Water changes.

[Joey17]

I did a test and found out i had 0.25 of nitrite. How much of a water change should i do? Anything else i should do?

 

[greenmaji]

are you in the mists of your cycle?
that is low nitrite for cycling.. youll likely need it.. when was the last time you changed the water? do you have any NH3?

 

[amitnarain]

20-25% water change every two days should be fine.

btw what fish do u have? tank size?

 

[greenmaji]

I didnt make myself clear I guess.. dont change the water yet.. unless you have high NH3.. that NO2 level is fine..

 

[Joey17]

It's a 30 gallon with a bumble goby, a dragon goby and some swordtails.

 

[greenmaji]

are you going through the original cycle with this tank?
do you have any NH3?
how long has it been cycling?

 

[Joey17]

Not sure about the ammonia it was cycled a long time ago. I used Zebra danios in the begining which i still have in there by the way.

 

[greenmaji]

what caused the NO2? do you have suffecent bio-filtration capasity?

 

[Joey17]

I have no idea. You're talking to a begginerhere . I just did what i researched . But i don't know what caused the nitrite. I heard that it should be 0 is that right?

 

[Jchillin]

A fully cycled tank will have 0 NO2 and 0 NH3. Have you tested for NH3 as well?

 

[Joey17]

No, just for nitrites.

 

[Bhunsucker]

How long has your tank been currently setup?

 

[Joey17]

about 4 months.

 

[rich311k]

Did you just add one of the fish? Did you accidentally feed to much food?

 

[Bhunsucker]

Please retest for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate and repost your results. What type of test kit are you using?

 

[Joey17]

The test kit for the nitrite is called aquarium pharmaceuticals, inc nitrite test kit.


I added 2 zebra danios when i started. I dont think i fed them too much just a few flakes and they ate them fast.

 

[rich311k]

Get the other tests and let us know the results. We can help you.

 

[Joey17]

Thanks! .

 

[Bhunsucker]

The test kit for the nitrite is called aquarium pharmaceuticals, inc nitrite test kit.

Joey17, What about the others (Ammonia, Nitrate)? I'm more concerened about the ammonia level. You have a good test kit, just get the other reagents by aquarium pharmaceuticlas and post the results and we can help you out.

 

[Guest]

Did you add anything new recently? Did you change the filter media recently?

If you added new fish, that could cause a "mini cycle and a bacterial bloom." becuase usually the bacteria will keep up with the current bioload and if you add something it has to play "catch up" although ive added one or two fish without problems, I added 8 fish at once and had a mini cycle with amonia at .25 for a couple days then nitrite at .25 for a couple days, then everything went back to normal.. oh adn it got a little cloudy too. (thats how i new it was a bacterial bloom)

Also, if you change your filter media, you are doing the same thing, you are taking out the colinized bacteria, which is why i like the aquaclear, i only take one part out at a time. What kind of filter do you have? Have you changed it? we need more info