my nitrite is too high

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H-TRAIN
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Joined: 15 Aug 2004, 14:06
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my nitrite is too high

Post by H-TRAIN »

hello ppl of fish tank knowledge,

i got a 48"x18"x24" tank.
via aqua 750 pump
new tank sat for two weeks without fish
then we unleashed our credit cards and got lots gradually over the next month or so
lots of catfish, loaches, gouramis,,,,total of about 29ish. mostle small -because it costs so dammed much lol, anyhow
the tank is now about 2 1/2 months old now.
ph is spot on has been since day dot,
so has the kh
and the gh
and the ammonia is 0 and has been for quite some time
BUT the nitrite is way too high....
we have introduced live bacterias..(IN BULK) solution and sachet form, done several
water changes and the nitrites are still high...25% changes, 50% changes and a 80% change earlier today and guess what its still HIGH about 1.6 ppm ARGHHHH
the bacteria, trusting it was stil alive when we bought it should of worked in the two weeks we added it to the tank.
we trippled the dose and even quadrippled it.
the fish all look extremely healthy- no marks or funny behaviour and everything is fine CEPT this NITRITE..
what can we do to bring it down more.. :? :? :? :cry:
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Barbie
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Post by Barbie »

Be patient and stop feeding the tank for now. It's called cycling. The more you feed it, the more waste accumulates while you're trying to establish your bacteria colonies. If you know anyone with an established tank, get them to rinse their filter media in tank water and dump that sludge into your new tank, or borrow the media itself to run in your tank. The introduction of live bacteria colonies will greatly speed up the process.

To keep the fish you have in there now, do water changes (NEVER more than 30% at this point) to keep the levels under toxic and add salt to help their red blood cells be able to uptake oxygen. The 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons will work fine for that.

Barbie
Last edited by Barbie on 15 Aug 2004, 20:00, edited 1 time in total.
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Shane
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Post by Shane »

I agree with Barbie that your tank is just cycling and you should decrease feeding to once very few days for the next couple of weeks. We all tend to feed too much and a meal every 2-3 days will not harm your fish. It will also significantly lighten the organic load while the tank becomes established. That said, for a sanity check, you may want to test your tap water and make sure that it is not the problem.
-Shane
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H-TRAIN
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Joined: 15 Aug 2004, 14:06
My cats species list: 1 (i:0, k:0)
Location 1: perth australia

Post by H-TRAIN »

Thanks for your advice it is much appreciated :D
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WhitePine
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Post by WhitePine »

Stemed plants like HYGROPHILA POLYSPERMA can also really help... they will take up any extra nutrients and help establish your tank. They also have very low requirements and if they get out of control your lfs will probaly take them in trade.
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