Water Level Help

[littlemissdiva9]

I have done a 50 percebt water change for 4 days because my levels were off and I am starting to wander what I am doing wrong
1st day - pH 7.6 ,high range pH 7.4 , ammonia 0.50, nitirite 1.0 , nitrate 2.0

2end day - Ph 7.6 , high range pH 7.4 , ammonia 0.25, nitrite 2.0 , nitrate 0

3rd day - Ph 7.6 , high range pH 7.4 , ammonia 0.25 , nitrite 2.0 , nitrate 0

Today 4th day - pH 7.6 , high range pH 7.4 , ammonia 0.25, nitrite 5.0 , nitrate 0

I'm doing another 50% water change now I have been using prime and stability every water change. I did have this on another forum but I felt it important enough to make another please help. What am I doing wrong?

 

[FrankD]

is this a new tank or an established one?

 

[littlemissdiva9]

is this a new tank or an established one?

It has been up for 3 weeks. When I had the water checked at the pet store it was okay. However, I have also learned the pet store isn't very reliable. I also have some fish already because I thought my levels were okay.

 

[DanioDanny]

To me it seems like you have ammonia coming from the fish which is being converted from ammonia to nitrite, but it is stopping and accumulating at this point rather than being converted further from nitrite to the less harmful nitrate.

I would keep doing water changes, too much nitrite can kill your fish.

 

[littlemissdiva9]

To me it seems like you have ammonia coming from the fish which is being converted from ammonia to nitrite, but it is stopping and accumulating at this point rather than being converted further from nitrite to the less harmful nitrate.

I would keep doing water changes, too much nitrite can kill your fish.

I'm going to contiue the water changes for sure, but how long do I need to do these water changes? Also when am I able to add more fish I need more cories and tetras since they are schooling fish.

 

[jdhef]

I highly recommend your read up on the nitrogen cycle (words will be link to article explaining it).

You will need to perform daily water changes until you have a steady 0ppm reading for both ammonia and nitrite.

I would not add any additional fish until you get the tank fully cycled. More fish would mean more ammonia.

 

[DanioDanny]

Agreed - I would concentrate on keeping the ones you have alive for the moment rather than adding more. Normally you would do a 25% water change once a week (may vary).

Ideally with no fish, you could leave the tank to cycle with higher nitrite and not do any changes, however you need to keep nitrite as close to 0 as possible to avoid death. I would say daily.

 

[littlemissdiva9]

Agreed - I would concentrate on keeping the ones you have alive for the moment rather than adding more. Normally you would do a 25% water change once a week (may vary).

Ideally with no fish, you could leave the tank to cycle with higher nitrite and not do any changes, however you need to keep nitrite as close to 0 as possible to avoid death. I would say daily.

I have been doing 50 percent daily is that okay?

 

[bgclarke]

Missed that you had a fish in the tank.
Daily water changes are needed for sure.

I normally dose more Stability than needed, to add extra bacteria to my tank.

 

[FrankD]

how big is the tank? How many and what kind of fish are in there?

 

[DanioDanny]

I think you need to check the nitrite levels as to whether it is okay. You could do 50% but if you have 10ppm nitrite then it isn't okay. Essentially watch the nitrite and try to do water changes to keep it as close to 0 as possible.

Also as bgclarke mentions, trying to up your nitrite converting bacteria may speed up the process.

 

[littlemissdiva9]

how big is the tank? How many and what kind of fish are in there?

75 gallon
6 baby angelfish
1 male dwarf guarmI
2 clown plecos
1 streba cory catfish
3 bleeding heart tetras

Missed that you had a fish in the tank.
Daily water changes are needed for sure.

I normally dose more Stability than needed, to add extra bacteria to my tank.

Extra stability won't hurt them?

I highly recommend your read up on the nitrogen cycle (words will be link to article explaining it).

You will need to perform daily water changes until you have a steady 0ppm reading for both ammonia and nitrite.

I would not add any additional fish until you get the tank fully cycled. More fish would mean more ammonia.

Okay, thank you.

 

[FrankD]

yes, as BG and Ebarb said, keep doing the water changes and adding start up. You will probably end up having a bacteria bloom, but in this case I would call that a good thing. Don't add more fish. It seems a if you added too many at one time. Although a 75 gal. is not small, you still have to give the bacteria time to reproduce enough to handle the new bioload. Especially in a new tank. I know how it is, sometimes I get impatient too☺ not sure if a 50%WC is really the way to go. I think maybe a 15-20% a few times a day would be better. If not for the fish(big changes in water parameters could cause stress) then for the bacteria (they need to eat to reproduce) but maybe someone has a better idea.

 

[jdhef]

What you are aiming at with your daily water changes is to keep both ammonia and nitrites under 1ppm. A standard dose of Prime will detox up to 1ppm of ammonia and/or nitrite for 24 hours. So if you do a daily water change with Prime keeping the ammonia/nitrite under 1ppm your fish will always be safe from toxin exposure. In fact, so long as you ammonia+nitrite level is under 1ppm, you could just add Prime directly to the tank and not perform a water change that day.

 

[littlemissdiva9]

Thank you guys , I would really hate to kill my fish.

 

[el337]

Your nitrites are too high right now and extremely toxic. Could you be overfeeding? Are you vacuuming the substrate along with the water changes? Have you tested your water source for pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate to see if the nitrites especially are coming from there? If the pH from the tap is close to the tank and if none of the other traces are coming from the tap, I would do a near 80% water change right now (match the temp closely for the new water) to get that nitrite down as close to 0 as possible. Test daily and add 1/4 of the Stability every other day to get as much of the bacteria in as possible.

 

[littlemissdiva9]

Your nitrites are too high right now and extremely toxic. Could you be overfeeding? Are you vacuuming the substrate along with the water changes? Have you tested your water source for pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate to see if the nitrites especially are coming from there? If the pH from the tap is close to the tank and if none of the other traces are coming from the tap, I would do a near 80% water change right now (match the temp closely for the new water) to get that nitrite down as close to 0 as possible. Test daily and add 1/4 of the Stability every other day to get as much of the bacteria in as possible.

I do vacumm and I doubt it is overfeeding I feed a pinch at a time until everyone stops eating them I net out the rest of the food.

 

[el337]

Then I'd test your tap water and do a much larger water change at one time.

 

[littlemissdiva9]

Then I'd test your tap water and do a much larger water chance at one time.

Why test the tap water? I don't mind just curious.

I have done a 50 percebt water change for 4 days because my levels were off and I am starting to wander what I am doing wrong
1st day - pH 7.6 ,high range pH 7.4 , ammonia 0.50, nitirite 1.0 , nitrate 2.0

2end day - Ph 7.6 , high range pH 7.4 , ammonia 0.25, nitrite 2.0 , nitrate 0

3rd day - Ph 7.6 , high range pH 7.4 , ammonia 0.25 , nitrite 2.0 , nitrate 0

Today 4th day - pH 7.6 , high range pH 7.4 , ammonia 0.25, nitrite 5.0 , nitrate 0

I'm doing another 50% water change now I have been using prime and stability every water change. I did have this on another forum but I felt it important enough to make another please help. What am I doing wrong?

 

[el337]

If the nitrites are coming from your tap, the water changes aren't going to help.

 

[littlemissdiva9]

And if it is? What do I do?

 

[el337]

Depends on how much. If it's .25-.50, I wouldn't worry about it as the bacteria would be able to process that amount as it's established and you could use Prime to help detox it for water changes. If it's more than that, maybe you'd consider using half tap and half RO/DI water. Can you test it?

 

[littlemissdiva9]

My levels are preety perfect tap water wise.
pH -7.6
High range pH - 8.2
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0

 

[aquatickeeper]

Great, water change should do it

 

[littlemissdiva9]

How long should I do the water changes? I have been working on them for 4 days...

 

[aquatickeeper]

I would do a 50% water change and see where the levels go

 

[littlemissdiva9]

That's what I have been doing daily. Should I do it weekly instead?

 

[aquatickeeper]

I would do 50% water changes back to back until they reach safe numbers

 

[littlemissdiva9]

Okay, thank you.

 

[aquatickeeper]

Your welcome, is your tank cycled? Did you switch media recently?

 

[littlemissdiva9]

Your welcome, is your tank cycled? Did you switch media recently?

I have owned the tank for about 3 weeks, when I went to the pet store they said all levels were okay.

 

[aquatickeeper]

It's weird that those levels suddenly appear

 

[el337]

I have owned the tank for about 3 weeks, when I went to the pet store they said all levels were okay.

I'd do a large water change at one time as mentioned (80%). You'll want to test daily and do a large enough water change to keep the ammonia/nitrite below 1.

I don't think your tank was ever cycled and I would never trust the store to tell you if your water levels are ok. Most times, they have no idea.

 

[littlemissdiva9]

I know, someone said it could be from adding new fish.

 

[DanioDanny]

I notice your tank pH is 7.6 yet tap is 8.2. Is there any reason for this difference do you think? Not sure it matters but figure I'd like to know the answer

It is weird that you have a nitrite spike. I still think it could be due to an incomplete cycle - you have the bacteria converting ammonia to nitrite but it seems the nitrite to nitrate bacteria aren't working as you could hope. Hopefully they can build while you keep the nitrite at less dangerous levels for the fish!

 

[aquatickeeper]

I notice your tank pH is 7.6 yet tap is 8.2. Is there any reason for this difference do you think? Not sure it matters but figure I'd like to know the answer

It is because that the PH tester measure up to 7.6 so any level higher than 7.6 shows color of 7.6. So when OP tested high range ph, it showed 8.2

 

[littlemissdiva9]

I'd do a large water change at one time as mentioned (80%). You'll want to test daily and do a large enough water change to keep the ammonia/nitrite below 1.

I don't think your tank was ever cycled and I would never trust the store to tell you if your water levels are ok. Most times, they have no idea.

That's what I have learned. And now I'm trying to keep my fish alive because they probably didnt test the water properly.

I notice your tank pH is 7.6 yet tap is 8.2. Is there any reason for this difference do you think? Not sure it matters but figure I'd like to know the answer

It is weird that you have a nitrite spike. I still think it could be due to an incomplete cycle - you have the bacteria converting ammonia to nitrite but it seems the nitrite to nitrate bacteria aren't working as you could hope. Hopefully they can build while you keep the nitrite at less dangerous levels for the fish!

I'm not sure but maybe someone else knows

They're really not that big though

Ok I am looking up cycling tanks and how to get a test kit the fish are puffers and they are big and speckled and cute. Here is a picture.




Oh and the tiger barb is always hiding but when my mom brought the glofish home all of a sudden it seems happy.

I appretiate all the help here, I would be lost without it. I hate to pester and ive done a lot of flip flopping but I have another question. I just want happy healthy fish that my family will enjoy. I just picked up 6 dwarf neon rainbowfish in place of the tetra. I might bump it up to 10 in a week. I wanted boeseman rainbows but I read they have higher temp requirements (these fish look amazing). So I would like 3 to 5 larger fish to finish my setup.
10x danio
6-10x dwarf neon rainbow
2x bolivian rams
10x amano shrimp
1x bristlenose pleco
8-10 kuhli
4-6 other loach???
3-5 larger 4"ish colorful fish???

Thanks again for all of your patience...I'm also a bit nervous on overstocking.

I would only stick with one species of loach - kuhlis won't compete well. You can add more kuhlis though! 12-15 would be fine.

You could add more Bolivian rams? That'll help fill the tank with medium sized fish.

What about this option?
10x Danio
10x Dwarf neon rainbow
4x Bolivian rams
10x amano shrimp (might be eaten, I would leave them out)
1x Bristlenose pleco
12-15x kuhli
1x Rainbow cichlid

 

[aquatickeeper]

Never trust the store. I bet that they tested with strips.

 

[littlemissdiva9]

Never trust the store. I bet that they tested with strips.

I want to say they did, I bought the liquid test.

 

[aquatickeeper]

I want to say they did, I bought the liquid test.

Yep, I knew it

 

[littlemissdiva9]

Yeah, I'm regretting it now. They also seem to know nothing about fish. One associate told me that no other fosh can be with angelfish.

The nitrite levels have finally gone down to 2.0 still very high. I bought some live plants, I have been doing water changes for 5 days. Can I wait a couple days and contiue adding chimicals ?

My nitrites have finally gone down to 2.0 still very high. Can I skip the water changes for 2 days and contiue adding prime. My fish are acting better. I also bought some live plants to try to help.

 

[DanioDanny]

If you mean wait before doing another water change and you have fish in the tank I would say no - keep doing daily changes until your nitrite is 0 or as close to 0 as you can get it. 2 is still very high.

 

[littlemissdiva9]

Continue doing 80 percent?

 

[DanioDanny]

Well if you do 80% then you'd hope that in another 2 days, you'd have roughly 0.1 ppm nitrite. If this is the case then we can assume no more nitrite is entering the system and you can probably go back to weekly changes whilst monitoring nitrite levels and adding chemicals to reduce the impact of those that are present.

If it's more than 0.1 then you know you need to keep up water changes as new nitrite is entering the system - once it's close to 0 the tanks should begin to cycle in the background without great risk to the fish.

I'm not an expert though, and if anyone disagrees I would perhaps listen to them

 

[Aquaphobia]

2.0 nitrites is extremely high. I would not skip the water changes yet! Do a massive water change and then dose Prime. The nitrite stage I find is intense but usually short-lived

 

[el337]

That's what I have learned. And now I'm trying to keep my fish alive because they probably didnt test the water properly.


I'm not sure but maybe someone else knows

They're really not that big though

Ok I am looking up cycling tanks and how to get a test kit the fish are puffers and they are big and speckled and cute. Here is a picture.




Oh and the tiger barb is always hiding but when my mom brought the glofish home all of a sudden it seems happy.

You added more fish to the tank? Those are brackish water puffers. How many do you have? You also added the tiger barb and glofish? This is adding to your ammonia and nitrite issues. I would take the fish back or set up a separate tank esp for those puffers.

 

[littlemissdiva9]

Idk, whose comment that is? I have not added any new fish. I plan on adding fish but not until my tank is safe.

 

[el337]

Weird! Maybe another post from someone was merged with your post #37 accidentally then? jdhef, were you half asleep merging these? Haha

 

[littlemissdiva9]

Yeah, def not my post.
But my nitrites are now 0.25 everything else is at 0 except ph of course.

 

[jdhef]

Weird! Maybe another post from someone was merged with your post #37 accidentally then? jdhef, were you half asleep merging these? Haha

It's possible I may have, I really don't know. But someone did