Tropical Fish Forums

[turk359]

My cycle finished on Tueaday of this past week. At that time my readings were:

Ammonia = 0 ppm
Nitrites = 0 ppm
Nitrates = 50 ppm
pH = 7.0
KH = 30
GH = 100
Temp = 26

I did a 50% water change, waited a day, and then went out and got 6 glowlight tetras and 6 gold neon tetras....

It's been 3 days since I introduced the fish. Today I did water testing and I got the following readings:

Ammonia = 0 ppm
Nitrites = .1 ppm
Nitrates = 50 ppm
pH = 7.0
KH = 30
GH = 100
Temp = 26

Is it normal for the Nitrites to go above 0 ppm slightly? I'm not sure if I should be worried about a spike or what? Any thoughts?

[DF Bobo]

adding 12 fish so soon could have caused the nitrites to go up a bit. normally, I wouldn't add more then 5 fish per week. since those fish are all small, I don't predict any major problems, as long as you step up on water changes slightly for the next few weeks. in fact, do a large water change now since the nitrates are still too high, although it could be an error in the test kits. what size tank is this? do you have live plants?
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[richiestang_78]

Yeah you added too many fish at one time and triggered a minicycle most liekly. Just step up water changes.

[turk359]

It's a 55 gallon planted....I'll do a water change tonight and see if that helps...

[turk359]

I bought some SeaChem Prime today and I noticed on the back that it says you can use it for a nitrite spike/emergency....

What's the deal with this??? Has anyone done this or recommend doing this. Obviously along with water changes....

[Osprey]

Yes, Prime does work for that. It will convert the nitrite into a form that's less harmful to the fish (by chemical, not biological, means). Not something to rely on long-term, but in an emergency, it can be useful. Add a little extra when you do your water changes... and get used to the smell of rotten eggs. The stuff reeks as it ages.
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