color change, and I'm worried about nitrite poisoning, so for the past 2 days, I've done these massive PWCs of 50% and then an hour later a 2nd 50%. Not much by way of change in the indicator color (seems to be still around 5) thoug!
Now the only difference between the gradual movement I WAS seeing (where the test would go down to ~1.5 after the PWC) and now is:
Thanks for reading my lengthy question. Basically, I'm wondering if there is something that I could be doing differently. Any ways that I can quicken this portion of the process? Or if I could be doing something wrong?
Anxiously awaiting the completion of the cycle! The single White Cloud is happy as can be, as are the corys, so I'm more anxious about adding 3 more Bloodfins as soon as possible so they can school. I noticed that when the Nitrites rose, dorsal fin gets a bit paler in the smaller of the 2, and they've been a bit testy following each other around, but luckily no nipping, more so that one is annoying the other.
Thanks!
New to any fish/aquarium forum, in terms of posting a question. So, thought I'd give it a try to get some help with lowering my nitrites.
Couldn't stand not having a pet of any kind anymore and dug up my old aquarium out of the basement to clean it out and see what equipment still worked. In the mean time, set up a glass terrarium "bowl" and had lots of issues/didn't realize small tanks were harder to cycle (~5 gal), etc. seemed to have forgotten everything I knew about fish keeping and aquaria, etc.
Subtropical/temperate freshwater set up (moderately planted): 2 Bloodfin Tetras and 2 White Cloud Mountain Minnows, which would have been tight as it is, but the local PetSmart gal recommended I get 2 Albino Cory Cats as well, which put it over the top. I lost a White Cloud due to my own harassment in attempting to keep the 5 gal clean while setting up the other one. I was just doing too much, forgetting what I'd known, and listening to the wrong person at PetSmart (there are a couple who know what they're doing, but not all).
So, I hurriedly cleaned up and set up the regular 10 gal and my fish expert at the preeminent (I'm not being sarcastic, they really are extremely knowledgeable) area aquarium store, suggested I go ahead and get them out of the small tank and into the 10 I'd had running now for a few days and just cycle that tank w/those fish. (mid-April set up)
So, they are all doing well and seem happy. However, my cycle seems to have stalled with high nitrites that I can't seem to get down even with massive water changes.
API test results: (tap water is pH 7.6, 0 NH3, 0 N2, and 0 N3)
pH 6.5 (I had a Terracotta pot--yes I know that should be neutral, but that was the only addition--that lowered the pH significantly, from 7.3 to 6.3-- and have used neutralizer a few times, but w/all the massive water changes, you'd think I wouldn't need it)
Ammonia 0
Nitrites ~5 ppm
Nitrates ~15 ppm
Doing say 20% water changes each day would usually result in a drop from 4 or 5 down to ~1.5 but it would be up the next morning to 4 again. Now the PWCs don't seem to be having any indicator color change, and I'm worried about nitrite poisoning, so for the past 2 days, I've done these massive PWCs of 50% and then an hour later a 2nd 50%. Not much by way of change in the indicator color (seems to be still around 5) thoug!
Now the only difference between the gradual movement I WAS seeing (where the test would go down to ~1.5 after the PWC) and now is:
1) the temperature in the house has gone up and therefore the temp in the tank (remember my tank is subtropical/unheated regularly at 70 degrees),
We've bypassed spring and leapt headlong into summer HOT, turned the AC on in the house hot. So, now the temp in the aquarium is 75 degrees. While this should give better water oxygenation, is this resulting in lengthening the Nitrite portion of the cycle? Is that possible? Or am I reaching, looking for excuses?
We've bypassed spring and leapt headlong into summer HOT, turned the AC on in the house hot. So, now the temp in the aquarium is 75 degrees. While this should give better water oxygenation, is this resulting in lengthening the Nitrite portion of the cycle? Is that possible? Or am I reaching, looking for excuses?
2) I got it in my head to add a capful of quick start both yesterday and today in my lame quasi-attempt to speed up the process. Did I just increase the bioload and the make it even harder for the nitrate bacteria to catch up?
Thanks for reading my lengthy question. Basically, I'm wondering if there is something that I could be doing differently. Any ways that I can quicken this portion of the process? Or if I could be doing something wrong?
Anxiously awaiting the completion of the cycle! The single White Cloud is happy as can be, as are the corys, so I'm more anxious about adding 3 more Bloodfins as soon as possible so they can school. I noticed that when the Nitrites rose, dorsal fin gets a bit paler in the smaller of the 2, and they've been a bit testy following each other around, but luckily no nipping, more so that one is annoying the other.
Thanks!