# Help needed with high nitrate/nitrite levels



## katie2511 (Aug 3, 2011)

Help!
My tank is about 7 or 8 weeks along now, I have a 30 litre tank with filter,heater and light, glass decorative pebbles and sand.
one plastic plant ( had 2 real, but they didnt have roots, so died pretty quickly, looking to replace eventually) 
3 mollies (2f 1m) 
one red honey gourami, 
5 tetras, 
one loach
one Panda corydoras
and 2 other plecos that i dont know the name of (pic attached, one in front has orange lines, almost neon on his fins). 
(13 total fish)
readings below:

Nitrate 40ppm
Nitrite 1.0ppm
Ammonia 0.25ppm
PH 7.6
temp 26-27*C

How the hell do I get my levels to come down? I have been adding the fish two at a time slowly and obviously getting the levels to settle in between, but they get to 0 and then it shoots straight back up again.
I added my last 3 fish (the plecos and the panda) over a week ago and its still not settling like it normally does, and its WAY WAY higher than its ever been.
Obviously these levels are extremely high, I've just done a 30% water change as the levels were 80/2.0/0.50 before the change so the PWT has helped a little, but I need to know if this is something that will just take time to settle, or whether I need to be more proactive about it and buy something to bring the levels down?
I'm feeding once a day, one small pinch and about 10 little pink square flake things of the tetra prima food for the bottom feeders.

The fish seem happy in themselves, no obvious signs of distress, no discolouration, ick, fin rot, nothing.

BTW this is my first tropical tank, so I'm learning as I go, and trying to filter out all the BS advise from the helpful at the local private shop and the Pets at Home I got my first few fish from (all the staff have conflicting info in there, so I don't even bother anymore!)


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

ammonia and nitrItes will come down if you stop adding food.

the only way IMHO to get nitrates down to unmeasureable levels is the a tankfull of live thriving plants. Which will also help with ammonia as well as consuming carbon dioxide and returning oxygen.

with that many fish in a 30 liter tank, you are in trouble with no plants IMHO.


but then I have been wrong before.

So my advice iw worth .02 at most.


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## katie2511 (Aug 3, 2011)

thats great advice thank you. Im perfectly willing to accept a slap on the wrist about anything I'm doing wrong, I will make sure to get a live plant with a proper root base tomorrow and just hope they survive the storm and come out the other side.

I'm already completely addicted (or "hooked" if we go for the bad pun!) and I can envisage myself getting a much much larger tank down the line!
All the fish are pretty small at the moment, but hopefully if I can turn this into a nice healthy tank community then they will get bigger and I will upgrade


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

katie2511 said:


> thats great advice thank you. Im perfectly willing to accept a slap on the wrist about anything I'm doing wrong, I will make sure to get a live plant with a proper root base tomorrow and just hope they survive the storm and come out the other side.
> 
> I'm already completely addicted (or "hooked" if we go for the bad pun!) and I can envisage myself getting a much much larger tank down the line!
> All the fish are pretty small at the moment, but hopefully if I can turn this into a nice healthy tank community then they will get bigger and I will upgrade


Try several bunches of anacharis and several vals. *old dude


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You're way overstocked and have some big waste producers. Plants will help, but your levels will never be to a safe enough level to sustain fish over a long period without near daily water changes. It won't matter how many plants you put in there. The good thing is it's a small tank and 50% water changes takes about 5-10min.


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## segrayson (Feb 6, 2011)

It looks to me like your pic is of more cories. Not sure of the species though....


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Are you sure that is a 30 ltr. What are the measurements. A 30 ltr is only about 8 gal and you would be way over stocked with fish that wouldn't belong in that tank. But it does look bigger.


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

You have over stocked a new tank. Having Nitrite and Ammonia in a new tank with lots of fish is very normal, the cycling Bacteria haven't had time to catchup yet. Measurable Nitrite and Ammonia levels will disappear with time (unless you have a small tank (<45 l). A level of 40 for Nitrates is normal but should be reduced with water changes. Some fishes, like livebearers, don't seem to mind Nitrates. For others, like Angels and Discus, it can kill them.


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## Sweetgreenleaf1369 (Jun 24, 2011)

beaslbob said:


> ammonia and nitrItes will come down if you stop adding food.
> 
> the only way IMHO to get nitrates down to unmeasureable levels is the a tankfull of live thriving plants. Which will also help with ammonia as well as consuming carbon dioxide and returning oxygen.
> 
> ...


*i/a*

You will need more than just one plant and your tank is overstocked your corys will not tolerate those levels for long*cool-dude


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## katie2511 (Aug 3, 2011)

Hi everyone, thanks for the responses  it is a 30 litre tank (AQUA 30 Light) judging from the general concensus, I think I have overstocked!
I bought a small one because it fitted in the space I wanted it to go in so I wouldn't be tempted to go bigger, but I don't think I have much of a choice now! lol
I don't mind really, I've got a friend with a 125-130 litre size tank with all the necesarry bits and bobs, so hes going to get it out of storage and give me a good price for it 

Any additional advice for when I do the swap over next week? (if the fish make it that long, I'll do water changes every other day I think until then)


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## katie2511 (Aug 3, 2011)

also, the one in the front of the picture is a Sterba's corydoras (Corydoras sterbai) File:Corydoras sterbai 02.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## katie2511 (Aug 3, 2011)

katie2511 said:


> also, the one in the front of the picture is a Sterba's corydoras (Corydoras sterbai) File:Corydoras sterbai 02.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The Other one behind it looks to be a threestripe corydoras (Corydoras trilineatus) I think.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

My recommendation is to not buy any more fish until both tanks have made it through the nitrogen cycle process. It is entirely likely that you have enough fish already for both tanks.


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## katie2511 (Aug 3, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> My recommendation is to not buy any more fish until both tanks have made it through the nitrogen cycle process. It is entirely likely that you have enough fish already for both tanks.


Thanks, I don't plan on getting any more fish! I'm hoping the little guys I've got will grow well and fill the big tank nicely.


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