Hello -
im having off the chart nitrite readings in my new freshwater tank. It is a 57 gal that has been up and running about 5 weeks. It is stocked although my fish are showing no signs of stress.
i did consider posting this in the newbie section but I am an experienced hobbyist (just one who should have known better).
my tank has been running successfully for the past 11 years as a fish only saltwater. We recently had our floors redone which meant dismantling the tank so I thought I'd switch back to freshwater. I researched and debated how to cycle and decided to cycle with fish. My mistake was not monitoring my water parameters more closely but as the fish were not showing any signs of distress and I did not overstock the tank I thought I would be ok.
I decided to take my water to the LFS to get it checked and they advised that I was still cycling. I could see by the color changes my nitrites were super high. They also advised me to do no more water changes and bring another sample to them in a week. I bought my own test kit and did some internet scouring and decided that the best thing to do was to do some water changes until my nitrite levels came down.
Over tha past 24 hours I have done 3 water changes (5 gal, 12 gal, and 12 gal) checking my nitrites after each change. I realize I'm diluting the effect by doing three water changes over 24 hours vs 1 large change but 12 gallons is the most I can do at one time without shutting off the filters (2 Magnum HOT canisters) and from my reading I really do not want to stop the filters and take the chance of disrupting and/or interfering with any bacteria colonization.
So what do I do? Do I continue to do water changes until the readings show improvement? Should I get some bacteria additive to help the process along? Should I add some salt to help the fish (who, again, are showing no outward signs of stress). Or should I simply do nothing and let the cycle complete on its own?
I also have a UGF along with the two cannisters. My tank temp is at 81. Ammonia was initially between 0 and .25/ppm. Nitrate was between 0 and 5/ppm. pH is around 7.2.
Thanks for for any thoughts/suggestions.
lisa
ps. I did check my water source and nitrite levels were zero.
im having off the chart nitrite readings in my new freshwater tank. It is a 57 gal that has been up and running about 5 weeks. It is stocked although my fish are showing no signs of stress.
i did consider posting this in the newbie section but I am an experienced hobbyist (just one who should have known better).
my tank has been running successfully for the past 11 years as a fish only saltwater. We recently had our floors redone which meant dismantling the tank so I thought I'd switch back to freshwater. I researched and debated how to cycle and decided to cycle with fish. My mistake was not monitoring my water parameters more closely but as the fish were not showing any signs of distress and I did not overstock the tank I thought I would be ok.
I decided to take my water to the LFS to get it checked and they advised that I was still cycling. I could see by the color changes my nitrites were super high. They also advised me to do no more water changes and bring another sample to them in a week. I bought my own test kit and did some internet scouring and decided that the best thing to do was to do some water changes until my nitrite levels came down.
Over tha past 24 hours I have done 3 water changes (5 gal, 12 gal, and 12 gal) checking my nitrites after each change. I realize I'm diluting the effect by doing three water changes over 24 hours vs 1 large change but 12 gallons is the most I can do at one time without shutting off the filters (2 Magnum HOT canisters) and from my reading I really do not want to stop the filters and take the chance of disrupting and/or interfering with any bacteria colonization.
So what do I do? Do I continue to do water changes until the readings show improvement? Should I get some bacteria additive to help the process along? Should I add some salt to help the fish (who, again, are showing no outward signs of stress). Or should I simply do nothing and let the cycle complete on its own?
I also have a UGF along with the two cannisters. My tank temp is at 81. Ammonia was initially between 0 and .25/ppm. Nitrate was between 0 and 5/ppm. pH is around 7.2.
Thanks for for any thoughts/suggestions.
lisa
ps. I did check my water source and nitrite levels were zero.
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