JackieN

Hi all..ok..every morning, I do a 20 to almost 50% water change..trying to keep my nitrites down while cycling with fish..this am I did close to a 50% change..and right now..the reading is 1.0..should I do more than one 50% change a day? I'm trying to keep my fish from dying.
Jackie

Tumbleweed

I personaly don't do anything more then a 50% water change because with anymore then that of a change can be a shock and stress out the fish. If you must you can do 2 50% water changes a day. One in the am and one at night.

JackieN

Ok..maybe I'll do a little less than 50% tonight..would you know..how long after the nitrites start spiking...it will even out and then I'll have my nitrates? It's been 3 weeks since I started my tank.
Jackie

Tumbleweed

It depends every tank is different. My 37gal tank took a total of 4 weeks to cycle but I did it without fish and adding pure ammonia to the water to start the cycle. All you can really do is keep an eye on it and change the water and hope for the best.

JackieN

Thanks again for replying..I appreciate your time! I'll just hang in there..do my water changes..and wait for that glorious moment when my nitrites are gone.
Jackie

Tumbleweed

No Problem your welcome

Jmarcus

I may be wrong but I think the more water changes you have to do the longer it takes for the tank to cycle

JackieN

Hi...well..I'm doing 10-30% changes each morning, instead of 50% each morning. My nitrites are usually around 1.0ppm each morning. I just did a 20% change..and will test.
Thank you... Jackie

Timesdragonfly

Hi Jackie,
I just wanted to let you know that frequent water changes will slow down the cycle, but it's worth it to keep your fish alive. It took us nearly two months to get our tank balanced out once I came to this sight and found out all the things my fiance and i were doing wrong. It's important to do your water changes, but also to know when to back off a little bit and let the bacteria have a chance to grow. Keep coming back to this sight! Everyone here is very helpful, and they'll get you through it!
Good luck
~J~

JackieN

Thanks a lot..I appreciate your encourgement..well..some good news..this a.m.'s reading was only .50 for nitrites..instead of 1.0, so maybe it's starting the cycle. OH HAPPY DAY!! 4 weeks to the day, I'm hoping by the end of the week it will be 0.
Jackie

Timesdragonfly

Good job!!!! Keep it up, and then cut back on the water changes when you can! You're on the right track!
~J~

inari

like it has been posted before, when you cycling, what u want to do is see if you let it go for about 1 day if they start to spike any more, When I partly cycled my tank with Inari, it was planted, but i did water changes every other day so that the bacteria could grow.

hope that helps for future reference

~inari

JackieN

Hi...yep..I'm going to test it later this afternoon, see if it's still at .50 or less even..and no water changes..if it starts to go up..which I think it won't, since this is the lowest reading in the a.m., since I started reading 1.0 for the last 2 weeks. I will do a partial water change if it spikes. I have some plants in the tank, so all in all..I'm hoping all will be well after after a few more days.
Thanks bunches
Jackie

JackieN

Hi Inari..yep..I'm holding off on a water change till later today..see if it creeps up again..but I'm hopeful this IS the beginning.
Thanks for replying.... Jackie