Nitrates going up...Can't get Nitrites to go down?

[holbritter]

On the 12/23, my Nitrites spiked to 5.0+ for about 2 days, then went down to 2.0, where they have stayed put. I turned up the bubbles and the flow from the filter, to help with the oxygen.

In the meantime, the Ammonia finally went to 0 on 12/26 and stayed there. My PH is and has been a steady 8.0 pretty much throughout, and Nitrates at 5.0 throughout. (Testing almost every day)

Today, 12/30, PH and Ammon. are the same (yeah!) but the Nitrates are going up (between 5 - 10 ) and the stubborn Nitrites are sticking at 2.0

I did a 25% water change yesterday, because of the nitrites and my danios.

Isn't the Nitrates supposed to "eat" the nitrites? I thought they would go down as the nitrates went up? Is this normal?

BTW, I started cycling on 12/1.

TIA!

[Danny M]

You need just a little more patience...
The bacteria that forms nitrites are developing in the first stage of cycling. The other type of bacteria that eats nitrites and forms nitrates develops in a later stage.
The fact that you read 0 ammonia, is not meaning that ammonia is not forming, just the bacteria keeps up eating it. The fact that the nitrites are building, together with the nitrates, means the second type of bacteria is working, but not keeping up, and that's because they have started growing later than the fist ones. Just a little more patience, as I said.

[Lady Hobbs]

Your nitrites will take the plunge all at once. Almost overnight they will be there and the next gone. The bacteria is still growning to reduce them so be patient. Your high pH will take them a bit longer but you will see it happen.

And no........the nitrates do not eat the nitrites. Ammonia has it's own ammonia eating bacteria and nitrites also has another bacteria that grows to eat that up. The end product, as you know, are the nitrates.

[jeffs99dime]

i would change at least 50% of your water to bring down your levels while your fishy cycling. if you're doing a fishless cycle then you don't do water changes at all.

[holbritter]

Ok, thanks. I misunderstood the chemistry of the cycle, thinking there was just the one bacteria that needed to work. It's good to know I'm on the right track.

Thanks again :)

[jeffs99dime]

yeah. sounds like you are. keep it up!:thumb:

[Cichlid_Man]

You are doing fine and have received great advice here.

One suggestion.
There has been much controversy about percentages of water change.
I used to do 25% weekly and all was well.
I changed to 75% weekly, and after my fish got sick, I consulted with some experts in aquariums, and they said NEVER change any more than 25% of your water at one given time. No need for it.

I have cichlids with a disease known as septicemia and it was caused by too much water taken at one time.

Patience was mentioned here. That's all you need.

25% water changes each week and patience.

[kimmers318]

Well, cichlid man I am glad you found the reason for your septicemia. Hope all is going well with your treatment.

Holbritter....yes, you are on the right track, just keep being patient. These higher readings you are seeing that are causing you worry is why so many people recommend fishless cycling. The levels can get quite high and you aren't harming any fish....and the best part, once the cycle is done you have so much good bacteria in there you can pretty much fully stock if you do it right!

Take heart....your next tank will be much easier since you have learned so much here, AND will be able to jumpstart your cylcle using media from your established tank!thumbs2:

[Dori/amanda]

You are doing fine and have received great advice here.

One suggestion.
There has been much controversy about percentages of water change.
I used to do 25% weekly and all was well.
I changed to 75% weekly, and after my fish got sick, I consulted with some experts in aquariums, and they said NEVER change any more than 25% of your water at one given time. No need for it.

I have cichlids with a disease known as septicemia and it was caused by too much water taken at one time.

Patience was mentioned here. That's all you need.

25% water changes each week and patience.
I would do everything above! Thank you for being so detailedthumbs2:

[holbritter]

Thanks again everyone! Today my nitrites are still way high, even with the water change, and nitrates are up to 10. Still 0 on the ammonia, so thats good :)

I will have patience though!

About the water changes. I plan on doing a smaller amount on a weekly basis. The 50% was just for the nitrites....but it didn't work anyway!

I certainly have learned a lot here, and am very grateful for all the advice. Your right kimmers...my next tank will be a breeze, knowing what I know now. :thumb:

[holbritter]

WOOHOO!!! :19:

My nitrites are going down!!! They are at .50 right now (down from 5.0)
I even tested twice just to make sure I did it right!
I'm so excited.

Quick question.....how long after they get to zero do I have to wait to add fish?

[Cichlid_Man]

Hi...and congrats!

When the nitrites AND ammonia are both zero, you can add fish right away.
Not too many at one time.

It is OK to have some nitrAtes, but when you hit zero on the other 2 you get fish!

[danthefishman]

You mentioned that you turned up your filter, not always good as you are giving the bacteria in your filter less time to remove harmfull toxins. So you can partly undo the good you've been doing with this simple mistake. you should keep the filter at a steady speed throughout the filter cycle and adjust it gradualy later on if required.

hope all settles down soon your on the right track.

[jeffs99dime]

personally, i would wait a week or so after you think your tank is cycled, just to be on the safe side. keep testing the water parameters every day for the next week to see if there's any major fluctuation in the parameters. if not, add fish slowly,then just conduct all tests every week.:thumb:
i would also recommend testing your source (tap water) seasonally so that you know how your parameters are before adding the water to your tank

[holbritter]

You mentioned that you turned up your filter, not always good as you are giving the bacteria in your filter less time to remove harmfull toxins. So you can partly undo the good you've been doing with this simple mistake. you should keep the filter at a steady speed throughout the filter cycle and adjust it gradualy later on if required.

hope all settles down soon your on the right track.


I didn't even think of that. I'm going to leave it as it is from now on. I still have plenty of movement in the water, but not too much.

[holbritter]

personally, i would wait a week or so after you think your tank is cycled, just to be on the safe side. keep testing the water parameters every day for the next week to see if there's any major fluctuation in the parameters. if not, add fish slowly,then just conduct all tests every week.:thumb:
i would also recommend testing your source (tap water) seasonally so that you know how your parameters are before adding the water to your tank


That's about how long it will take me to make up my mind on what fish to get, then to actually get there to buy them! I'll be keeping my eye on the parameters.

I'm going to get dwarf corys, so I think I'll add them first. Then the tetras one or two weeks later. Sound good?

[danthefishman]

I didn't even think of that. I'm going to leave it as it is from now on. I still have plenty of movement in the water, but not too much

Glad to be of assistance

[jeffs99dime]

That's about how long it will take me to make up my mind on what fish to get, then to actually get there to buy them! I'll be keeping my eye on the parameters.

I'm going to get dwarf corys, so I think I'll add them first. Then the tetras one or two weeks later. Sound good?

i would add tetras first. cories second- this way there will be more for them to eat, algae wise. just my 2 cents.

[holbritter]

i would add tetras first. cories second- this way there will be more for them to eat, algae wise. just my 2 cents.


That makes sense! I'll do that, thanks :)

[Lady Hobbs]

When you have 0 ammonia and nitrites, you will have a cycled tank but may then have high nitrates. Just do a large water change before adding your fish to reduce those nitrates, as well. And don't over stock right off the bat. Add a few fish each week so that nitrogen cycle can keep up with the load.

[Cichlid_Man]

Hi,
I want to add something here just in case I missed something?

If you wait a week, you will lose your cycle for sure and have to start all over again.
If you are going to wait week, at least "feed your tank" food each day as if there were fish in there. This will keep the cycle going.
Personally, I would at least get a catfish of some sort to keep the cycle going.

[jeffs99dime]

Hi,
I want to add something here just in case I missed something?

If you wait a week, you will lose your cycle for sure and have to start all over again.
If you are going to wait week, at least "feed your tank" food each day as if there were fish in there. This will keep the cycle going.
Personally, I would at least get a catfish of some sort to keep the cycle going.

what's up? i was referring to waiting a week after he thinks the cycle is complete, to introduce fish into the tank so you know for sure if the cycle is complete but, still do what he was doing

[Cichlid_Man]

I was just throwing that in about being careful not to lose his cycle.
When I started my 30 gallon tropical setup I used fishless cycling.
When the cycle was complete, I didn't have time to get to town to buy fish.
After about 8 days, I was ready for fish and when I tested my water, everything was still at zero, so I figured...Great!
I put the fish in the following day, and after about 4 days, I had an ammonia spike. My cycle had stopped and I didn't know it because everything showed zero.
After the cycle completes you either have to add fish or keep adding an ammonia source so the bacteria don't die off.
Like I said. Maybe I am missing something in the original post. Sorry.

Just keep doing what you're doing.

[jeffs99dime]

no problem bro!:ezpi_wink1:

[kimmers318]

Please be cautious and add fish slowly...right now your bio filter can only hand;e the load of the 3 danios...when you add more fish you will be adding more ammonia, creating the need for the amm. eating bacteria to increase it's population, which will take time.....That in turn will create more nitrite with the same scenario so you may still see small spikes in your readings. Good luck and keep us posted.....we all like to live thru ANYONE else when stocking a new tank....easier than getting another one ourselves :ezpi_wink1:

[Lady Hobbs]

I've also read that the bacteria goes dormat when fish are no longer in the tank and will become active again when fish are again added. I almost tend to feel this is true as my 10 gallon sits here without fish for long periods and never gets a set back when fish are added.

[holbritter]

Hi again.

Just to clear things up, I had the 5 danio in there already (I know...my bad!)
So I don't have to worry about feeding the bacteria.

The point is moot now, because my dear husband brought me home a surprise!
He knew how excited I was about the cycle being done, so he brought me 6 Black Skirt Tetras. He really meant well, just didn't know what I learned here.

I will keep a very close eye on the parameters and do a couple of smaller water changes of the next few days, just to be safe.

Oh yeah.....I'm a she! :ezpi_wink1:

I have some questions about how they are all behaving right now, but I'll put it in a different thread.

This morning, all the readings are good, but like mentioned, the nitrates have gone up a little. Do you think 25% change would be good enough?

Thanks everyone for walking me through this! My next tank will be a breeze!

[kimmers318]

Best of luck with your new fish....sometimes hubbies can be like that....mine brought home clown loaches after I said I was done with them because he knows how much I love them!
Regular water changes now shouldn't hurt anything....keep your nitrates below preferably 20ppm. Just keep your eye on things as you have learned to do and things should work out okay for you.