Please help... new and need advice.

[JRideout]

Hello everyone, my name is Justin and I'm basically brand new to the aquarium hobby. I got into it several weeks ago by deciding to set up a tank for my 5 yo daughter (but of course I'm the one that take care of it). I'm having a few issues with water quality I think and ich. I have 4 live plants (smal anubis, small java fern, a cryptocoryne, and some moss; all on attached to drift wood. Fish i have currently are 6 glo tetras, 2 julii cory catfish, 3 nerite snails, and I had 4 oto catfish, but I found 1 dead and the other 3 I can't locate at all anymore. The glo tetras are the ones that have the little white spots.



I have a Fluval flex 15 gallon tank. I read about cycling and tried to do it the best of my knowledge before adding fish. I used the Fluval cycle additive to boost it. So several weeks later I ordered fish online and got some a local shop and this week I finally got a proper water testing kit. Now my fish are showing mild signs of ich, which I went to local shop and got Metroplex and have given them one treatment so far, next one is due tomorrow.



I decided to test the water today and this is what the Fluval testing kit says:
pH 6.5 - 7.0
Ammonia .01
Nitrate 110

Nitrite 3.3
(both Nitrate/Nitrate tests just went bright purple and never changed after 2-5 minutes)


The Nitrates and Nitrites seem very high, but the rest appears good. I bought Seachem Prime to help, but I don't what I'm doing wrong in the first place or if Seachem Prime is what I should use. I had to remove the carbon from the filter to treat with metroplex as well.


Any advice on how to handle those nitrate / nitrite levels now and in the future would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Aiken Drum]

Water changes are the only surefire way to remove nitrite in an uncycled tank, and water changes are the only way to remove nitrate regardless.

You arent cycled. Your target should be to keep ammonia + nitrite combined no higher than 0.5ppm. At nitrite of 3.3ppm (i have no idea how you arrived at 3.3. The test isnt that accurate) that would take 3 x 50% water changes to get the nitrite below 0.5ppm. Do them a couple of hours apart until your nitrite shows about 0.5ppm. After that test daily and if nitrite is above 0.5ppm, water changes to get it below that figure.

You will need to redose your ich medication after water changes.

Going forward you also need to find a water change schedule to keep your nitrate level acceptable. 40ppm is considered a good upper level for nitrate. Once you are cycled start off with 30% weekly water changes and see how things are. If 30% weekly doesnt keep you below 40ppm, up it to 50% weekly water changes. If that doesnt do it, then you are overstocked and should consider removing fish or getting a bigger tank. I would also test your tap water as it could be nitrate is coming from your tapwater.