riskbreaker76

i set up my new tank about a month ago and have had fish in it for about 2 weeks. my ammonia levels were at .25 and my nitrites were at .05 as of one week ago. i just did a test and see that now my nitrites are over 1!!! i was planning on doing a water change this weekend anyway but was wondering if i did something wrong? the only change i made was replacing the filters of the HOB penguin 350 water filter i have about 4 days ago. i was actually just following the instructions since it said to change the filters every month or sooner. was i not suppose to change it? how can i get rid of the nitrites quickly now? im now worried about my fish!

Shawnie

the tank wasnt finished the cycle process...the readings you are getting now, is normal for that ....you need to start changing 30-50% of water a day with some prime, ammo lock, or amquel + until you have 0 ammonia and nitrites and under 20 nitrates..thats the only way to remove them....the fish will not survive this process if you dont as ammonia and nitrites are toxic.....do not replace the filters or their media unless they are totally falling apart..that cant take months ...you can rinse the media ONCE the tank is cycled , with your weekly water changes..just use some removed tank water in a bucket to rinse them....

capekate

As Shawnie posted your cycle was never completed before you added the fish but I think another reason for your spike right now, not just counting the uncycled tank but for the fact you lost a lot of your growing beneficial bacteria that was on the filter media when you changed it out.
Its a good idea to only rinse the filter media out in used tank water but only when it actually looks really really dirty, no need to buy more unless its really falling apart. Everyone has their own opinion on when it should be changed out, but for myself, I dont rinse out the media for months at a time. I hate mini cycles!

riskbreaker76

oh darn!...that's what i thought (i messed up by changing the media). thanks for the help...changing water now!!