Water levels going screwy - help needed please

[emilyekk]

Update:

Did a water change, seemed to do the trick.

Levels are now reading:

Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: .3
Hardnes: 75 (soft)
Chlorine: 0
Alkalinity: 60
PH - 7.0

So everything is alright, Alkalinity could be higher, and Nitrites still need to go down a bit.. but definitely better than it was.

I may do another small WC tomorrow evening.

 

[Rbishop]

I would do a big water change now.....50% at a time to you indicate zero for nitrites....

 

[SMinNC]

Thats a much better reading.

Have you tested the tap water?

If your doing the bucket thing during water changes. Dip one in the bucket and see what you get.

Its always good to know what your starting with.

 

[wkndracer]

A big water change will help in two ways Emily. First is that it will restore some o the buffering capacity of the water and second is that it will remove some of the nitrites which are trying to kill your fish. The artificial KH move that WkndRacer gave you should also help with the KH and pH but is not a very good solution to the high nitrites. If the pH is still low after the water changes have brought down the nitrites, you could add a bit of bicarb to raise the pH and KH to become a bit more stable.

The use of baking soda was only posted regarding low KH values. It dissolves easily and is available everywhere. How much it affects KH and the resulting shift in pH is well documented. I have on hand CaSO3, CaSO4 and CaCl2 most people don’t and solubility can be an issue.

Lots of people believe salt hurts cories. I would also recommend water changes instead of salt.

Is it possible for you to test the ammonia? If the ammonia is 0ppm and the nitrites are high maybe your test strips are giving you an incorrect reading.

Nitrite can kill or permanently damage cories.
The quote posted regarding the use of salt was a direct cut and paste from a post made by Diana Walstad on the APC site. There is no voodoo or opinion here. She is formally educated along with being a published author on the subject of fish keeping. Highly regarded for her knowledge and experience. After her recommendation to use this method of handling NO2 spikes I contacted several commercial fish handlers (breeders and retail). Actually verified that they routinely dose salt in their retail locations to maintain stable tanks with high livestock turn over rates.
The amount listed creates a salt concentration of about 0.015% which is chemically TINY! Should not hurt plants and will NOT hurt fish. It binds with and converts NO2 so its non toxic while still being present in the water column to convert to NO3 completing the cycle.

As to zero tested NH3/NH4 with a reading of NO2 in positive ppm that is normal for a cycling tank. I'll test a reading of rising ammonia levels that promptly zero out after NO2 is first detected. After the NO2 spikes (generally around 2ppm) NO3 will be detected and in 24hrs. NO2 will test zero levels.

I would do a big water change now.....50% at a time to you indicate zero for nitrites....

Without NO2 present in the water column the cycling of a tank can take weeks not days.


I feel that in trying to help I brought about debate and concern as to method and for that I'm sorry. Everything I posted has been first hand experienced.

OP, I read your post that you were sure the tank was cycled. Bio load changes, something hurting the bacteria, any number of things can cause a tank to mini or even full cycle a second time. If your test result is valid and Nitrite is testing in positive ppm your tank is cycling.

 

[Slappy*McFish]

Prime should detox the nitrite enough for the fish to remain healthy while things stabilize. If you treat your new water with Prime, then you're already ahead of the game. If your tank is heavily planted, all the better.

 

[KarlTh]

I'd agree about the salt except for one thing. There is no earthly reason to go out of your way finding non-iodised salt. The tiny amounts of iodine in some table salt are completely harmless.