Help fast! Seachem Prime spiking my Nitrites?

55 gallon tank. 5 Zebra Danios 1 Leopard Danio, and 1 Tiger Hillstream Loach. In the process of cycling. I did a 25 gallon water change yesterday and used Seachem prime. Ever since, my Nitrites have been ridiculous. Right now they're at 2 ppm while nitrates also went up (from 0) to 4-5ppm. Should I do a water change? I'll be gone all day and I don't want to lose my babies...

 

I doubt Seachem Prime is the cause. Did you recently add any of these fish? Your nitrAtes I wouldn't be too concerned about since they are not at a dangerous level.

 

What were your nitrites and nitrates at before? If zero, then it looks like you're at the end stage of cycling.

 

I doubt Seachem Prime is the cause. Did you recently add any of these fish? Your nitrAtes I wouldn't be too concerned about since they are not at a dangerous level.

They've been in for a couple of weeks and no problems until I used the Prime. It may not be the prime, but it started happening after I used it.

The nitrites have been hovering anywhere between 0.25 and 0.50.

 

And you said your nitrates went from zero to five? I'd say you're on the home stretch.

 

I hope so. This whole process is scaring me. But should I do a water change now? Since nitrites are at 2 ppm and I won't be able to do anything about it until later tonight?
I also read that you're not supposed to water test until 24 hours after using Prime. And that you're not supposed to do water changes after using it, so I'm stuck.

 

If you never had 0 nitrite, then this tank was not cycled. I would definitely do a couple of water changes (at least 50%) to bring the nitrite down. What's your ammonia reading? You'd need to do water changes daily until you have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite with some nitrates. You could also use a bacteria supplement like TSS+ or Seachem Stability to help cycle it faster.

 

And Ammonia has been at 0 since the 15th. Normal?

Also read you can't use tss+ after using Prime. I have an unopened bottle I haven't touched because of what I read.

 

I hope so. This whole process is scaring me. But should I do a water change now? Since nitrites are at 2 ppm and I won't be able to do anything about it until later tonight?
I also read that you're not supposed to water test until 24 hours after using Prime. And that you're not supposed to do water changes after using it, so I'm stuck.

Not sure where you heard that you can't test the water after using Prime, but you can. And no, you can do water changes anytime with or after Prime. You might be thinking of a different product.

And Ammonia has been at 0 since the 15th. Normal?

The ammonia is fine. I'd work on getting your nitrites down.

 

Should I use the prime as my water conditioner? Now I'm going to ask dumb questions because I'm nervous. Sorry.

 

You can do water changes after using prime, just redose to the volume of water you replaced, or for the size of the tank if >24 hours.
A test after prime will show total ammonia, which includes up to 1ppm of the ammonia converted to ammonium (safer for fish) and leads to a false positive. It will also show any neutralized nitrites.

You can use tss 24+ hours after prime.

 

Should I use the prime as my water conditioner? Now I'm going to ask dumb questions because I'm nervous. Sorry.

Yes, you should absolutely use Prime as your water conditioner. No need to be sorry.

 

55 gallon tank. 5 Zebra Danios 1 Leopard Danio, and 1 Tiger Hillstream Loach. In the process of cycling. I did a 25 gallon water change yesterday and used Seachem prime. Ever since, my Nitrites have been ridiculous. Right now they're at 2 ppm while nitrates also went up (from 0) to 4-5ppm. Should I do a water change? I'll be gone all day and I don't want to lose my babies...

"In the process if cycling." Congratulations! It appears that you have the long awaited nitrite spike and are closer to having a cycled tank. I would do a water change and continue using Prime. Prime has literally been a life saver for my fish. As for the size of the water change, maybe someone with more experience can chime in. I would not do more than 30 percent, but I'd want to get the nitrite levels down a bit and use the prime to keep the remaining nitrites safe for your fish while the beneficial bacteria are working their magic.

 

I would not do more than 30 percent, but I'd want to get the nitrite levels down a bit and use the prime to keep the remaining nitrites safe for your fish while the beneficial bacteria are working their magic.

You can do more than 30% and in this case, a couple of back to back 50% water changes would be the only way to bring those nitrites down.

 

You can do more than 30% and in this case, a couple of back to back 50% water changes would be the only way to bring those nitrites down.

Especially if you plan to use that bottle of tss. Wait 24 hours after using prime to use it.

If you choose to save the bottle of tss, do a 50% water change to bring the nitrites down to 1 and dose prime to the volume of the tank. You're SO close to being compete and can bypass the tss if you have another tank to use it for instead.

 

You can do more than 30% and in this case, a couple of back to back 50% water changes would be the only way to bring those nitrites down.

Thanks el337! I was hoping someone who knew better would chime in. Those are pretty high nitrites.

 

Update: Nitrites are almost to zero. Very blue with the lightest shade of purple. Nitrates are 10 ppm. Ammonia is 0 ppm.

 

That's great! You're nearly there.

 

pH changed to 6.8 from the 7 it's been at. 0 ppm nitrites. 5 ppm nitrates.

Now we're at 0.25ppm for ammonia.