jasonskillz said:
i no i sound so noobie
i guess i will just change my water
Jason,
A 10 ppm reading of nitrite is insane. Your nitrite reading is higher than some (or most) people's nitrate reading. Nitrite is toxic to fish. I believe 10 ppm would exceed the upper boundaries on some people's nitrite test kit.
I've read a lot of Roan Art's posts and I consider him a very knowledgable individual as are a lot of people on this forum. I'm sure they'd all be willing to help if you simply try to solve these problems. If you want a healthy aquarium, these things aren't optional. No salt, more water changes. These things aren't negotiable.
- What filter do you have in your tank and what size tank is it? Overfiltering is not a problem, but underfiltering is. You state that you have no substrate. Substrate is important not only for cosmetic purposes, but giving a home to benefical bacteria. Withut a home for bacteria, your nitrogen cycle may not go as quickly as it should.
- How often do you change your water? With a reading of 10 ppm of nitrite, you
need to change the water MUCH more often. A reading that high is no where near acceptable for a pleco, or any other fish for that matter. Find a water changing scheme and stick to it. I do 40% weekly (I have live plants though) and I have never had ammonia or nitrite.
- Sort out your problems before adding in another pleco. Get your water in good condition. You shouldn't be adding ANY fish with readings that high. Get nitrite down to 0, and test ammonia. Ammonia should be 0, nitrite should be 0, and nitrate should be as close to 0 as possible, but anything less than about 20 is acceptable in a non-planted tank. If these values get to high, do a water change.
The thing that most concerns me right now about your tank is the lack of substrate and thus bacteria homes. If there isn't enough bacteria, the nitrogen cycle won't do very well.
