Nitrites through the roof!

Hey All,

I have a 90 gallon fresh water tank that is about 2 months old now.

Once I got the OK that my water was good from my local fish store I started putting fish in it.

I noticed my water got REALLY cloudy within the matter of 2 days. I watched a lot f vids saying this was normal but a few of my Green Neon Tetras died. So I took another water sample to the store and the nitrites are crazy high. Dark purple in those APT Test Tubes.

The guy at the shop basically said to do nothing and it'll fix itself. He said not to do water changes or anything.

I have a bottle of Prime from Seachem and noticed it said I could up the dosage from normal dosages to help with the nitrite spike.

I am trying to get some ideas on if I SHOULD do anything and if so what should it be?

If it matters I am running a Marineland HOB with the carbon pads and purigen, and I am also running an FX6 as well. I have sand as my substrate.

There are Green Neon Tetra, Panda Cory, Stebai Cory, Amano Shrimp, Blue Tetra, and a Bamboo Shrimp in there...

 

I'm not completely sure if your tank is cycled. If your tank is, I don't think the nitrites should be that high. You should get your own test kit. Did you test your water after you did a water change? You can get some funky results. Do you know your exact parameters?

For the future I would get more of the corydoras. They should have at least 5 of their own kind (not 1 panda, 2 skunks, 4 sterbai, etc). But with your 90 gallon you should have lots of space.

 

A water change immediately. Will the system "right" itself? Yes, but its likely that your fish will die in the process. I would do a 80 maybe 90 percent water change with prime if its sky high.

 

I'm not completely sure if your tank is cycled. If your tank is, I don't think the nitrites should be that high. You should get your own test kit. Did you test your water after you did a water change? You can get some funky results. Do you know your exact parameters?

For the future I would get more of the corydoras. They should have at least 5 of their own kind (not 1 panda, 2 skunks, 4 sterbai, etc). But with your 90 gallon you should have lots of space.

I have 2 Sterbai (That is all they had left) and 8 Panda's.

I do have my own API kit and thought I was doing something wrong so I took a sample to the shop. I just tested the nitrites again and its dark purple again. I do not know the exact parameters on everything. I stopped home on break really quick to do it.

A water change immediately. Will the system "right" itself? Yes, but its likely that your fish will die in the process. I would do a 80 maybe 90 percent water change with prime if its sky high.

That is another thing he said do not use prime on it.

 

That is another thing he said do not use prime on it.

Why? Prime is a conditioner, you should use it to keep your fish safe. I did a fish in cycle with water changes+prime without any issues.

 

I have 2 Sterbai (That is all they had left) and 8 Panda's.

I do have my own API kit and thought I was doing something wrong so I took a sample to the shop. I just tested the nitrites again and its dark purple again. I do not know the exact parameters on everything. I stopped home on break really quick to do it.



That is another thing he said do not use prime on it.

I am really confused... Prime is a water conditioner and I agree that it does not detoxify nitrites, but helps detoxify ammonia. Even if you have Prime I would use it because it is a water conditioner. As for water changes, you should do a big one to remove all those nitrites. Then let your water rest and test it 24 hours later. Just make the sure the water you put in is the same temperature, pH, etc.

 

Why? Prime is a conditioner, you should use it to keep your fish safe. I did a fish in cycle with water changes+prime without any issues.

He said something about it attacking other stuff in the water. He said to use regular water conditioners like Tetra brand...

I aint saying I took his word for gold, clearly I really did not trust all he said because "doing nothing" really did not sit well or right with me.

 

He said something about it attacking other stuff in the water. He said to use regular water conditioners like Tetra brand...

I aint saying I took his word for gold, clearly I really did not trust all he said because "doing nothing" really did not sit well or right with me.

I would still use Prime. I haven't tried the Tetra brand but I know Prime works the best for lots of people here. It isn't that expensive and actually does its job, so I'm satisfied. If you don't have an extra bottle, then you could use the tetra ones.

 

He said something about it attacking other stuff in the water. He said to use regular water conditioners like Tetra brand...

I aint saying I took his word for gold, clearly I really did not trust all he said because "doing nothing" really did not sit well or right with me.

I've seen that statement a few times. Personally I don't believe it. I would use prime when doing a water change as you need to dechlorinate the water, it'll also detoxify ammonia temporarily.

 

I would still use Prime. I haven't tried the Tetra brand but I know Prime works the best for lots of people here. It isn't that expensive and actually does its job, so I'm satisfied. If you don't have an extra bottle, then you could use the tetra ones.

No, I have a big bottle of it. Actually I have mostly all the Seachem products. I got them as a bundle. I just do not want to do anything that is gonna kill my fish. I know this nitrite issue is not good for them but they are acting the same as they did before this happened. They are all active and they all eat.

 

No, I have a big bottle of it. Actually I have mostly all the Seachem products. I got them as a bundle. I just do not want to do anything that is gonna kill my fish. I know this nitrite issue is not good for them but they are acting the same as they did before this happened. They are all active and they all eat.

Water changes are still going to be your best answer. Cleaner water is more safe to your water than any medication or conditioner you will add. I would recommend doing a water around 60-70% if your nitrites are that high. Don't test your water until you wait 24 hours after your water change or you will get false readings.

 

I've seen that statement a few times. Personally I don't believe it. I would use prime when doing a water change as you need to dechlorinate the water, it'll also detoxify ammonia temporarily.

The ammonia level is almost non existent from what he told me. It just says on the bottle that you can up the dosage to get rid of the nitrites so that is what I was also wondering if that would work, like do you have to up the dosages during water changes or can I just add the prime to it without taking any water out and adding it. IT seems like I can just add the extra dosage of Prime and it'll fix it according to the bottle.

 

The ammonia level is almost non existent from what he told me. It just says on the bottle that you can up the dosage to get rid of the nitrites so that is what I was also wondering if that would work, like do you have to up the dosages during water changes or can I just add the prime to it without taking any water out and adding it. IT seems like I can just add the extra dosage of Prime and it'll fix it according to the bottle.

Thats assuming the product works. I would highly advise you to add it during a water change. I would not dose more than 5x, really 1-2x is sufficient. Adding product over and over again is just wasting it, I think water changes are much more important.

 

The ammonia level is almost non existent from what he told me. It just says on the bottle that you can up the dosage to get rid of the nitrites so that is what I was also wondering if that would work, like do you have to up the dosages during water changes or can I just add the prime to it without taking any water out and adding it. IT seems like I can just add the extra dosage of Prime and it'll fix it according to the bottle.

Extra dosages will not hurt your fish or your tank. The only thing is, Prime does what is says for ammonia. It detoxifies ammonia for 24 hours, then the ammonia becomes toxic again if it wasn't removed. It allows the BB to feed on it and is less harmful to fish. It does not remove your ammonia. As for nitrites, some people have had mixed reviews with it. Some claim Prime detoxifies nitrites, some say it doesn't. I'm on the side it doesn't really have an effect on it. You could add Prime, but water changes are the answer to lower your nitrites. Prime isn't a permanent solution.

 

Extra dosages will not hurt your fish or your tank. The only thing is, Prime does what is says for ammonia. It detoxifies ammonia for 24 hours, then the ammonia becomes toxic again if it wasn't removed. It allows the BB to feed on it and is less harmful to fish. It does not remove your ammonia. As for nitrites, some people have had mixed reviews with it. Some claim Prime detoxifies nitrites, some say it doesn't. I'm on the side it doesn't really have an effect on it. You could add Prime, but water changes are the answer to lower your nitrites. Prime isn't a permanent solution.

My next question is once I take care of this...how do I prevent this from happening again?

 

My next question is once I take care of this...how do I prevent this from happening again?

Weekly water changes around 50% depending on how heavily stocked your tank is and how large. If you don't know, it's more of a trial. You could do a WC and test your water a few hours later. Make sure your tank is cycled... could you test nitrates before doing a water change?

 

My next question is once I take care of this...how do I prevent this from happening again?

Getting your tank completely cycled. Once its established, spikes shouldn't happen. Don't take out or replace too much media at once, don't add too many fish at once, don't suddenly overfeed. Anything thats gonna mess with or crash the cycle will very likely cause a mini cycle. Oh yes and for most tanks, keep up with water changes to prevent them from completely crashing.

 

Getting your tank completely cycled. Once its established, spikes shouldn't happen. Don't take out or replace too much media at once, don't add too many fish at once, don't suddenly overfeed. Anything thats gonna mess with or crash the cycle will very likely cause a mini cycle. Oh yes and for most tanks, keep up with water changes to prevent them from completely crashing.

How do you know when the tank is fully cycled? ALl I know is I set it up, and used Stability for 3 weeks. Took my water to my local shop, and Petsmart and they all said the water was fine and that I could add fish.

 

A small amount of salt will detox any nitrite in the tank. For a 90 gallon 1 tablespoon should be plenty.

 

A small amount of salt will detox any nitrite in the tank. For a 90 gallon 1 tablespoon should be plenty.

Just regular table salt?

 

Just regular table salt?

A small amount of salt will detox any nitrite in the tank. For a 90 gallon 1 tablespoon should be plenty.

My buddy is gonna bring me some aquarium salt and I will try that before I do the big water changes. How long should I give it before I test the water again?

 

A small amount of salt will detox any nitrite in the tank. For a 90 gallon 1 tablespoon should be plenty.

added the tablespoon of salt last night and this was the reading today. Yesterday it was about as or darker than the darkest shade of purple on that chart.

My tank water is also a lot more clear now as well.