nitrites upset me

[mrbranden]

Hi.

It seems like if I asked three differnt people for advice I get three different and conflicting answers. :-)

Tank is still cycling... nitrites are high... My ammonia is down to 0. Nitrates are at about 10. Nitrites are at about 0.40 ppm.

I've received the following suggestions:

+ do not feed fish until nitrites are gone. If there are nitrites in the water, then there's food in the water. Do NOT change the water.

+ Change 10-15% of the water every couple days. Feed normallly.

+ Do not feed and do a 30% water change every 3-4 days.

Umm... yeah. "What is behind Door #1???"

What do you all think?
I have my readings logged online at http://www.zagency.org/aquarium/aquarium_log.html

Thanks! :-)

---Branden

[Corax]

First off, using fish to cycle your tank is very frowned upon nowadays. Please consider fishless cycling for your next tank. It is better for your tank and less cruel to your fish.

Here is how the cycle works:

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An ammonia source is introduced to your tank. This can be from fish or from cocktail shrimp.

Bacteria present in your water will begin to consume the available ammonia and reproduce according to how much food (ammonia) is available to them. The more you provide it with, the greater its bio-capacity will be for stocking your tank after the cycle completes. The ammonia is consumed and nitrite is produced in its place.

Bacteria present in your water will begin to consume the available nitrite and reproduce according to how much food (nitrite) is available to them. The nitrite is consumed and nitrate is produced in its place. (Notice the cyclic motion going on here? Hence the term "cycle")

Nitrate can be removed from your water in one of two ways. Either via water changes or nutrient exportation.
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That is the jist of how the nitrogen cycle works. The presence of nitrite has NOTHING to do with food being present in the tank. Whomever told you that needs to have his//her salt bucket taken away and capped over his/her head. All yer doing at that point is starving the poor fish that are suffering through the ammonia and nitrite hell.. Not a nice thing to do......

[mrbranden]

I am well aware that using fish to cycle is not cool, nor am I intentionally cruel to my fish. I acquired the complete set-up, fish included, through a purchase. I was not able to bring most of the original water with me; only about 35%. It has mostly new water in it, so it is effectively starting over.

I am aware conceptually of how the cycle works. My concern is that my nitrites spiked but, rather than starting to decline after its peak, have stayed consistent.

I've asked for advice and have received three different suggestions from more than three credible sources. And each one swears that one answer is right while the other is absolutely wrong. Hence my dilemma.

[kreblak]

Where does one get cocktail shrimp? I assume they are alive? How hearty are they, and do they mess with other invertabrates in the tank?

[ChilDawg]

They are dead, actually. These are the ones which you find in stores, ready for consumption.

[BrianH]

IMHO the best course of action would be a combination of all three suggestions. Try feeding your fish every 3-4 days and do 10% to 20% water changes every other day.
According to your link, it looks like you have a FO tank. Was the filter material on your wet/dry kept in tank water during the tank's move? If not you probably lost all the bacteria and are now cycling the tank with a full fish load. JMHO

Brian

[mrbranden]

Bingo, yeah he cleaned the bioballs before giving them to me. I'm sure he meant well though. :-)