# Nitrite problem



## Lawtygrr (Dec 15, 2011)

I have a 36g bowfront. Aquarium was fully cycled then I've been adding a few fish at a time. Numbers have been consistently as follows:

Ammonia: 0.0
NitrIte: 0.0
NitrAte: 10 ppm

A day ago I had a platy die. He was dead for between 12 and 24 hours before I found him. I removed the body and did a 25% water change.

Today I check my numbers and my Nitrites and Nitrates have spiked to a dangerous level:

Ammonia 0.0
NittIte: about 5.0 ppm
NitrAte: 40 ppm

I've done a water change and have not fed the fish. What else, if anything, can I do to get the levels down?

Thanks.


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## LegitFish (Nov 27, 2011)

How long has it been since it cycled? If it has been a while, try a larger water change. Maybe 50%. Go from there, see what happens.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

Do a large water change, then test a few hours after and see if it goes down. May be because of the dead fish being in there...


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

Lawtygrr said:


> I have a 36g bowfront. Aquarium was fully cycled then I've been adding a few fish at a time. Numbers have been consistently as follows:
> 
> Ammonia: 0.0
> NitrIte: 0.0
> ...


Hello Law...

Small water changes are fine for keeping a tank clean during the cycling process and you need to test the tank daily. Once a tank cycles, and that means you get several tests that read "0" ammonia and nitrites and the tank is fully stocked, you need to be more aggressive in your water change routine to guarantee no pollutants can build up in the water. You need to remove and replace at least half the tank water every week. 

Large, weekly water changes will keep the water chemistry stable for your fish and plants and you'll no longer need to test it. I change 60 to 70 percent of the water in my large, planted tanks every 6 to 7 days and haven't tested the water in them in a long time.

B


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Not sure what you mean by fully cycled, but unless you did it by adding ammonia some way your tank's cycle didn't start until you put the first fish in it. You should read up on the nitrogen cycle...it has to have ammonia to begin. Fish are the natural source of this or you can add other ways without fish. Your tank will take 3-8wks to completely cycle and during this time water changes, many of them, will need to be done in order for your fish to survive.

With levels that high you should do a minimum of 50% and continue with this everyday until the levels are down. From there if ammonia or nitrites get above 1ppm do a water change.

How long have fish been in the tank and how many?

Are you from Lawty, FL?


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## Lawtygrr (Dec 15, 2011)

Jr:

Let me clarify. I did a fishless cycle back in November and December. I started adding fish during January. My numbers remained good and I slowly added more fish. I currently have 7 Zebra Danios, 4 Albino Corys, 4 Platys, and 2 Ottos. Filtration is more than adequate.

Numbers stayed at 0.0 Ammonia and Nitites.

I had a Platy die and then my numbers spiked. I do recall that I changed the filter the day before the fish died. Perhaps I screwed up the bacteria with the change rather than the fish death?

Anyway, I did a 33% change since I posted and I am going to do another 40-50% change shortly. I did not feed the fish yesterday and don't plan to feed them today.

P.S. I'm not from Lawty.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Okay. then if the tank has gone through the cycle any spike, like you have occuring, should be gone in 24-36hrs. Do the water changes though...it's the safest plan.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

I think if you don't add food the nitrItes will drop down in a couple of days.

You just got a little cycle going on due to the platty death.

And the dangerous ammonia spike has already passed.

So just limit the bioload by not feeding and the bacteria will catch up shortly.


my .02


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

The larger water changes will export the bad in the water column, as the bacteria needed is mostly in the substrae, deco and filter matrial. Gettin that nittite number down so as to not stress out any of the fish would be a priority for now. And doing this by changing larger amounts of water, as suggested above. A 50% would be ideal.


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