hi, i've got a 15 gal tank with 4 cray's and about 10 minnows from the lake (trying to cycle the tank) tank has been setup for 3 weeks. i've got an internal filter with lava rock, filter floss and a porous sponge. the ammonia is 0,nitrate 0, ph 7.8, and nitrite 4. ppm. i have been doing 50% water changes for the last 3 days and the nitrites will not go down. today i did about a 70% w\c and still no changes. i have added salt to try and keep the fish from being poisioned 3tsp per gallon. what am i doing wrong? would carbon in the filter help? i have also been adding stress zyme's biological filtration booster, to supposedly speed the biological filter. anyway thanks for any replies
nitrites will not go down
- Thread starter hopelee9101
- Start date
i have a a 16 gallon tank this has happened to me to it took 5 weeks for my nitrite to go down grab some biostart solution at a pet store it worked for me 3 days after I put it in. and you should try an airstone to increase airiatio. You can also get a small power head too it helps.I hope this will help you as it did me, good luck
First of all you are way over stocked. Remove the crayfish, they will eat your fish. 10 minnows? If you plan on keeping them, you won't have room for any other fish in your tank.
It's too late to add bio-spira unless you strip the tank and start over. Off the shelf bacteria starters do not contain live bacteria and will do nothing for your tank.
You need to do massive water changes, 80% or as much as you can get out, every 12 hrs until the nitrites are under .5ppm
It's too late to add bio-spira unless you strip the tank and start over. Off the shelf bacteria starters do not contain live bacteria and will do nothing for your tank.
You need to do massive water changes, 80% or as much as you can get out, every 12 hrs until the nitrites are under .5ppm
the crayfish were the only things in the tank that i wanted to keep the minnows were the food. if i take the minnows out now will the nitrites come down on there own after a water change? there is an airstone in the back left of the tank and a waterfall for water agitation. this tank isn't being run a an aquarium per se, i am attempting a paludarium. i don't intend to add any more fish it's really just a kind of nature tank. thanks for the speedy replies. pics of this tank can be seen at http://community.webshots.com/myphotos?action=viewAllPhotos&albumID=549240769&ran=26957
I don't know much about crayfish. Do they breath water or air? If they breath water, you need a filter, you need to cycle it just like a fish tank, and you need to do water changes. The crays will be just as susceptible to poor water conditions a s fish.
This is temporary right? That is what I interpreted. Try cutting down on the minnows. If this isn't temporary then you need to cut down on everything alot.budrecki said:
Also don't underestimate minnows. They need a ton of swimming space and they can get quite big for a 16.
the crays are permanent the minnows were only as permanent as they want to be (outswimming the crays) i'm going to take out all but about 3 of the minnows and see how this works.
It's teaspoons and it's still a lot.joephys said:
At MAX you only need 1 tsp per gallon for nitrite toxicity. Anything more is way overkill.
What else is in that tank? Did you add "decorations" from the lake or something from outside? Tell us what's in there besides the animals, please.
Roan
1/4 teaspoon per 10 gallons is more than plenty for nitrites.Roan Art said:
This wholesale dumping of salt into tanks is getting a little bit over the top. They are freshwater fish.