# Nitrites



## MFNRyan

My Nitrites have been very high for a few days, I have done a 20% water change, didn't do anything. I went back and changed both filters and cleaned the gravel. Nitrites still high. I held back on feeding the last few days, did another water change and added a chemical to lower Nitrites. Still no change, they are up above 10. I don't know what to do the get them down, i'm sure its because my filters stink, I have two of the 60 gal carbon filter systems on my 55g tank. I do feed live fish every 2 or 3 days only because my Piranha will not eat frozen or nothing, I tried they start going after each other. I clean up left overs after about 10 minutes but there are not usually anything left over. I don't know what to do to get the water back to normal. All other water checks are good, PH, ammonia etc.. I checked the water that I put in from my faucet and it is fine. I treat it and let it sit before putting it in the tank. Any help would be great because I know nitrates and nitrites are harmful to my fish and there growth.
Thanks


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## Piranha_man

Changing your filter media only accentuates and prolongs the problem.
You've got to let your media culture some bacteria so it can complete the cycling process.

Continue with your weekly 20% water changes, but leave the filter media alone.


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## MFNRyan

Well I usually change the media every month an a half, by that point the water flow has slowed down and they are on a cycle one from each filter get's changed and one stay until the next change. They were close to this point as it was so I went ahead and tried it because I was worried about the nitrite levels being high. I heard it is very stressful and hard on the fish, that it stops their growth an slows the activity of the fish down. I don't know what else to do. It's staying very high an won't come down at all. Even when I cleaned the gravel and took 15g of water from my 55g tank?


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## Piranha_man

What kinda filters you runnin'?


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## MFNRyan

Just regular carbon filters. The kind my pet store had here. Not canister though. I'm sure they are the worse you can get since both of them was barelly over 100


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## Guest

You should look into getting a decent external canister filter. Internals don't hold enough media to provide proper biological filtration for p's. You'll be battling with your water params constantly, and it'll suck the fun out of the hobby for you. Also what test kit are you using?
Take a look on ebay or craigslist for a second hand external filter.


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## Piranha_man

^^ Yeah, and get rid of the carbon, it's unnecessary.


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## MFNRyan

Ok Will do. I'm looking to get a bigger tank right now and already have a 400gpm wet/dry filter. I know whats on it is no good and I do battle with my water parameters often, I have to take extra care at feeding time. HOpefully the bigger tank will be a little better with the better filters


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## Piranha_man

^^ Sounds good man...

By the way, Welcome to P-Fury!


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## MFNRyan

Thank you! I have been trying to get on here for a week lol. Probably wasn't doing something right. Could not wait to get some solid advice on what I can an can't get by with on my fish and my tank to make sure they both last as long as possible!


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## Piranha_man

You've come to the right place.

Always great to get new members who care enough about their fish to ask questions.


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## FEEFA

I assume that you are keeping reds in the 55gal, how many andwhat size are they?

Also if your nitrites are infact that high then your reds jaws would be swollen wide open, do they look weird at all?
Also adding chemicals like the ones you did can sometimes be a temp fix but may actually do more harm than good in the long run by interupting/throwing off your cycle. If anything you can safely use prime, its a water conditioner but will also help with ammonia/nitrite spikes in some cases.

Imo you def need some better filtration but for now more frequent waterchanges and should help keep levels down.
What type of testkit are you using? Are you getting a reading for nitrates or are they at 0ppm?

Most quality lfs should offer free basic water testing for ammo, nitrite, nitrate, and ph. Take them a sample of your water from before a waterchange and compare they're readings with those from you test results.
God luck and do keep us posted


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## MFNRyan

Did a water change today and also cleaned the gravel again. I"m not using a test kit what I am using is a test strip that checkes Nitrate, Nitrite, Hardness, Alkalinity, an pH. It kind of has a color chart you compare an above the color it gives you a number above the color an all my other parameters are good except my nitrites which is at 10 an nitrates which is at 160. I got a new filter today that is suppose to be 20 times better then what I was using an says its very good for keeping the Ammonia, Nitrates, and Nitrites down. My fish aren't acting weird, breathing weird, swollen they don't look funny nothing. I know high nitrites are very bad an I want to get it down. I have been doing water changes often an trying to get it down but it's not budging.

On the fish question, yes they are in the 55g for now. I am trying to find a good deal on a bigger tank right now. I have two that are probably around 3" an just today got a new one. The fish I got today is a new post I'm going to put up on the identify forum. I noticed he swam around a lot, Was very active in the store and not hiding. He does not have the dots' or circles that my younger red's have on the top of their body. Also his red was much deeper and higher up his body. The two things that really stuck out, his teeth are a lot bigger then my reds or any of them I have seen, and the biggest thing is his eyes are red, not white or silver like my other reds. He has only been in the tank about 20 minutes so i'm going to wait for him to settle and get a picture of him, then post it an see if he may have been mislabeled by the pet store and I possibly got a Carbie?? I'm a novice so i'm not going to trust my judgment but I am hoping so. No black mark near the gills though.


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## Smoke

If it's a smaller Caribe, then it should have a humeral spot... the larger ones tend to have them faded out...

The test strips are good, but you should also use it in conjunction with an ammonia meter. Something that's specifically made for checking ammonia levels. I use one that hangs onto the glass and provides a chart with different colors, that goes from good to toxic... Just something to consider.


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## MFNRyan

ok I can do that. My ammonia's are good, i seen a tank hanging meter that covers ammonia an nitrates. Maybe I'll get that today, I'm going to pick up some brine shrimp for my other fish so I'll check it out


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## Guest

Your best investing in a liquid test kit, their more accurate and reliable then strips and hang on ones. I use hang on ones for ammo and pH for daily checks, but I don't rely on them 100% because of how long it takes for them to react to changes and their not 100% accurate.


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## the_w8

The liquid test kits will always be the cheapest and best way to go and most reliable at that. API freshwater master test kit should run ya around $20 or there abouts. What brand is the new filter you got?


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## MFNRyan

I don't remember the filter name. It was to replace the carbon ones I use and it clears ammonia an nitrites from the tank. It's a bag looking filter that is rechargable after so many days you can rinse it and keep using the filter. I don't have it as a permanent filter but a temp one until I can get a better filter system all together.


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## MFNRyan

I have upgraded to a external filter, I have 5 medias in it and it is for a 200g tank. I also have a biowheel for a 100g tank on there. I cleaned the gravel and have done water change after water change. NO longer feed live fish and don't have many fish even in the tank anymore. Put on a power head and everything. Did a water change before I left for Texas add a chemical that is suppose to losen everything in the tank so the filter will pick it up to clear nitrates and nitrites. Still after a week and 3 days of running the new set up on the tank no change in my water parametors. What are ideal params for a Piranha tank anyway? I have been told water temp above 75 (hotter temp more aggression) nitrates-0, nitrites-0, soft water, pH -6.0/7.3.


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## Nzac

well the parameters in all my tanks are temp 78, ammonia 0, nitrIte 0, and nitrAte always less than 20. Ph does not matter so much as long as it is stable. I have high Ph water around 8-8.5 and all my tanks do fine. Did you leave the old filter running along with the new one so any bacteria you had going is still there?


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## MFNRyan

Yes I ran the old one with the new also for almost two weeks. Today I am doing a 60% water change, cleaning everything in the tank, an doing a very extensive gravel cleaning. Which I am done with now just letting stuff settle then I'm going to start putting stuff back in the tank. Hopefully this works.


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## TheSpaz13

I haven't been in this section for a while but I just caught up onto your situation. The problem is 100% filtration. Either you don't have enough (I think that's part of the problem) or you haven't let it cycle completely yet (the main problem I think your having). Keep doing water changes to keep the conditions tolerable but make sure you leave some ammonia and nitrites in there to help you build a beneficial bacteria colony. Your always going to have some nitrates (hopefully less then 20) in your tank as that's the end result of a cycle and only gets taken out by plants and water changes but ammonia and nitrites should be stable at 0 if you have enough filtration. I wouldn't go too nuts cleaning everything because deco and such doesn't really effect the cycle. With your water changes, your using a water conditioner when you put new water in right? If not it could be killing some of your beneficial bacteria and actually slowing the cycle...

What kind of canister did you get anyway? Almost any of them are good enough because they are just a much better design then HOBs

Good Luck man!









Edit: Read Cluster's write up on cycling, its good info that any fish keeper should know and understand. Its nothing complicated but you should know it
http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?/topic/196087-cycling-101/


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## MFNRyan

Right now on that 55g tank I have 310g of filtration. A 200g canister filter that does 360gpm. and a 110g bio wheel filter. My filter is a Cascade 1500. The other is a marineland bio wheel. I checked my water today after my extensive cleaning yesterday and already my nitrites are half of what they use to be


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## TheSpaz13

It will take time for the filters to catch up, just fill the canister with media (biomax, stars...stuff like that). Things should be getting better once everything gets cycled properly


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## BlackSunshine

Get yourself a big amazon sword to slap in the tank and that will help keep your nitrates down. Plants are so much better at filtration then even filters. I supplement my dural XP3 filters with a tank full of plants. That helps immensely to keep toxin levels down. I water change 2x a year.


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## bob351

then you need lights... but yes if you willing to do it plants are the best filters.


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## MFNRyan

Well maybe two days after the new filter all params are where they should be. I now have a gibbus in the tank. I don't know anything about plants, what type of light, how often nothing. All I know is if they die they really F*ck your water up??


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## BlackSunshine

bob351 said:


> then you need lights... but yes if you willing to do it plants are the best filters.


Ahh but that's why you go with the sword. Its a low light plant so takes little upkeep.


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## MFNRyan

Ok i'll look the sword up an see about throwing some in my tanks. The params in the 55g have been great lately though


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## FEEFA

It will take a very densly planted tank to see a significant drop in nitrates.

High nitrates= a large ammo source (ie over feedng) where there is enough bacteria to convert the ammo to nitrites and then to nitrates. Filters are being able to handle the ammo load but getting rid of the nitrates is the latter of the problem. There has to be an ammonia source causing nitrates to get so high if all other reading are correct.

Thats my opinion


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## silent1mezzo

Sounds like your going through a mini-cycle. While some people will say I'm wrong I've had good results from using a product like Seachem Stability or Hagen Cycle. This will help you with a quicker cycle.


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## MFNRyan

For about a week now the nitrites have been at 0. I think my entire problem was poor filters. Don't over feed at all, don't feed live fish, I just had a bad filter that couldn't handle these fish. I was talking to Bob351 about it before I made the post. Followed his suggestions and my water has been perfect param's and crystal clear. But since I got the idea of planting I want to try planting my 36g to have an all natural look for my sanchezi since he doesn't hide. I want to do grass some plants and maybe a piece of driftwood. Probably going to venture into the planting part of aquariums this weekend


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