Nitrite won’t go down. Has my cycled crashed??

[annz]

Hi there,
I’ve had my axolotl for about a month now and I’m pretty certain my cycle is crushed.
Tank was cycled for 5 weeks before I got her and everything was fine until this week when I noticed we had nitrite present and ammonia was high.
I cleaned the tank thoroughly and proceeded with water changes. Over the last week I’ve definitely done an 100% water change in total but there’s no significant changes in the parameters apart from ammonia which has reduced from 1ppm to 0.25 ppm but nitrites have stayed the same.
Current parameters are
Ph: 7
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 2 ppm
Nitrate: 5 ppm
I have been adding prime with every water change and my axolotl still looks healthy but at this point I’m ready to tub her because I’m so stressed out about her.
this is my first aquatic pet so any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Murk]

Ammonia (and then nitrite) spikes can happen in a cycled tank, if the ammonia production is suddenly higher than usual - because left-over food is rotting, for example. That on it's own doesn't necessarily indicate anything wrong with the cycle.

However, it sounds like you did a pretty rigorous cleaning afterwards, and changed out most of the water? In that case it's quite likely the cycle has suffered. Did you deep-clean the filter and substrate as well? That's where most of the beneficial bacteria live, so I hope you left some of them alive.

The strangest is that after so many water changes your nitrites have not lowered. What kind of testing kit do you use? And, what kind of fresh water? Could you use the same test on the water you use to do water changes?

 

[annz]

Ammonia (and then nitrite) spikes can happen in a cycled tank, if the ammonia production is suddenly higher than usual - because left-over food is rotting, for example. That on it's own doesn't necessarily indicate anything wrong with the cycle.

However, it sounds like you did a pretty rigorous cleaning afterwards, and changed out most of the water? In that case it's quite likely the cycle has suffered. Did you deep-clean the filter and substrate as well? That's where most of the beneficial bacteria live, so I hope you left some of them alive.

The strangest is that after so many water changes your nitrites have not lowered. What kind of testing kit do you use? And, what kind of fresh water? Could you use the same test on the water you use to do water changes?

Hi thank you for getting back to me. I gradually changed all the water, did 10-30% water changes every day or every other day the past week. I lightly rinsed the sponge filter but no deep cleaning. I vacuumed the top layer of the sand but did not take any of it out.
Re: nitrite I was initially using the fluval masterkit and the nitrite seemed a bit high but it was really hard to read so I took a sample to the petstore and they said nitrite is fine but ammonia was high and to do a 25% water change to fix it. While i was there i got an API test kit which is what I am using. I also used the fluval test kit to make sure the API works and the fluval also showed a high reading.
I only tested for nitrates for my tap water and there was barely any.

 

[annz]

Tested parameters this morning and this is what I got
Ph 7.2
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 5?
Nitrate 10ppm
Gh 5
Kh 3

 

[Calgarycoppers]

Okay so looks like a mini cycle crash plus low GH and KH.

Do you have a beneficial bacteria supplement you can add? Pure ammonia?

Do not do any cleaning or water changing with the tank or filters

 

[annz]

Okay so looks like a mini cycle crash plus low GH and KH.

Do you have a beneficial bacteria supplement you can add? Pure ammonia?

Do not do any cleaning or water changing with the tank or filters

I have Seachem Stability, Prime and Clarity. I also have Dr Tims ammonia for another tank I’m currently cycling.

 

[Calgarycoppers]

Oh perfect!!!

Tub lotl
Dose your tank to 4ppm ammonia
Dose Stability at the high dose for the next week
after 24 hours stir sand
retest
dose to 4ppm ammonia again and add the stability

repeat until you have 3 days in a row of ammonia and nitrite at 0 - if nitrate hits 160 do a 75% water change no other cleaning

Keep us posted

 

[annz]

Thank you so much for your help, I'm so grateful!
Just to clarify, stir the sand 24h after adding ammonia or after the whole week of stability?
And also after adding ammonia the second time to I add stability for the week again or just for the day?

 

[Calgarycoppers]

Stir the sand everyday before you test to release any gas pockets or waste build up

Good Luck!!!

Thank you so much for your help, I'm so grateful!
Just to clarify, stir the sand 24h after adding ammonia or after the whole week of stability?
And also after adding ammonia the second time to I add stability for the week again or just for the day?

 

[annz]

Stir the sand everyday before you test to release any gas pockets or waste build up

Good Luck!!!

Hi!! Thanks to your help and tips I have almost finished cycling my bigger tank for my axy (0.25ppm of ammonia to go).
I just wanted to ask if you have any tips for move in day to make it less stessful and to make sure the cycle doesn’t crash? Should I be dosing stability heavily prior/after move in? Since axy is currently tubbed do I need to acclimate?any insight could be super helpful. Thanks again!

 

[Calgarycoppers]

No acclimation needed, No extra Stability or Prime if your tank is fully cycled and at the right temperature.