# ammonia, nitrites and nitrates help me get rid of them



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

i had a bit of ammonia and now i have nitrites and nitrates  whats the best way to get rid of them


----------



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

i did a big water change yesterday about 10 g i added a new charcoal bag with ammo chips in the bag 1 of the ways i think i got the nitrites and nitrates is becos i hadn't changed the charcoal bag in 3 or 4 months my fish r fine but 4 how long is the question
if anyone can give me some advice or somethin it will b greatly appreciated thx


----------



## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

give this a read
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cycling.php

Is it a new tank?


----------



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

its been running for about 3-4 months i never had this problem


----------



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

it wasnt bought brand new, i got it from a buddy of mine


----------



## ragga86 (Jul 7, 2008)

I dont know if this applies to you, but i had an Amonia problem, and my tank is 4 months old. My problem was i was overstocked. I had to many fish to handle my size tank and filter. Idk if that applies to you like i said, but how many fish and what size tank do you have? I stepped up my filtration and got rid of three fish and my readings slowly went down over the course of a week.


----------



## lucrent (Dec 2, 2007)

ragga86's right, we need more info:

Tank size
Stock List
Filtration
precise water parameters


----------



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

well at the time the ammonia happend i had 40 fish holy**** eh, in a 30 g ever since that i got rid of almost all of them and now i have 6 in the tank my filter is an aqua clear 300. when i went to my local fisg shop the guy told me it was becos of 1 of 3 things. 1.overstock 2.over feeding 3.not enough water changes

lately *** done some consecutive water changes is there anything else i can do to speed up the process to get rid of them


----------



## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

if its all going wrong then water changes will recitfy even if its just a short term solution....so the thing to do is lots of them and ease off gradually..no brainer really.

but long term you need to consider adding lots of rocks and substrate as well as as lots of flilter media...your whole tank needs to become a huge bio factory to break down the waste.

oh and 40 fish is way too much in a 30g ....poor fish ..they really drew the short straw on that one. :roll:


----------



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

i have rocks and drift wood with a gravel substrate


----------



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

*** got bottle called bio support its a big al's product


----------



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

also would adding a pleco to my tank be a good idea right now or wait til the nitrites and nitrates r gone 
i had a pleco b4 but died dont know y fish store employe said probably not enough waste


----------



## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Hi,

Did you check out the article that bulldog suggested?

You mentioned wanting to get rid of nitrate but in a properly running, CYCLED tank you will have a nitrate reading and that is nothing to be concerned about unless its up over 40ppm. (The exception would be in a heavily planted tank in which case there is little or no nitrate). 
Ammonia and nitrite should ALWAYS read '0' so you are right to be concerned about having any kind of reading for them.

Check your filter media for any buildup of waste and make sure there is a good strong flow coming out of the filter return. A clogged filter will cause the beneficial bacteria to die off and this in turn will cause an ammonia spike. Siphon the gravel to remove excess waste.

To help your fish deal with the ammonia and nitrite do daily partial water changes of 30% using a good quality declorinator. (Amquel+ and Prime will remove ammonia and detoxify nitrite). 
To detoxify the nitrite add aquarium salt at the rate of 1 TEAspoon per ten gallons. Increase tank areation. Feed sparingly until the water parameters are where they should be.

How are your fish doing? Are they eating and swimming normally? Are any of them hanging up at the top of the tank?

Robin


----------



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

my fish r fine my rams r showing their colours as well as my rainbows they r eating well 
my filter has a consistent flow


----------



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

where can i get that salt


----------



## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

Any LFS should have it, if you can't find it, non iodized table salt should work also.


----------



## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Yes you want to get salt without any additives. Usually you can find either Kosher or Pickling salt at the grocery store. Cheaper then the 'aquarium salt' at the fish store.

Robin


----------



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

i got my water tested and heres the results 
ammonia 0
nitrites 5.0
nitrates 10
so my only concern should b the nitrites


----------



## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

> so my only concern should b the nitrites


Yes and don't underestimate that concern. Even if the nitrites don't kill your fish outright they may damage them internally. This will make your fish more open to other illnesses and disease.

Follow my directions for detoxifying nitrite--repeated below.

 
Robin



> To help your fish deal with the ammonia and *nitrite* do daily partial water changes of 30% using a good quality declorinator. (Amquel+ and Prime will remove ammonia and detoxify nitrite).
> To detoxify the nitrite add aquarium salt at the rate of 1 TEAspoon per ten gallons. Increase tank areation. Feed sparingly until the water parameters are where they should be.


----------



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

i have some algae on my driftwood is that a good thing or should i get rid of the algae also should i add a pleco to my tank or will he make my nitrite problem worst


----------



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

i have some algae on my driftwood is that a good thing or should i get rid of the algae also should i add a pleco to my tank or will he make my nitrite problem worst


----------



## Bones08 (Jul 15, 2008)

adding any fish to the tank is going to cause more of a problem...you just have to be patient and give it time. Tanks make gradual changes, anything drastic is not good. (in regards to spiking N02 and N03 levels).


----------



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

my problem is solved already thanks to everyone who helped


----------

