Hi all,
I've just done a water change (about 15%) and when I tested the water I noticed that the nitrites and nitrates are very high. I'm puzzling as to why, the water was tested about a week prior and no problems.
The tank has been set-up about 6 weeks and I've been doing weekly changes of 15%-20%. SG is 1.005 and steady. pH is fine too.
The only thing I can attribute it to is there are a couple of plants in there that are dying. I've left them in there as I plan to get a CO2 fermenter early next week and hope to revive them.
Could they be the problem?
High nitrite and nitrate readings!
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
I'm no expert, but I knopw any plants, even as they start to die, they are like a toxic waste plant. Take fish poo, its a bit different and all, but it pollutes a tank enough. Now take something about 1,000 times that size (a dead or dieing plant) and put that rotting into your tank. That definately could be it. But I'd wait to be certian for someone who has more experience.
But until someone else replies, I'd avise you, if you wanna keep those plants, take them outta the tank, setup some kinda temp place for them (a spare tank; bucket) and fill it with tank water and some substrate if its not still potted, and quarentine them until you get them healthy again, or that CO2 in em.
But until someone else replies, I'd avise you, if you wanna keep those plants, take them outta the tank, setup some kinda temp place for them (a spare tank; bucket) and fill it with tank water and some substrate if its not still potted, and quarentine them until you get them healthy again, or that CO2 in em.
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lisalisa
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Pufferpunk
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burrfish
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What size tank & what fish are in there? SkeptikaL is right. You may have a hard time keeping plants at all in that SG.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
Tank was cycled with some danios (before introducing the salt) and some live bacteria from a pet shop. My readings have been fine until this most recent one. They've been done roughly weekly since the first week or two, more regular before that.
Tank is 120l with 2 F8 puffers and 4 Bumblebee Gobies.
The tapwater is fine, no traces at all. I've done a big water change today and will do more over the next couple of days. I've also bought a nitrate/nitrite remover that goes in the filter (bit sceptical of it though.)
Hopefully I'll be able to bring it down before the fish suffer.
Oh, and I took the plants out. Although they only had a couple of brown leaves the roots seem to have rotted completely and left my sand black! Almost definitely the plants causing the problem then!!!!
Tank is 120l with 2 F8 puffers and 4 Bumblebee Gobies.
The tapwater is fine, no traces at all. I've done a big water change today and will do more over the next couple of days. I've also bought a nitrate/nitrite remover that goes in the filter (bit sceptical of it though.)
Hopefully I'll be able to bring it down before the fish suffer.
Oh, and I took the plants out. Although they only had a couple of brown leaves the roots seem to have rotted completely and left my sand black! Almost definitely the plants causing the problem then!!!!
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
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- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
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Boxermom
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Which "live bacteria" did you use? If it was Biospira, then it works and the danios would have been in no danger. If it was anything else, it wasn't "live" and is basically worthless.
Tina
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1