Stitcher

I have fish in my tank that is cycling. Know better now but here I am
Can someone tell me what the panic level for nitrites is ?? 75 gal tank been up for 13 days & started as a used tank. ( Used gravel & Filter)
Readings were ; 0 ammonia ; 0.3 nitrite ; 10 nitrate . Did a 50% water change last night and brought nitrite down to 0.1 .
I heard that lots of water changes makes the cycle last longer, so how high can I let the nitrite get before doing a water change?

tan.b

ideally ammonia and nitrite needs to be zero and nitrate below 20. however when cycling it is going to be higher than this. when you have fish in there you need to reach a balance. so 1.0 is toxic to fish for both ammonia and nitrite, so thats an immediate 50% water change. do this twice a day if necessary. but essentially any ammonia/nitrite is bad for fish. signs of ammonia poisoning in fish are red gills and gasping for oxygen. if you have an airstone this will help oxygenate the water. the cycle should be fast and with low readings for you as you have the bacteria in the filter and gravel which is excellent. so, i'd check the levels every day, and keep up the water changes. the fish will thank you for it. the water changes can lengthen your cycle (it didnt affect mine and i did 2 x 50% a day). the ammonia poisoning will have more of an effect on your fish if your pH is above 7. below 7 and its ammonium rather than ammonia whcich is less toxic. however, dont adjust your pH as that adds more problems, but if you naturally have low pH water consider it a bonus! what fish have you got in there and how many? dont add any more until you've cycled and when you do add more add just a few at a time...dont rush out and throw in 20 fish in a day! you need to increase the ammonia bio-load slowly so the bacteria can keep up.
good luck and any questions give us a shout (my computer is going tomorrow, so i wont be able to help you for a while, but i'm sure someone will!)
tan

vin

Any nitirtes are toxic...the higher they go, the more toxic they become....I've heard a lot about a product called Prime which is a water conditioner. I believe it detoxifies ammonia, nitrites and nitrates....If I am correct, perhaps someone could confirm for me....Maybe you can add this to your water when performing water changes and increase their frequency as Tan suggested....

Jmarcus

You have nitrates so your tank is cycling. There is no ammonia, this is good. Nitrites a little high this is not good. Water changes will bring nitrates, and nitrites down. Also I have heard that if you add a little aquarium salt that this will condition the fishes gills as a buffer to nitrites. Good luck!!!

vin

Just be careful with the salt as some species cannot tollerate it.

Stitcher

Thanks for the input
I did put some salt in and everyone in there is happier I think. They are more active now. 1tsp/5gal
The fish I have in there,click on the link in my signature.

vin

Don't mean to alarm you, but there is much word on these boards about corys being intolerant of salt.....I've read both sides so I can't say for sure...But if it were me, I'd avoid it.

Stitcher

I have been reading about salt on the Corys but they seem to be doing fine. They are also why the 1/2 dose of recommended salt. I was planning to phase the salt out after awhile once my tank had become well established. I also read that salt can reduce stress and to me it seems to be doing that.
I lost a few fish trying to get up and running. I sure wish I knew all this info before hand. Don't think the lady I bought the tank from was to knowlegable :

bbfeckawitts

I use salt in my tank with corys and everyone is fine.

Stitcher

How much salt did you use?