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Question: I need some help with Nitrites

MatDhyne

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High nitrite levels. DESPRITLY NEED HELP

Hello i have two axies right now one Golden albino and one Wildtype. The golden albino is around 3 inches long and the other one is about 4 inches long. I had them in a 29 gallon tank and i was checking ammonia and nitrite and nitrate and the other levels daily and their level went up to around 3ppm of nitrite but the ammonia was 0, Ik this is very bad for them so i moved them into a 10 gallon tank with 0 very low nitrite and doing 100% water changes daily. Iv been doing water changes on the big tank but cant seem to get the level down to a safe area please help me and my axies!!!!!!!!! I also have fine sand on ghe bottom of my tank.
 
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SaltyFishHipser

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Re: High nitrite levels. DESPRITLY NEED HELP

Although I am very new to this, it seems like you do not have enough nitrifying bacterium, and you might need to re-cycle your tank.
A quick and easy way to get more bacteria in the tank is to buy a product made for stabilizing biofilters. I use Stability and it seems to work well with other tanks. another thing to add is that bacteria that convert nitrites into nitrates take a longer time than the bacteria that turn ammonia into nitrites. So that means there will be a build up of nitrites.
Making sure that the bacteria stay healthy is a good way to help keep the ammonia and nitrate levels low. Make sure you have enough places for them to colonize, which are like breeding grounds for microscopic organisms. They colonize in filters, substrate, some decorations, and plants that are either real or fake. Although this sounds very basic, some people don't think to have these in their tanks. But making sure they colonize is a good way to know that they are always able to reproduce.
Also, when making water changes and removing more than 75-80% of the water can harm the bacteria as well, because when the water is drained, the organisms are removed, too. And keep away from cleaning products as those can also kill the bacteria, and harm the axies as well.

So, long story short:
-You probably need to re-cycle the tank
-To quick-up the cycling process, buy a bottle of biofilters (I use Stability)
-Make sure the micro-organisms have enough places to colonize (plants, filter media, decor)
-Avoid doing water changes that remove more than 80% of the old water
-Keep away from using cleaning products in the tank

If you follow at least most of these, you should be all set
 
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