Nitrite problems! Help?!?

sorry to say this, but pleco's really do get huge. The common pleco will get a foot long very quickly. Since they are so cheap, maybe you could get some credit at LFS and look into a smaller type of pleco, they are more expensive but some only get 4-6 inches. as far as the silver dollar, they can get the size of a dinner plate and you will stun them and damage internal organs. I hate telling ppl the truth, and I too have made some bad mistakes from being misinformed. I never ever impulse buy anymore, i go research, then go buy.

HTH
 
Ok thanks, so continue the water changes then?

I also should clarify, the Silver Dollar is one Ive had for 8 years, I cant get rid of him, had him way too long! :-) I can trade in the Placo and all but 3 of the chinese algae eaters, I hope that is what they are these things seem tiny and everyone keeps saying they'll get huge i could have the name wrong?
 
here's a pl*co that a friend gave me when he went to saltwater. it's under a year old

and for comparison, that's a full grown cherry barb on the left side.

bigpleco.jpg
 
Ok, so now time has gone by, I have seen the Nitrate lower to about 40ppm, which I read is acceptable, Nitrite is also lowering but still not to 0. I have been using every other day the Aquazelm(sp?) and I have also placed in the filter a PhosX by Hagen(sp?) pouch which both are supposed to remove Nitrite/Trate etc.

Now, over the weekend I lost one of my Chinese Algae eaters, so tested everything, still all the same, Ammonia is 0ppm also... but.... my normally perfect PH, is now, very low, on a suggestion of my LFS I added a bit of baking soda today hopefully it will come up some. I did a partial water change last week, but was told also not to do too many water changes.... Argh! Im almost ready to give up!
 
You need to do water changes! Disregard the LFS employees advise.

Your tank is still cycling, with fish. You need to do as much and as many water changes as necessary to bring the nitrite to 0, and keep it there.

As for nitrate, most people on this board would agree, 40ppm is the upper range of safe and requires a water change to bring it down.

Stop the use of the chemicals, Aquazelm and PhosX and NitraZorb?!@# The chemicals are a band aid, what you need is a transfusion, of fresh water :D

Have you gotten rid of the pleco and cae's?
 
Well 2 of the CAE's died, the Pleco I think I'll keep for now, if it eventually gets too big I will give it to my bro-in law, he has a 50gal or I know some other ppl I could give it to, I may take it back to the fish store, they will take it back. I have just 2 CAE's now, can prob take one of them back, I still need somthing to control the algae. Ok so Ill remove the Aquazelm and PhosX and try Au-Naturale, and multiple water changes.
 
Take both cae's back. When, or if, the water stabilizes, you could add a few otos IF you need algae control. Most stable unplanted tanks do not have much algae problems in my experience.

The problem is going to be getting the tank to stabilize with your current bioload.

Pleco - most people don't realize how much waste a pleco produces and how fast they grow. My pleco is 16+ inches and less than 2 yrs old. He has grow close to 1 inch per month! If your is not growing, it's because you're not feeding it enough.

Silver Dollar - grows to 6-8 inches. If yours is not this big, it is because it's growth has been stunted. This is a schooling fish, it needs other silver dollars to thrive. If you are insistent on keeping it, and keeping it in a 29g, there is no room for any other fish. It needs that space for it self.

Please consider the welfare of your fish. If you keep the pleco and silver in the 29g, you will probably need to do a 50% water change every 2-3 days to keep the nitrates below 40ppm. Just the silver dollar and you can probable get away with 50% every 5-6 days.
 
Well, I am down to the Silver dollar and 1 CAE (took others back) The silver dollar Ive had for 8 years, and I'm not letting him go, I can't imagine they live much more than 8 years?!

I have removed all water stuff like the NitraZorb pillows, not putting any chemicals etc, just water change and letting the tank do its thing. So far as of last nite my Nitrite is still remaining at 0ppm, PH is perfect, Ammonia 0ppm, and the Nitrate is around 20-30ppm, which I read is acceptable. I will do a couple more water changes and then make sure all is stable and begin to add a couple of "small" fish which will stay small.

Now my question is, when and how often should I change filter media etc, I have the Whisper 40, it has 2 foam inserts and 2 of the pouches that contain carbon. And Im sure when I change them the levels may spike for a bit? I also read that it's best to NOT change the foam just the pouches, I have usually changed them about every 2 mos. I also read that adding new fish can cause the levels to spike too?

Thanks for all the help!
 
... so i thought all was well, i just tested the Nitrite... it has risen a bit, its about .25-.50ppm range, is this safe? I don't understand why it has risen, it doesnt make any sense, Ive barely fed the fish etc. The Nitrate is hanging arount .20ppm.??
 
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