# 7week tank still has high nitrite...help!!!!!



## piranahman (Aug 13, 2003)

Hey guys..

Ive been running my tank for about 7 weeks now.. the gravel was put in from another cycled tank..theyre fed daily. fish seem happy as usual. however. ive been testing the water twice a week. and for the last two weks the nitrite levels have gone up to about 4ppm...ammonia is on zero.. ph is about 6.5 constant. and the nitrate is just sorted with my water changes every 7 days. its not the biggest tank in the world but my boys are happy at the moment and ive got loads of live plants and stuff in there...i did have a few tetras in there but they have vanished all but one..

So question is .....how will i get the nitrite down? i dont want to have to use chemicals if i can help it... I guess what i thiought i knew about the water cycle may have been wrong but surely by now it should only be the nitrates that go up...any help would be appreciated as i love my p's more than my xbox :rock:


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## Blaze1 (Aug 16, 2003)

I had a exact same problem. Mine was so high i change the water 2 - 3 times to lower nitrite. I finaly had to change about 90% of the water then it became fine. I think the reason it was so high is feeding a lot of feeder and cycle was not finish yet. Now my tank is just fine.


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## piranahman (Aug 13, 2003)

yeah i think my p's got rid of my tetras so whether thats a factor...im gonna change the water in a bit so we will see what happens over the next two weeks


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

Do a water change. Dropping in an airstone to increase the aeration is known to kickstart some cycles that seem "stuck".


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

Its a possiblity that your tap water is like that


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## piranahman (Aug 13, 2003)

what high nitrites?????

Im aware that these are caused by the bacteria eating ammonia and then the nitrates being produced by another type which eat nitrite.. i have a lot of plants in there to see if it makes a diff (would they help turn nitrate in to nitrogen gas?????).

Either way it does seem like my tank is stuck as my other tanks have all been fine and cycled...

Can any rotting plant matter cause undue stress to the cycle?????

cheers for the help guys much appreciated


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## etalon9100 (Jul 4, 2003)

I would think rotten plants would increase the Ammonia, thus higher NitrItes.

My Nitrites spiked for 5 days, then settled down to 0. The Bio-filter should be strong enough to keep both the Ammonia and NitrItes to 0. I would think if you have any type of spike, then you have a weak bioload.

Even my Nitrates are now settled. The highest the NitrAtes go is 10ppm.


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