When to do a water change...

[Pygmy's Charm]

So I have had my tank set up for about 5 weeks now. I added 2 fish and a cleaner shrimp about 6 days ago and my Nitrite levels went up to about .25 and have not come back down. Is this something to worry about or should I just wait a little longer? When is a good time to do a water change and how do I go about that? I have a 29g FOWLR.
Thanks, I really appreciate the advice...

 

[edikpok]

did you have any fish in the tank (damsels) before you got the current ones? i wouldn't recommend a water change just now... nitrite will accumulate again pretty quickly. i recommend you to go to a retailer and ask them for some gravel.....gravel has bacteria in it and that is what you need to break down the nitrites (these bacteria will multiply fairly quickly).

 

[Pygmy's Charm]

I did a fishless cycle before adding my clownfish. I have sand from my employer (pet store) that was in his saltwater tank from home. He gave me that the first week I set my tank up. Then I left it for 3 weeks and went home for Christmas. Then came back and tested my water and everything was perfect! Now the Nitrites have gone up to about .25 and have not come back down for about a week and a half. Should I do anything else, or just wait?

 

[edikpok]

In general you should not put any fish other then damsels into a new aquarium. the reason is that only them (most commonly) are resistant to nitrites as far as I know. Therefore, if I were you I would bring your clowns back to the store for a keep and stick to the damsels for another few weeks until the nitrite level goes down and the nitrate level goes up. the reason your nitites used to be 0 before is because you did not have the bacteria that break the ammonia. Notice that nitrite is fatal for most fish as well.

 

[Winky&Dobby]

Thanks for the info. I talked to my friends and they said that the nitrite level will come back down soon and that my clownfish are fine, they are tank raised and hardy. I appreciate your opinion though.