# Help with Nitrites



## jslove1408 (Jul 27, 2006)

In my 55g my nitrites were reading 10 I just did a 60% water change and they are probably at an 8 or a 9. any other advice I cut back on there feeding and I tested my tap water which tested out perfect. how long will it take for it to be normal?? and is there anything else I can do? please help


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## luciferzone (Feb 14, 2006)

sounds like your tank hasnt cycled yet,it took mine a month to cycle.
I had to do it the hard way,I didnt wait like your suppossed to,so
I had to do a 15 gallon water change every other day for a month.
The nirites will come down once the water has cycled.
I also started with a 55 gal my fish are fine now.
you might put some salt in there I used morton table salt in mine
allthough some people mite not agree with that kind of salt.
The salt will help your fish in avoiding nitrite poisening
I put a eighth of a cup every 12 days.
good luck


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## jslove1408 (Jul 27, 2006)

Thank you for the input. Do you think it would be better if I did a 40% water change every day and only once add an 8th cup of salt? or is that to much of a water change to do every day?


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## luciferzone (Feb 14, 2006)

I'll be honest I have a 55 gal and when I went thru this I took 3and a half 5 gallon buckets every other day
go to a lawn and garden store buy a test kit for pond its the same sh*t you just get more for less money it'll cost around 30$ but you will get tests for nitrate nitrite salt and ammonia



luciferzone said:


> I'll be honest I have a 55 gal and when I went thru this I took 3and a half 5 gallon buckets every other day
> go to a lawn and garden store buy a test kit for pond its the same sh*t you just get more for less money it'll cost around 30$ but you will get tests for nitrate nitrite salt and ammonia


Hey forgot you need disolve the salt first in some warm water


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## jslove1408 (Jul 27, 2006)

K but would I be better off doing it your way or doing 40% water changes every day because it doesnt take much time at all for me to do these I would say about 10-15 min tops. So which way would be better?


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## luciferzone (Feb 14, 2006)

I'll go get some more help brb

ok you want the water to cycle,if you change to much it will never cycle


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## jslove1408 (Jul 27, 2006)

k so whats the max amount I should do a water change?


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

First, are there fish in there?

Second, if 'no', then let the levels go high and then naturally get low. You are creating and feeding important bacteria that will be your biological filtration from now on...


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## jslove1408 (Jul 27, 2006)

yeah it was all fine until i got back from vacation my dad fed them but im not sure how much


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

What kind of fish you have will determine what use salt is.

As a rule salt isn't going to do a whole lot for this issue.


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## jslove1408 (Jul 27, 2006)

i have 4 rb's ranging from 2 1/2 -3 inches and I just added a 16th cup of salt.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Yikes, so there are fish in there.

Nitrate is bad, you do need to do those water changes...

If you've got them under 10, just wait a day, I think 10-20 is only bad if over an extended period of time.

and (I'm sure you know this) dont feed them for a day or two!

the salt is unneccessary


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## jslove1408 (Jul 27, 2006)

but how much and how often of water changes should I do?

???


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Dont, let the bacteria eat the nitrite up for a day. Post back and let us know if the levels decrease. What about ammonia levels?


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## jslove1408 (Jul 27, 2006)

The ammonia levels read .25 and I will let it sit till I get back from work tomorrow around 7ish anything else I need to know?


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Well.... how are the fish behaving?


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## jslove1408 (Jul 27, 2006)

well i turned the light off to reduce their stress and they actually seem to be a little more active than usuall


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Another water change wont hurt, but the lights off is a very good idea.

Either way hopefully your system 'catches up' in a day or two.


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## jslove1408 (Jul 27, 2006)

Thanks alot ill let you know what the levels are tomorrow as well as the piranha behavior.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

no problem, PM me if I forget...


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## boontje (Mar 27, 2005)

I think that salt does help a lot against nitrite poisoning; you only need one teaspoon though


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## jslove1408 (Jul 27, 2006)

This morning I woke up and the fish are even more active than they were last night I tested the water again and my nitrites went down again. They seem to be either a 7.0-8.0. When I get home from work today I will test the water again and post. I am leaving the light off all day so my room will be completley dark and I still havent feed them since yesterday. hopefully none of them get attacked. Ill keep everyone posted.



boontje said:


> I think that salt does help a lot against nitrite poisoning; you only need one teaspoon though


I read that it is 1 teaspoon for every gallon.


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## boontje (Mar 27, 2005)

jslove1408 said:


> I think that salt does help a lot against nitrite poisoning; you only need one teaspoon though


I read that it is 1 teaspoon for every gallon.
[/quote]
Depends on what you are using the salt for. In case of nitrite poisoning you'll only need one teaspoon (unless your tank is really huge, 300g I think...).


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## Kudos (Dec 22, 2005)

boontje said:


> I think that salt does help a lot against nitrite poisoning; you only need one teaspoon though


I read that it is 1 teaspoon for every gallon.
[/quote]
Depends on what you are using the salt for. In case of nitrite poisoning you'll only need one teaspoon (unless your tank is really huge, 300g I think...).
[/quote]

nitrite poisoning makes it hard for the fish to get the oxygen out of the water. Salt on the other hand improves gill function. it should make a diff on the level of fish stress


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

agreed on the salt alleviating gill stress. Hopefully these levels go down since the tank was previously cycled. Very curious to see...


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## jslove1408 (Jul 27, 2006)

wow ok just got back from work gotta love those 13 hour days. I just tested my water again and now its all the way down to 5 in nitrites every thing else is staying the same so now I've got a few question do I do another water change? and should I feed them?

I do not have real plants so the lights arent an issue.

Let me know what I should do next?


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## jslove1408 (Jul 27, 2006)

Does any one have any recommendations as to what I should do now? I tested the water again this morning and its still at 5 maybe 4.5 at best.


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## boontje (Mar 27, 2005)

daily 10% water changes


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

jslove1408 said:


> Does any one have any recommendations as to what I should do now? I tested the water again this morning and its still at 5 maybe 4.5 at best.


I'm just glad I was right.







I agree that some water changes would still be good. All those nitrites are gonna end up as nitrates anyhow and you might as well clear things out.

Also, realize that adult carnivorous fishes (or even subadults) can go without food for a very long time (as a rule, there's some fish like seahorses that eat constantly). My point being, unless I'm gone for over a week I NEVER have someone feed my fish when I'm gone.

...and I'd feed them a little bit, things are normalizing themselves again.


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