Potterygal Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 (edited) After a couple weeks it seems like 5 of the 15 CR are doing well. Very active/ feeding/ exploring but still not colored much however I’ve read it can be a long time since juveniles(??) my nitrites went up to .25 a couple days ago 😟however. I think I over fed x2 dsys 10 gal nitrates are 25 or less, pH 6.8-7 , ammonia (by API ) 0, GH 100, KH40 what I’ve done: two small 10-20% water changes added some Bioboost x 2 days dosed with Fritz conditioner ( as per label) to detoxify nitrite. added 1tsp dissolved aquarium salt This morning still reading 25 nitrite. ANY advice for today?? I’d hate to harm my 5 CR and the 6 Amanos from not doing something I have not thought/read about. Bigger water change???? Advice welcomed!!!!! Edited July 2 by Potterygal Typo nitrate, #3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Potterygal Posted July 2 Author Share Posted July 2 Can anyone give advice on this test reading for nitrite??? It isn’t white but very faint pink but not yo the 1 level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 Less than one more than none 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PonyPlantedTanks Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 Probably between 0.25 - 0.5 is my guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Potterygal Posted July 3 Author Share Posted July 3 With all the above measures I’m still doing, including very sparse feeding, when should I expect a drop to 0? It seems stubbornly staying at this low but unacceptable level.? Could it be the end stage of a full cycling? This set up is under 2 months old.( Ammonia 0) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube_Goldfish Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 On 7/3/2024 at 10:40 AM, Potterygal said: With all the above measures I’m still doing, including very sparse feeding, when should I expect a drop to 0? It seems stubbornly staying at this low but unacceptable level.? Could it be the end stage of a full cycling? This set up is under 2 months old.( Ammonia 0) Yes, it could still be late stage cycling. Fishless cycling of 6-8 weeks sounds about right. You can always do another water change, either a 50% or a few smaller ones over the next few days, and keep using the Fritz conditioner as per the directions. Have you tested your tap water at all? I know ammonia and nitrate can both show up out of the tap; I don't know that nitrite can but I suppose it could. If that's the case, water changes might actually make it worse until the cycle is fully established. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 (edited) On 7/3/2024 at 3:40 PM, Potterygal said: With all the above measures I’m still doing, including very sparse feeding, when should I expect a drop to 0? It seems stubbornly staying at this low but unacceptable level.? Could it be the end stage of a full cycling? This set up is under 2 months old.( Ammonia 0) I would do is test daily and do a water changes and add a double dose of prime or fritz complete every time you detect nitrite till it constantly stays at zero it can take a couple of weeks for the tank to fully cycle Edited July 3 by Colu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Potterygal Posted July 3 Author Share Posted July 3 Thank you for replies. I squeezed out imh sponge filter n a portion of tank water, but cleaned all the other parts w a brush and my filter is going so much better now so that might help too, as it was bubbling very weakly, this is my first sponge filter and I had not squeezed out yet since tank set up. So now I know that when it slows it needs mechanical cleaning. Maybe that will help another newbie to sponge filter maintenance. today I got some API Quick Start and dosed it. I still have Fritz - should I not be mixing in a 24 hr time period? All the fish and shrimp are very active and looking good so hopefully after I get over this nitrite issue it will stabilize. im afraid to do 50.% water chsnge with the livestock - msybe too much shock? I did test my tap water and it was 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate, ph7, and soft. My tank readings both are on the hard side 150-200 but I’ve been putting in a small wonder shell in each, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube_Goldfish Posted July 4 Share Posted July 4 On 7/3/2024 at 7:26 PM, Potterygal said: Thank you for replies. I squeezed out imh sponge filter n a portion of tank water, but cleaned all the other parts w a brush and my filter is going so much better now so that might help too, as it was bubbling very weakly, this is my first sponge filter and I had not squeezed out yet since tank set up. So now I know that when it slows it needs mechanical cleaning. Maybe that will help another newbie to sponge filter maintenance. today I got some API Quick Start and dosed it. I still have Fritz - should I not be mixing in a 24 hr time period? All the fish and shrimp are very active and looking good so hopefully after I get over this nitrite issue it will stabilize. im afraid to do 50.% water chsnge with the livestock - msybe too much shock? I did test my tap water and it was 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate, ph7, and soft. My tank readings both are on the hard side 150-200 but I’ve been putting in a small wonder shell in each, The Fritz product is also bottled bacteria, like the API Quick Start? Mixing them wouldn't be a problem, but it likely wouldn't help, either, unless you don't have enough of one of them to make up a full dose. Your tap water sounds perfect, so that's great news. I don't know if you tested freshly drawn tap or 24-hours-aged tap, but some folks' tap water has some dissolved CO2 in it, which is present in water as carbonic acid, and after that CO2 "off-gases" the pH can climb. Probably not a big deal, but something to be aware of. If you're worried about changing out too much water, you can do more frequent but smaller water changes. That is, instead of a weekly 50% change, you could do twice-weekpy 25% changes. But if the GH (hardness), KH (buffer), and pH are pretty close to the tap, you're probably fine anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Potterygal Posted July 7 Author Share Posted July 7 I’m getting very close to 0 Nitrites and will let it stabilize for a few weeks but excited to then add to my chilis! The five are active and starting to color up a little more. Being patient ! I will NOT order again from my LFS. I plan to order from DansFish eventually. In a 10 g with only 6 Amanos besides the 5 chilis , ANY advice on # to order?? I will not be adding any other variety. Any other reputable supplier names as option, though I have researched Dans and like what I see. thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PonyPlantedTanks Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 (edited) I think you could easily do 12-15. Maybe order 8-10 from DansFish to join your 5. If there’s nothing else in the 10g I think they would really enjoy a group of that size! Edited July 7 by EricksonAquatics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Potterygal Posted July 7 Author Share Posted July 7 That’s what I was hoping for in numbers. thanks . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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