HELP Please... Nitrite is going up...

[Squirt0170]

I tested my waters and the results are this...

No3 = 20
No2 = 3.0
Hardness is 120
alkanity is 100
PH is 7.0

Is is safe to change my water daily to stop the nitrate from killing my fish? I changed a little more than 20% last night and if didn't do much change and I'm starting to worry. My fish are acting fine... if that makes a difference.. Also I tested my tap water after putting conditioner in it to see if it was the water doing it... and it's not. When I tested my tap with conditioner there was no No2 or No3...

Should I add more conditioner? Please HELP!!

 

[Zagz]

It is perfectly safe to change your water every day to save fish. Add dechlorinator every time. NO2 is the dangerous one for fish, NO3 can cause damage to fish when very high but most tanks never reach that level with proper water changes. NO2 should be 0ppm. If need be you can do back to back water changes to get the NO2 down. I would do one asap as the NO2 will burn your fish's gills.

How long has your tank been set up? What size is the tank? I would do a 75% pwc and test the parameters again in a couple of hours.

 

[SCFatz]

I'll agree...The No3 is ok,but the No2 is way high.

Change some water (50%).Then change some more again.Watch the temp and dechorinate as advised.

 

[Squirt0170]

My tank is 30 Gallons it's been set up since May 14th 2006. I have not read up on the nitrogen cycle. I have 2 live plants. I have 3 baby Bala sharks, 2 silver dollars, a baby black ghost knife and 2 gourimis. I'm cycling my 75 gallon tank them I'm switching the balla's, ghost knife and silver dollars. I change the water 20% weekly

 

[rich311k]

Here is the article about The Nitrogen Cycle. Your nitrites are dangerously high I would do a 50% water change, test again and if they are still over .5ppm I would do another.

 

[tropicfishman]

your still cycling is what it sounds like to me, do a 75 % water change and then wait 24 hours, retest, if still up do 25% water changes until the levels fall back down, once your tank is cycled, its not uncommon for a tank to go through mini cycles through its life time, so don't freak out if the levels go back up ,just stay on top oif the water changes and gravel sweeps

 

[7Enigma]

I second (or third) a LARGE water change (50-75%) and then do another 50-75% change right after that. If you truly have 3ppm nitrIte even a 75% water change will still keep your tank about 1ppm (and its probably rising so it will continue to go up). If you do 2 back to back 75% water changes you will essentially be under 0.25ppm (a safe level). My concern here is that while you have nitrItes present, the thank has only been setup for a little over 2 weeks and you didn't post AMMONIA levels. These could be very high as well, but the water changes will take care of the ammonia levels as well.

Also what "conditioner" are you using? Most of us just like to use a straight dechlorination product with no additives.

Goodluck,

justin

 

[Squirt0170]

The conditioner I'm using is "Aqua Safe" and I have "Stress Zyme" I just did a 50+% water change... Is it safe for the fish to do water changes back to back?

I also looked at my filter cartridge and it was DISGUSTING!!! Could the cartridge be the problem?

I just looked at my test bottle and it doesn't show Ammonia!!! I didn't even realize that... it's strips that test Nitrate, Nitrite, Hardness, Alkalinity and PH.

 

[rich311k]

As long as the temperature and Kh is the same the fish will not mind multiple water changes, as a matter of fact they will love them. Those strips are notoriously inaccurate, get yourself a liquid test kit. What was the nitrite reading after your water change?

 

[Squirt0170]

After the water change it was still high... It was over 3.0 today... the weird thing is the fish act fine... Every time I have tested the water before yesterday the Nitrites were fine.

 

[rich311k]

Did it change at all? I would take a sample to your LFS to test until you can get your own liquid test kit.

 

[SCFatz]

Every time I have tested the water before yesterday the Nitrites were fine

.

Based on everything I've read I'll bet the ammonia was up there pretty good and you just didn't know because you were not testing for it.

Do another large change...and get the liquid AP masters test kit asap,you'll be glad you did.

You can save a good bit on it is you print the page off of the petsmart web site and bring it to the store with you if petsmart is an option.

Also...just swish your cartridge around in a bucket of tank water while doing the change.

 

[Squirt0170]

I went to the store and bought a plastic vacuum.. At first I couldn't figure out the darn thing and called the store for help. I THEN figured it out and couldn't believe all the nasty crap in the water..

I also added Korden's AmQuel plus that removes Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, Chlorine, and Chloramines. I will pick up the Liquid testers in the morning.

 

[SkullJug]

If your tank has only been running for two weeks your cartridge shouldn't be that dirty yet.. You might want to have a look at the quality/size of your filter.

I also think you've over stocked - Until your tank is fully cycled you should only keep 1 or 2 fish.

What type of filter do you have? If it's only taken two weeks to get "disgusting" then it probably is the problem.

Daily water changes are good for an emergency but by remving the nitrite you are also limiting the amount of food available to the bacteria colonies so they will never grow big enough to handle the amount of nitrite your tank is producing.

Let us know what filter you have and maybe talk to your LFS to see if they will take back some fish temporarily - Keep the gouramis they are pretty tough.

 

[Squirt0170]

I have a 30 Whisper Filter that does 140 gallons an hour... Should I add another small filter?

 

[SkullJug]

140 gallons p/h should be enough - Maybe it's a problem with filter medium - What are you using?

 

[Squirt0170]

Yeah the filter should be good for tanks from 10 to 30 gallons... I'm thinking maybe I should have went bigger?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Stop using the Amquel+. It binds the ammonia and causes the tank not to cycle. It sounds like a miracle product but it is not a good choice for a cycling tank.

The filter you are using is not enough. You should be running about 300 gph (to be on the safe side). I recommend between 8 to 10x turnover rate per hour unless you have fish that do not appreciate current such as Bettas.