can't lower nitrites...!

[patagonia]

hello people...this is day 22 of my cycle (5gal w/2platies) and everything was going smooth...too smooth...till yesterday...when i had (still have) a reading of 5ppm nitrites...had the ammonia spike already (only reached 0.50ppm) and now NH3 is 0ppm...i did a 15% water change yesterday and after an hour i tested and it was the same...and today same thing...cant seem to be able to lower it...nitrates are 5ppm...i think my problem is this...since my tap water has chloramine( )...when im replacing water in the tank it is converted into nitrites right away...since my readings for ammonia are 0ppm before and after the water changes...so...i dont think changing water is helping any...i use prime and it claims to be able to detoxify nitrites in an emergency...so i was wondering if that would be the way to go...fishies look fine...i didnt feed them today...just in case...im using the AP freshwater master test kit...thaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnks in advance!

 

[TomK2]

I think it will settle down with time. Water changes are a good idea, I think. I guess it depends on the chloramine count. I have heard of up to 3 ppm in municiple supplies, if so, then you will have 3ppm of nitrite in no time

O fcourse, if your chloramine level is lower, say 0.5 ppm, then you could successfuly dilute out the nitrite.

The nitrite phase is often described as taking longer than the ammonia phase?

 

[patagonia]

i tested the tap water (after letting it sit for 24 hours in a glass) and it reads 0.25ppm ammonia...so ill keep up with the water changes then...its been 7 days since i started to have nitrites reading...but they hit 5ppm yesterday so being at the far end of the color scale i was wondering how well can the fish be in there... btw...i was checking out ur web page tom and i find it really really useful....i think once i get the hang of this ill get a HUGE tank and try the fishless cycle...dont like to put fish through this again...eventhough they "look" fine....i read somewhere that theres a huge difference between fish being alive and fish being fine...thanks for the help...

 

[Menagerie]

i read somewhere that theres a huge difference between fish being alive and fish being fine

This is true!

 

[buggsmarinetank]

with that little amount of fish, the cycle can take a while to finsh.

 

[patagonia]

well...im almost there...i started to have nitrates reading and its been 25 days only...so i guess its almost over? and dont forget i have a 5gal tank so i dont think i can really have a lot of fish in there either...id love to...but im not going to...