Crazy high nitrates.

[ifyouseeher]

Noticed Toaster's new tank has started smelling pretty bad. I've been doing small daily water changes and testing for ammonia and that's been all clear, but the water is cloudy and doesn't smell great so I took a sample to my LFS and found out that nitrates are crazy high so I'm assuming that my cycle crashed during the move from old tank to new tank, what's the protocol? Continue with small water changes and cut down how much I feed the little guy? We introduced some new plants so I'm hoping that'll help with the nitrates issue but in the mean time what can I do to make Toaster more comfortable? He looks healthy and happy enough but I'm worried about him getting sick.

 

[mackgeofries]

You're right on. Do a few small (10-20%) water changes every few days and keep an eye on the nitrates. It'll help with the cloudiness, and smell too.

Plants will help, as they have the bacteria on the already (generally), and if you have another tank, you can take some of the things from that tank (decor, substrate) and put it in the new tank to help it cycle faster.

You may want to slow down on feeding, but not much. If the bacteria are used to a certain bioload and suddenly it's just cut off, you'll just be back at square one. Just keep on the path, if he seems healthy and happy, you're doing well.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[ifyouseeher]

We transferred everything from the old tank to the new tank when we switched, kept the filter running in one of the buckets of water from the old tank with his old plants and hide and his substrate and transferred most of the water. I'm guessing I'm just going through a mini cycle because the new tank holds nearly 3 times the water capacity of the old one. Aside from looking a bit fluffier around the ol' gills Toaster's looking pretty chirpy about having such a lovely big space to explore in and I'm finding it much easier to keep cool than the old tank..

 

[ifyouseeher]

Just double checked with the friend at the LFS and it was my nitrites that were high, but same protocol yes?

 

[auntiejude]

Nitrates are the end of the nitrogen cycle - your cycle is working fine. If you moved your filter over to the new tank it should be OK.

A big water change now would be great, chances are the small changes you have been doing haven't removed enough of the nitrates to keep it safe. The cloudiness may well be algae bloom caused by the high nitrates.

You need to be changing at least 25% of your water per week to keep nitrates under control, and getting yourself a liquid test kit would be the best option so you can test the water yourself. Plants can help suck up the nitrates, but won't eliminate the problem.

 

[ifyouseeher]

I bought an NO2 testing kit today. Just did a 15% water change and nitrites are between 0.3 and 0.8mg/l. Ammonia is at 0 still which is good?

 

[keiko]

Yes. Ammonia and nitrites should be at 0. NitrAtes are the end product of the cycle and should have a reading, I like to keep mind at around 10-20.

 

[auntiejude]

Nitrats are NO3, NO2 is nitrites.

Ammonia should be at 0, if you have nitrites your cycle has just had a hiccup in the move but nothing to worry about - it will settle down in a week or two. Keep your nitrites under 0.5 and your nitrates under 40 and you'll be fine.

 

[ifyouseeher]

So I've been doing 15% water changes everyday and nitrites are still not dropping. I can get them into the 0.5mg/l range by doing a water change but by the next morning it's back up to 0.8mg/l.

Do you think that adding some tank starter might help? I always dechlorinate my water and I've tested the water straight from the tap and nitrites are at 0 there so I know that's not an issue. I'm really worried that I'm going to make the little dude sick if this isn't fixed.

 

[auntiejude]

Nitrites are the middle bit of the nitrogen cycle, what you're waiting for is the bacteria that convert nitrite to nitrate to colonise the filter.

Be patient - daily water changes are all you need to keep the levels low, if you eliminate nitrites completely the bacteria have nothing to feed on. Don't bother with the cycle starter stuff, just be patient.