ewolfe315

Can I add Bio- Spira to a fish tank with the fish already in it? I have high nitrite readings and low pH levels. I attempted to use Cycle and was just a waste of money. And yes I did'nt put the tank through the cycle, a big boo boo for a newbie. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. I am getting tired of making water changes every other day in the 20 gallon to 25 gallon range with no change in the nitrite level. My son also added Iodized table salt to the tank instead of aquarium salt. A huge BLUNDER here,lol..

Butterfly

I'm not sure if the BioSpira would help at this point. But patience and continued water changes will . Might I ask why your putting salt into a freshwater tank? Could we have the tank size? occupants? How long it's been set up? PH? ammonia, Nitrite and nitrate readings? With this info we can help you figure out how far along your cycle is and maybe how long you're going to be doing water changes
Carol

ewolfe315

Carol, years ago a pet fish store employee told me by adding salt to the aquarium would help combat diseases in the tank as he said they always added salt to all of there aquariums.

Tank Size - 55 gallon
Occupants- 6 Neons
4 Mollies
3 Dalmation Mollies
2 Angel's, lost quite a few of these
1 Discus
4 fancy tail guppies
2 glass fish
4 sword tails
2 algae eaters
1 small albino catfish
1 catfish, its 1 of those picky ones
2 clown loaches
I've had it up and running now for 34 days (with fish in it). I have 2 Emperor 400 bio wheel filters along with a 24 inch bubble wand.

PH - 6.0
GH - 60
KH - 40
Nitrite - 10. This may be even higher as it only goes up to 10
Nitrate- 20

These readings are from useing an API 5 in 1 test strips,, I dont have any ammonia levels on this test strip.

I always use Start Right when doing water changes for the chlorine and chlorimine, plus I continue to add salt to every water change also,which I guess is a no no.

The only thing I can think of doing is to move all the fish into a large plastic container and start all over useing the Bio -Spira. After reading all the great info on this site, I did'nt realize I was doing so many things wrong and thank you very much for your help.

John

Butterfly

No problem, we're glad to help anyway we can.
If you can get it the liquid test are more accurate, most accurate that I know of is Aquarium Pharmaceuticals freshwater master test kit. Thats what most around here use.
You have quite an assortment of fish there and I believe its a little overstocked.
Clown Loaches can get to be 12 inches, Angels get 3-4 inches. Discus can get to dinner plate size under the right conditions. Just to name a few
Generally Salt isn't used in a fresh water(it is recommended by some to treat certain diseases) tank and you have some fish there that salt is not a good match for. Angels, Discus, catfish, and Clown Loaches to name a few.
If this were me, I would quit puting the salt in, continue doing the water changes(this would remove the salt gradually) and wait my cycle out. since you have Nitrates then your cycle is moving on toward the end, maybe another week or so(wish you had an ammonia test kit) with the bioload you have in there you may have to do more frequent partial water changes even after the cycle is over. Hope that helps.
Carol

Isabella

I agree with Carol on everything she's said. While all of your fish are still young and probably not yet very large, fish like angels, clown loaches, and the discus, will all get large. While 2 angels in your tank wouldn't be a problem, when they're combined with many other fish that grow even larger than angels - once all of your fish are fully grown, the tank will look very crowded. Overcrowding leads to poor water quality, susceptibility to diseases, and to aggression among tank inhabitants.

ewolfe315

Carol,

Since my last reply on this subject,I have continued the daily water changes with NO SALT ADDED. Early Saturday morning I did a 40 gallon water change and took some readings with the NEW test kit that you suggested and here are the results as of right now.

PH - 6.6
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0 (huge drop here)
Nitratre -10 (drop here also)

A very big change with the nitrite level. Is that PH level fine with the occupants in the tank?

Also as for all the fish in the tank,BTW I found another clown loach in there that I did'nt even know about, I'll be getting a 150 gallon tank to take care of the big guys(right now there small) within the next 2 months to 3 months. I definetly need another Discus or 2. The LFS here has them for a very reasonable price plus the fact he has a blue one,that's gorgeous.

Do you think having 2 of these Emperor 400 filters is a bit much for a 55 gallon tank.. Equals out to 800 gallons per hour.

Once again, I thank you ever so much for your advise along with Isabella. I'll keep ya updated on how things are going. Thanks again.

John

ewolfe315

Thank You Isabella and I totally agree with the over crowding issue. As of right now they are quite small,however I am aiming at a 150 gallon tank in the next few months or even bigger. Should have it definetly by springtime,just need a little more room here but I'll make it happen for the big guys(angels, discus,clown loaches. The tank will be for only the larger fish. By then this 55 will probably turn into a feeder tank or just for the smaller species. Thanks again

John