Nitrite spike? Help!

[G.A.]

Hello folks, first time poster here. I'm a first time fish keeper with a 3.5 week old tank (wow, I thought it had been more like 5 weeks!). We started with 20 gallon and microbe lift special blend and some live plants from local big brand pet store and added 10 neon tetras, 3 Cory Doras and a snail 1 week in. (The associates at one local big brand pet store have thrown some shade at the other big brand for letting me take home more than 3 fish at once, oops.) We shortly lost 1 neon tetra to the filter I had installed incorrectly missing the pipe/guard thing. Added some mail order aquarium coop plants at about 2 weeks. Also installed an aquarium co-op sponge filter, I'm just leaving the other filter in for now, so tank has 2 filters. The original grass seems to be growing but the 2 original anubias didn't make it. The aquarium co-op plants seem to be doing okay, I think I'm seeing the little sprouts on the ferns but also some brown growth of some sort and no growth on the other Co-op plants. I had what I think was an ammonia spike (nitrites also high) about 1 week ago. Did 50% water change but still high. Per local pet store added salt and zirconia crystals and went from 2 or 3 times per day feeding to once per day. I also changed the filter bag thing and hanging filter sponge at this time. Ammonia has since dropped to ideal/safe levels but nitrite has been off the chart since Saturday. I got some Seachem Prime and added 3ml on Sunday. Levels have not gone down. Added 9ml more on Weds. Threw in the last 20ml of microbe lift today (it's usually added on the weekend) after some internet research, nitrite levels a few hours later still at or above highest readable level. Help please!

Edited April 8, 2021 by G.A.
Fixed duplication of text

[FrozenFins]

Did you cycle your tank? Because it seems to me that you didn't.

Which is fine by the way and is common mistake amoung new aquarists. 

[G.A.]

I thought I had, but from the problems I'm having now I'm guess either it wasn't complete or was done incorrectly. Cycling just means waiting for the bacteria that eat ammonia and nitrates to bloom right?

[KaitieG]

Hi! 

So it sounds to me like you probably are just still in the middle of cycling your tank--probably STEP 2: Bacteria converts ammonia to Nitrite.  It often takes a month or so, even with the added bacteria to get through a full cycle from scratch.  You could take a look at info on how to do fish-in cycles, since that's essentially what you're working on right now.  It's a little trickier, but totally do-able. 

A lot of times when you add a group of fish, the bacteria you had going aren't quite enough to keep up with the new waste-load.  Using prime is a good idea--it can keep your fish safe as the cycle progresses, but it won't actually eliminate the ammonia or nitrite.  Those will still show up on the test.  

You probably want to be dosing about 3 ml of Prime every 24 hours for your size tank.  You do that as long as the ammonia or nitrites are present along with water changes.

And I'd recommend not swapping out your filter media--that's where most of your bacteria are living, so you want to keep that in there to help you get through the cycle. 🙂 

[FrozenFins]

2 minutes ago, G.A. said:

I thought I had, but from the problems I'm having now I'm guess either it wasn't complete or was done incorrectly. Cycling just means waiting for the bacteria that eat ammonia and nitrates to bloom right?

Yes and no.

Its the bacteria that eats the amonia and nitrites. Not nitrates.

How long did you have yours setup for before adding fish? Did you test for nitrate, nitrite, and amonia? What were the readings? Was there any nitrates detected?

Keep your feedings level down for now until you do test for the above. Maybe feed once (very little) every 3 days. (this may sound cruel, but fish can live up to months without food) This will ensure your amonia levels remain at 0. On feeding days do waterchanges.

[KaitieG]

2 minutes ago, JamesB said:

Keep your feedings level down for now until you do test for the above. Maybe feed once (very little) every 3 days. (this may sound cruel, but fish can live up to months without food) This will ensure your amonia levels remain at 0. On feeding days do waterchanges.

And this is also a GREAT part of the plan!

[G.A.]

I had it running for 1 week after the initial dose of microbelift special blend. I found the water test report card from day 7 done at big brand pet store and ammonia was 0, nitrAtes between 0 and 20 and nitrites was between 0 and 0.5. 
 

Okay, I will cut back more on feedings and keep adding Prime for now. I did test at least once a day for the last several days, the nitrites have been darker than the highest reading of 10.0, nitrates were between 40 and 60 and ammonia has been less than .25 for the last few days. Last water change was Saturday about 30%.

[Anita]

3 hours ago, KaitieG said:

Hi! 

So it sounds to me like you probably are just still in the middle of cycling your tank--probably STEP 2: Bacteria converts ammonia to Nitrite.  It often takes a month or so, even with the added bacteria to get through a full cycle from scratch.  You could take a look at info on how to do fish-in cycles, since that's essentially what you're working on right now.  It's a little trickier, but totally do-able. 

A lot of times when you add a group of fish, the bacteria you had going aren't quite enough to keep up with the new waste-load.  Using prime is a good idea--it can keep your fish safe as the cycle progresses, but it won't actually eliminate the ammonia or nitrite.  Those will still show up on the test.  

You probably want to be dosing about 3 ml of Prime every 24 hours for your size tank.  You do that as long as the ammonia or nitrites are present along with water changes.

And I'd recommend not swapping out your filter media--that's where most of your bacteria are living, so you want to keep that in there to help you get through the cycle. 🙂 

ORD 💜  ↑ ↑ ↑ What she said. 😎

[KaitieG]

1 hour ago, G.A. said:

 

Okay, I will cut back more on feedings and keep adding Prime for now. I did test at least once a day for the last several days, the nitrites have been darker than the highest reading of 10.0, nitrates were between 40 and 60 and ammonia has been less than .25 for the last few days. Last water change was Saturday about 30%.

You're right--that's a really big nitrite spike.  I think a couple of 50% water changes over the next couple days might be a good idea to get that number down a little, and I wouldn't do anything with the filter media--including rinsing it.  Just let those bacteria grow in there for now 🙂  The good news is that it sounds like you're well on your way to getting through your cycle--you clearly have bacteria in there that are producing nitrate; they just have to catch up!  

Here's what I would personally do--you can obviously change this to suit your schedule/needs/etc

1. Do a 50% water change as soon as it's manageable for you and treat with Prime

2. After an hour or two, test and see if you can get a clear Nitrite reading that doesn't max out the test (let us know just to satisfy our curiosity!!).

3. Do another 50% water change the next day and treat with Prime

4. Betcha can guess--check your parameters after an hour or so to see where you're at

5. Continue the pattern until nitrites are in the 1ish range.  Then personally, I'd treat with Prime daily until they disappear and do water changes as needed when/if they start climbing above about that level.  

If you can get through this part of the tank setup process, the good news is that it generally gets easier from here! 🙂 

 

 

[G.A.]

Meant to attach these to main post. I'll go do a 50% change tonight. If I'm still having issues should I skip my next dose of easy green fertilizer on Saturday? 

[FrozenFins]

3 minutes ago, G.A. said:

Meant to attach these to main post. I'll go do a 50% change tonight. If I'm still having issues should I skip my next dose of easy green fertilizer on Saturday? 

No you should be fine. Easy Green will add a lot of nitrates, which you will want at a level of 20ppm. Nitrites and Amonia at 0.

 

[G.A.]

After water change ammonia is less than .25, nitrates are reading 5.0 ppm using test tube kit or 20 ppm using test stripes. I'm having a hard time reading the nitrites but I think they're between 5 and 10 ppm. I attached pictures of both nitrite tests in case anyone is better at reading these. 

[Anita]

15 hours ago, KaitieG said:

You're right--that's a really big nitrite spike.  I think a couple of 50% water changes over the next couple days might be a good idea to get that number down a little, and I wouldn't do anything with the filter media--including rinsing it.  Just let those bacteria grow in there for now 🙂  The good news is that it sounds like you're well on your way to getting through your cycle--you clearly have bacteria in there that are producing nitrate; they just have to catch up!  

Here's what I would personally do--you can obviously change this to suit your schedule/needs/etc

1. Do a 50% water change as soon as it's manageable for you and treat with Prime

2. After an hour or two, test and see if you can get a clear Nitrite reading that doesn't max out the test (let us know just to satisfy our curiosity!!).

3. Do another 50% water change the next day and treat with Prime

4. Betcha can guess--check your parameters after an hour or so to see where you're at

5. Continue the pattern until nitrites are in the 1ish range.  Then personally, I'd treat with Prime daily until they disappear and do water changes as needed when/if they start climbing above about that level.  

If you can get through this part of the tank setup process, the good news is that it generally gets easier from here! 🙂 

I second this recommendation. Don't worry about Easy Green or any other fertilizers right now. Your plants will be fine without nitrates for days, weeks even. Yes, it is a total pain in the you-know-what doing water changes. But prolonged exposure to high nitrite levels could poison your fish. Learn from my mistake. → To save my snails from my stupidity, I did four 50% water changes in two days (2/day for 2 days). And I still ended up losing one after just 3 days. 😫 And that culprit was the LESS toxic nitrate. So... 🤓

[KaitieG]

Agreed--plants can be okay for a long time without fertilizer, and if you're doing several larger water changes, you're basically pouring that down the drain with your water.  I'd personally do another water change again today or tomorrow, and then keep doing those daily/every other day 50% changes until you see that Nitrite down closer to .5 or 1.  So far as I can tell from pictures I'd guess you're around 5ppm Nitrites. 

Good news--your ammonia levels look good! That's important since it looks like your PH is pretty high (like mine!) which makes ammonia particularly toxic for fish.  You're totally on the right track...every tank has to go through this stage as part of cycling process 🙂 

[G.A.]

Day 2 50% change done yesterday and nitrites appear to be down to about 3. Everybody still alive and kicking. Yay! Do I need to be adding more bacteria when I do these water changes?

[G.A.]

Just wanting to check that I understand fish in cycling now. I'll keep doing these daily water changes until I get the nitrites down to .5 or 1? Then keep testing daily and water changes if ammonia or nitrites build up again. Eventually nitrites should go back to zero as bacteria colony grows and then I can add a few more fish? 

[FrozenFins]

1 hour ago, G.A. said:

Just wanting to check that I understand fish in cycling now. I'll keep doing these daily water changes until I get the nitrites down to .5 or 1? Then keep testing daily and water changes if ammonia or nitrites build up again. Eventually nitrites should go back to zero as bacteria colony grows and then I can add a few more fish? 

You got it!

Soon within a few weeks your tank should be cycled.

When adding new fish don't add all the fish at once but buy a few at time. Too much all at once can kill your cycle. Buy a few at a time, wait 1-2 weeks then go at it again and buy some more.

[G.A.]

I think I have success! 🥳 The nitrite levels have started dropping on their own. Over the last 2 days they've dropped to below .5.

If my nitrite drops to 0 by then would I be okay adding 2 or 3 fish on Friday? I'm hoping to get some clean up crew to help fight this brown stuff that's growing on my plants.

Edited April 13, 2021 by G.A.
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