Nitrites drop to 0, no change in nitrates..what's up?

[lauraj]

Not sure what to do at this point.

I'm on day 28 of a cycling tank with fish (no live plants yet). My nitrites have been zero for the past 3 days (was .25 for couple of weeks), but my nitrates have remained at 12.5 since day 15 of the cycle (when I bought the kit). Also, my tap water already has 8-10 nitrates in it. My ammonia has been .25-.50+ for weeks. Have been doing daily water changes to keep the ammonia closer to .25 to save the fish.

I guess if I skipped some water changes, it may help the cycle, but hurt the fish.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!!

 

[Seleya]

First, scoot down to the lfs with a water sample to compare results (get them to give you exact numbers). Are you using test strips or drop style tests kits?

 

[lauraj]

I have drop style kits. I will call around to the area stores to see who will test my tank water....not sure I would trust many of them to give me accurate results, but there is a Petsmart near me that seems to be better than most when it comes to fish knowledge. If by chance they get the same readings....what are you thoughts on what's happening?

By the way, love your avatar....you must be a Simpsons fan!

 

[joeyjoeq]

I think he is using the drops right? I remember reading about your test kit somewhere. Well yea, just don't give up. Keep doing what you are doing so far. I guess you can try going for two days, but test that water! Be ready for that water change like you have been. It's good to see you care about the fish.

Edit: Hey you beat me to the post lol

 

[lauraj]

Thanks Joey...just wanted to be sure I was still on the right track. Yes, I do care about these fish and feel bad I didn't do the research before running out and buying them. I'm determined to get these fish through the cycle, thanks to all the help I've gotten from people at this site.

 

[JoluvsGuppies]

Well you still have around 2 more weeks until your cycle is complete. When cycling your tank, in the beginning you will notice a huge increase in ammonia, ammonia slowly starts fading and nitrites rising. then when your nitrites lower to 0, you will then slowly start seeing your nitrates rise. 12.5 at this point sounds good to me. I would continue with water changes..I also feel ammo-chips work well too. Looks like you are on the right track. My nitrates are always between 10-15.

 

[cchase85]

Do you have well water or municipal water? Seems odd that your tap water has nitrates if it is municipal.

 

[lauraj]

About 2 more weeks....I can handle that! Thanks! But what are ammo chips?

cchase, I have municipal water. There is a lot of farm land in the area. Although I haven't seen the quality report yet, I've read that levels up to 10 are allowed. It apparently isn't a problem for adults due to our stomach acids, but if you have a baby in the house, it could be dangerous for him/her.

 

[lauraj]

Jolu, I read up on ammo chips. Would be a good option if I was having trouble keeping up with the water changes, right? I understand they can also throw off the readings on the test kits. I've been making my every move based on those reading (and the great advise from all of you) and if I couldn't rely on those readings....I'd be lost. Definitely something to keep in mind if I had to be away from home unexpectedly and could do the water changes.

I'm so excited to hear I'm just a couple of weeks from the end of this seemingly endless cycle!!!!

 

[JoluvsGuppies]

Ammo chips is an ammonia remover and can be used anytime there is a trace of ammonia in your aquarium(cycling or cycled tank). Doesnt necessarily mean you need to use it when you dont do water changes often..Simply overfeeding may cause an ammonia spike. I use this at all times, even with regular water changes.you put the chips into your filter cartridge. I wouldnt worry about your nitrates at this point, but more of the ammonia.

How are your fish doing?

 

[lauraj]

The fish seem to be doing very well so far, thanks. One of my platies seems to be pregnant, which could change my ammo levels once they're born, huh. I'll have to find a home for those that survive, cause I certainly don't have room in my tiny tank.

You sure have a collection of tanks.........I'm so jealous! Since week 2 of having this 6G, I've been dreaming of getting a much larger one. Someday!

 

[homebunnyj]

I personally see ammo chips as a crutch except in dire circumstances. I prefer good old fashioned water changes to keep ammonia spikes in check. You do need to be able to rely on the test readings to understand what's going on in your tank.

The platy fry will be eaten by the adult fish... nowhere to hide in such a small tank. You won't need to worry about rehoming them.

 

[joeyjoeq]

Ammonia will go up a bit when the fry are born. What size tank are you thinking of getting? Try looking at some 20 gallons, not the biggest one but decent size. Another off topic thing I wanted to add was I noticed I said "He" instead of "She". Yes, well sorry about that. Keep up the good work*PEACE!*

 

[Seleya]

If you have kept a log of what the readings in this tank have been, it would be helpful to see. Readings and what percentage of water changes have been performed. You say you're doing daily water changes, you are doing the waterchanges after taking readings, correct?

From your post, it's been 4 weeks since the fish were introduced:

Ammonia has been .25-.50+ for weeks. Have been doing daily water changes to keep the ammonia closer to .25 to save the fish. How much more than .50?

Nitrites have been zero for the past 3 days (was .25 for couple of weeks)

Nitrates have remained at 12.5 since day 15 of the cycle (when I bought the kit). Also, my tap water already has 8-10 nitrates in it.

Did you seed this tank with any biomedia from another tank? Day 15 is a bit early to be seeing nitrates (2.5+) in a cycle.

Fish-in cycles typically take longer than fishless because of the constant waterchanging. You're hanging in good so far but it can take upwards of two months or more for fish-in. I would not bother with the ammochips -- if anything they can give one a false sense of security, imo. As the fish-in cycle progresses, it becomes easier and less treacherous for the fish

 

[FroggyFox]

IMO day 15 of a cycle isn't too early to be seeing nitrates, especially if you had some nitrites and they went away. Every time you change out water, you are also changing out nitrates...so you won't be seeing much if any change in nitrates.

You say you don't have live plants "yet", does that mean you're planning on getting some or waiting to get some? If you were going to get some, now would be a great time, as they would love those extra nitrates in your tapwater.

Where someone came up with two more weeks is beyond me...seriously there is no 'time frame' for a cycle, they're all different depending on the circumstances. Also, in a properly mantained tank there won't be any ammonia worth mentioning, so ammo chips are a waste of time...just one more thing that the pet store folks want you to give them some money for.

Sounds like you're doing a great job, keep up the water changes whenever you feel the need to bring the ammonia down a bit (usually just try to keep it under 1ppm) With a fish-in cycle you don't see the 'labratory' type results with the ammonia peaking, then going down as the nitrite peaks and goes down as the nitrate peaks...it is much more subtle than that. So keep doing what you're doing, feed sparingly, clean the tank well...all should be good.

 

[iamcowboy]

You say you don't have live plants "yet", does that mean you're planning on getting some or waiting to get some? If you were going to get some, now would be a great time, as they would love those extra nitrates in your tapwater.

I was thinking the same thing when I read that. They could also help use up some of those nitrates. Just do your research and choose good plants for your tank size and lighting circumstances

 

[juggernaut303]

Whats the best way to get rid of Nitrate,Nitriets,and Ammonia

 

[lauraj]

Wow....what service. I'm away from the computer for a couple of hours and come back to all kinds of great suggestions. Thanks!! Gotta love this site. Hopefully someday, when I know what I'm doing, I'll be able to help someone else.

Homebunny, glad to hear nature will take it's course with regards to the fry. As much as I'd love to keep them.....it ain't happening in my 6G. I just hope I'll be home to see them before they become a snack for the platies. Sorry if that offended anyone raising fry.

Joey, a twenty gallon tank would be great! Probably won't get to that for a while though. Can't justify the extra cost right now. Plus, this 6G was a gift from my husband......don't want him to think I don't appreciate it....ya know?

Yes, Seleya I am keeping a log. Would take up quite a bit of room to list it all here, so in my post I tried to summarize what my readings have been. My readings were taken before the water changes. What I meant by ".50+" was if the reading seemed to be a hair above, and if I had to guess, would have been .60. I didn't have any media to seed the tank with. Am a little disappointed to hear it could be another month or more, but I've come this far. My only concern is that I will be going away the first week in March and there is no one to do the water changes.....YIKES....will I make it??

Froggy and cowboy, I figured I would eventually go with real plants, but honestly haven't looked into it yet. Not even sure if the lighting that came with this Eclipse is sufficient to sustain plants. I've got some research to do on that one.

Thanks to everyone's encouraging words*BOUNCINGS If I could, I'd invite you all over for a drink to celebrate the cycling of this tank *celebrate Whenever that happens!!!

 

[Seleya]

You may wish to review your log -- even tho it is more subtle when you're doing waterchanges with a fish-in, you may see the slightest signs of when the tide turns.

By the time you are going away, I wouldn't worry too much one way or the other. Simply give the tank a decent water change and cleaning (nothing drastic) a few days before and feed the normal amount right up to the time you leave and then leave them nothing to be fed, no "vacation blocks", nothing.

I would recommend adding live plants now as well. They'll help the tank and cycle and the fishies will love them. Additionally, when you go away, some plants can provide nutrition either from being eaten themselves or from the infusoria produced. If you're nervous about plants, buy something that appeals and throw it in -- that's really the best way to get into it. Some tanks do better than others with different plants. I was just up at one of my favorite lfs yesterday and one of the guys from my fish club was commenting which of the plants at the store do better at the store and which do better in his own tanks (he cares for both, same city, same water, differences being light and ferts but some interesting results you wouldn't normally expect) If you want something easy and cheap, get some anacharis (you can find this anywhere) -- your fish will enjoy nibbling it, it's a low light plant with no special needs and a couple bundles will fill your tank. In some of my goldfish tanks, I just let it float (they'd uproot it anyways unless I go to extremes to nail it down)

With plants, rather than be dazzled with all the details, you just gotta try it and see what does and doesn't work. Don't worry about lighting, CO2, substrates..... For basic plants you don't need any of that. If you get the plant bug, you may want to try them tho. Some of the planted tanks are amazing.

 

[lauraj]

Seleya, you're really putting the plant bug in me now. I won't be leaving the tank light on while I'm away in March though. Would that be a problem for anacharis? I suppose I could put the light on a timer, but I'm always a little concerned about anything being left on while we're away....always thinking of the possible fire hazards. We'll be heading up in your direction to ski in March....New Hampshire. Now that I think about it, not even sure I'd know how to put the light on a timer because of the way the Eclipse set up with the push switch for the light.

I'm afraid I have some bad news though. My peppered cory started acting strangely late last night. I stayed up late to keep an eye on him...luckily I'm off from work today. By this morning, he was having trouble swimming and relying on the fake plants to hold him up. He didn't make it. He was my favorite fish It seemed as if his body, back by the tail fin, was starting to turn a pale white. Other than that, he had no visible signs on him of any trouble. The platies seem to be fine for now. Don't worry, I won't be replacing him until the tank cycle is complete. I should probably look into a dwarf variety of catfish due to the size of my tank. And I'll also need to get a quarantine tank set up first, too.