problem with water chemistry

[boyarm]

It took me about 2 months to cycle my brackish tank and just recently (for the past week) noticed my nitrites are no longer at 0. Should I worry about this because I am. The two GSPs seem fine, but I don't know how long they will be fine for. Every other day I have been doing 50% water changes to combat the issue (per a friends recommendation). I'm thinking this problem is a result of me changing the filter media on HOB filter because everything was working well before I did that. Are my fish in any danger or will the tank catch up without the fish getting too stressed? Should I get some of that biospira stuff? Not sure what the best and most effective way to handle this problem


<b>Aquarium info:</b>
50g tank
Marineland Penguin 200 HOB filter
10 Javafern plants (added yesterday)
Black sand
few rocks

<b>Water chem</b>
SG - 1.008
Ammonia - 0
nitrite - 0.25
nitrate - 20
ph -7.5

[boyarm]

Oh I'm not sure if this would help, but I also have 40g FW aquarium that is well established. Would the bacteria in there help my solve my issue?

[Pufferpunk]

What kind of filter is it? I usually just rinse the media.

[boyarm]

Marineland Penguin 200 HOB filter

[Pufferpunk]

Not a very efficient filter IMO, for a tank with a high bioload. Not very cost effective too, with having to replace those filter pads instead of rinse & reusing them. I prefer the Aquaclear filters. Big sponge for mechanical filtration (much larger surface area than those pads)--rinse & reuse for many many years (I have one that's >20), then you can place a layer of floss in the middle to "polish" the water crystal clear & on tip it comes with BioMax, for great biological filtration.

[I.Puff.Too]

what size tank is the 2 gsp's in?...the ammonia bacteria establishes a lot faster that the bac. for the nitrites..maybe the tank was overloaded? the FW seed will do nothing for the for the bw tank because it is 1.008..the bacteria will only die and perhaps make more ammonia and nitrates...large PWC's every day or every other day should help your problem..do you have access to another BW or marine tank that you could take bacteria from?

[FADE2BLACK_1973]

I agree with PP about AC filters being the best HOB filters. Btw, sounds like your tank is not biological mature enough to hold it's on without the filter media. Add some Seachem Prime to help detoxify the nitrites (does not remove it) and keep dosin the tank with a bacterial supplement.

[RTR]

At 1.006,the FW bacteria are still the active colonies. They might get shocked a tad fro the transfer from 1.000 up to 1.006 though, but it is worth a try. Don't change the specific gravity until the nitrite drops to 0. The nitrate is a bit high for alternate day water partials. Are you overfeeding by chance?

You really need permanent media for nitrifiction bacteria.

HTH

[boyarm]

Ok, would it be wise if I did this? Purchased an AC filter, have it run along side with my current filter, and See if I can get my hands on established marine tank media. If I did get marine tank media, how much would I need? and would I still need the Seachem Prime? Also,does Seachem Prime hurt the beneficial bacteria and slow the cycle process? Also wondering if I should do another 50% water change today. I do have the water ready to go?

As far as over feeding goes, I have been very careful about this from day one. So no over feeding at all. I've been feeding both little guys by hand.

Also, check the water this morning and all the readings are the same as my initial post and both GSPs seem healthy for now. No signs of stress.

Thanks so much everyone, your info is very valuable and even though I feel like I am fumbling all over the place with this new hobby of mine, this forum has been a great resource to me.

[Pufferpunk]

1.008 is nowhere near able to support SW bacteria. You are in the area of no man's bacteria-land. You're just going to have to keep up with WC right now. You could lower the SG a bit, until the new filter is able to support more bacteria. The filter you have now has none, so I don't see the use of leaving it on there.

[greenspottedlover]

Marineland Penguin 200 HOB filter

Thats what I run on my 20g. I would go with a large AquaClear, as you already purchased, also because after using both a penguin and an AC HOB I'm much happier with the job the AquaClear did.

[boyarm]

1.008 is nowhere near able to support SW bacteria. You are in the area of no man's bacteria-land. You're just going to have to keep up with WC right now. You could lower the SG a bit, until the new filter is able to support more bacteria. The filter you have now has none, so I don't see the use of leaving it on there.

PP, Im not 100% sure it has none. The current filter contained two filters in there and I changed only one of them. The one I ditched was the one I cycled the tank with unfortunately, but the 2nd was in there for at least 2 weeks with the original one. Plus I thought the bio wheel was there for bacteria colonies to grow. That's why I thought it was safe to change the media in the first place. I probably should of mentioned that in the beginning of the thread. So I apologize.

PP, do you think I should do daily water changes? or should I keep up with the every other day method? Also, if I did lower the SG to 1.005, over how many water changes should I do to bring it down? Once the SG is down,would I then be able to my FW media to solve the problem (per RTR's recommendation)?

[Pufferpunk]

Yea, continue doing WC to maintain nitrite of 0. Keep your present filter on the tank & add the AC.