Hello all! First post here, but avid reader up till now.
I am having a very frustrating time with my new tank. The Nitrite levels are proving very difficult to get under control. Please read my whole post before responding, because I am going to provide a lot of info in order to get the best help
My setup is a 37g Freshwater Marineland Tank with a 250gph filter with the BioWheel feature as well. There are only artificial plants in the tank as of now. I have had the tank going for about 8 weeks.
I knew that fishless cycles are best, but due to an impatient girlfriend, we ended up getting 4 hearty looking silver colored Gourami from WalMart to start with, and added some African Cichlids a couple weeks later. I now understand that adding the fish then was not a good idea.
So at the moment, we have the 4 Walmart Fish, and 4 Kenyi Africans. All the fish get along great
For a while, I was dealing with the usual elevated Ammonia levels. With 25% water changes every 2 days I was able to keep the levels down below 1ppm. I was using the API StressZyme Bio-filter booster to help things along. After 3 weeks, I noticed that the ammonia levels would not rise above .5-1ppm between water changes, so I began to focus on Nitrites.
The Nitrites are absolutely wearing me down. From week 3 until now(week 8) the levels will stubbornly rise between water changes. I vacuum the gravel enough to keep the sitting waste to a minimum, and I have been alternating between daily 25% changes and 50% changes, depending on the Nitrite levels. The levels would rise about 1.0ppm per day if I did not do a water change. I usually don't allow the Nitrite levels to get above 1.0ppm, but I'm sure there have been a couple days of 2ppm.
Once, I let it go a few days to see if I was overchanging, and the levels shot to 2.0ppm by the 4th day. After my water changes, the Nitrite levels are usually 0.5ppm, but they always come back up the next day.
I have been adding aquarium salt and 3x normal doses of Prime water additive to combat the presence of the Nitrite, so I have not lost any fish, and they do not appear stressed.
I have been rinsing my filter media in the water I remove with the changes.
I have not changed or messed with the Bio-wheel at all.
I treat all my new water with ample amounts of Prime conditioner to remove the chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. After adding the Prime and stirring for a few minutes, I let the fresh water sit a few hours to ensure any chemicals in the water are not present when I pour it in.
I use API Cichlid pH buffer and minerals as to keep my pH at 8.2 and my hardness at 250 thru all the water changes.
I add Cycle Brand Bio-Filter Bacterial Booster after the daily changes.
I don't think I am overfeeding, I have even tried reduced the feeding to every other day, and even skipped 4 days once.
The water was slightly cloudy during the 3rd and 4th weeks, but now the water is always crystal clear and there is no algae or other growths.
Tonight I did a water test(API Master Test Kit) right before a water change:
Ammonia: 0 - 0.25ppm
Nitrite: 1.0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
These reading are the norm before I do a water change.
I need some advice... I cannot seem to get the Nitrate - Nitrate phase complete. The tank is stuck in the high Nitrite phase, and the water changes are wearing me out!
Please help me, my fellow fishkeepers!
I am having a very frustrating time with my new tank. The Nitrite levels are proving very difficult to get under control. Please read my whole post before responding, because I am going to provide a lot of info in order to get the best help
My setup is a 37g Freshwater Marineland Tank with a 250gph filter with the BioWheel feature as well. There are only artificial plants in the tank as of now. I have had the tank going for about 8 weeks.
I knew that fishless cycles are best, but due to an impatient girlfriend, we ended up getting 4 hearty looking silver colored Gourami from WalMart to start with, and added some African Cichlids a couple weeks later. I now understand that adding the fish then was not a good idea.
So at the moment, we have the 4 Walmart Fish, and 4 Kenyi Africans. All the fish get along great
For a while, I was dealing with the usual elevated Ammonia levels. With 25% water changes every 2 days I was able to keep the levels down below 1ppm. I was using the API StressZyme Bio-filter booster to help things along. After 3 weeks, I noticed that the ammonia levels would not rise above .5-1ppm between water changes, so I began to focus on Nitrites.
The Nitrites are absolutely wearing me down. From week 3 until now(week 8) the levels will stubbornly rise between water changes. I vacuum the gravel enough to keep the sitting waste to a minimum, and I have been alternating between daily 25% changes and 50% changes, depending on the Nitrite levels. The levels would rise about 1.0ppm per day if I did not do a water change. I usually don't allow the Nitrite levels to get above 1.0ppm, but I'm sure there have been a couple days of 2ppm.
Once, I let it go a few days to see if I was overchanging, and the levels shot to 2.0ppm by the 4th day. After my water changes, the Nitrite levels are usually 0.5ppm, but they always come back up the next day.
I have been adding aquarium salt and 3x normal doses of Prime water additive to combat the presence of the Nitrite, so I have not lost any fish, and they do not appear stressed.
I have been rinsing my filter media in the water I remove with the changes.
I have not changed or messed with the Bio-wheel at all.
I treat all my new water with ample amounts of Prime conditioner to remove the chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. After adding the Prime and stirring for a few minutes, I let the fresh water sit a few hours to ensure any chemicals in the water are not present when I pour it in.
I use API Cichlid pH buffer and minerals as to keep my pH at 8.2 and my hardness at 250 thru all the water changes.
I add Cycle Brand Bio-Filter Bacterial Booster after the daily changes.
I don't think I am overfeeding, I have even tried reduced the feeding to every other day, and even skipped 4 days once.
The water was slightly cloudy during the 3rd and 4th weeks, but now the water is always crystal clear and there is no algae or other growths.
Tonight I did a water test(API Master Test Kit) right before a water change:
Ammonia: 0 - 0.25ppm
Nitrite: 1.0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
These reading are the norm before I do a water change.
I need some advice... I cannot seem to get the Nitrate - Nitrate phase complete. The tank is stuck in the high Nitrite phase, and the water changes are wearing me out!
Please help me, my fellow fishkeepers!