# What could cause a huge spike in nitrite?



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

So I've noticed that my polleni hasn't been as active as he was a few days ago, and I tested his water and noticed abnormal high levels of nitrite (over 5.0 ppm), high amounts of nitrate (20 ppm) and a little ammonia (between 0.25 and 0.50 ppm). Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like my tank has decycled itself? I've done three water changes to no avail. What should I do? This tank has been running for at least two months, and I made sure everything was ready when I transferred him. Did all my bacteria somehow die?


----------



## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

If you can toss some plants in ASAP, like guppy grass or java moss even. This should help in the short term.


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

I have two plants in there, but I'm not sure what type they are.


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Any other advice?


----------



## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

dead fish/waste food?? basically anything that could rot down.

otherwise did you do a water change recently, did you use dechlorinated water, was it on the weekend/holiday when water companies may increase the dosage of "disinfectants" (not entirely certain whats the best way to describe things like chlorine)

my advise would be to use Prime in the high dose level to neutralize the ammonia/nitrite and water changes


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

I've done a water change today and yesterday, both days 50%. I dechlorinated the water every time, as I do every time I change the water. I make sure not to overfeed him either, and there are no other fish in the tank.


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Day 3 and nitrites are still high.. I'm starting to get frustrated. I'm going to my lfs to buy six or seven plants to throw in there just to make sure they eat up all the nitrites. If that doesn't fix the problem, I don't know what will.


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

So I bought two plants and some moss, and did two small water changes (40% and 25%) today. Here are the results.

High Range PH 8.0
Nitrite 5.0 ppm
Ammonia 0.25 ppm
Nitrate 10 ppm

What the ****? Whats the problem?


----------



## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Did you recently clean your filters, you know a deep cleaning taking them apart to clean all the gunk out? Or did you remove one of your media bags or filter media? I removed one of my media bags one time and my tank went through the same thing your experiencing right now. I just waited it out and bought a cycle product and nature took it's course. I hope it works out for you.


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Thanks for the reply DJ! No, I didn't clean anything out, all I did was rinse out the filter media maybe two weeks ago. Perhaps that could be the culprit? And I'm seeing baby snails all over my tank.. it seems like when one thing goes wrong the whole ecosystem decides to blow up. At least I know the snails are keeping my polleni busy..


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Damnit.. now what the **** is this on his head?



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Sorry for the bad quality, I have to rush to get to class. I'll post more pictures tomorrow. I just noticed it like 5 minutes, I don't know if he hit something or if its something more serious..


----------



## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Ok what did you rinse the filter media with? Please say water that you removed from you tank and not straight from your tap water. If you used the tap water for the rinse then there is your problem.


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Yeah.. thats what I did  But the bactera would build up fast right? Right? :-? Sorry for the late response, I just got home from class. Should I buy that bacteria in a bottle stuff? And what about the wound? All I did was treat it with the API conditioner stuff..


----------



## cichbillyia (Sep 11, 2010)

tap water probably killed most/all of your good bacteria ... its almost going to have to cycle again ... might be faster than the first time but will take sometime ... when it happend to me all i could do was water changes and go off feed for 3-4 days ... just have to wait it out ... thats what i think anyway i am fairly new to the whole aquarium thing


----------



## TexasFishGuy (Aug 20, 2010)

Snails most likely came from the new plants.


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Blah.. it took three months for my tank to fully cycle the first time.


----------



## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Sorry Drew. At least you will learn from this mistake. I would buy the bacteria in the bottle and dose your tank accordingly. That's what I did. I just cleaned out my 1 of my AC 110's today but I used the tank water to clean it I thought about you bro lol. This is an easy fix and you will back up in no time. As for the wound is your O hurt or were you referring to the lose of bacteria? I would get away from that API conditioner to. I had problems with that as well I only use Prime it's a little more expensive but works wonders! Good Luck! :thumb:


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Haha, gee thanks  I bought some brand called SuperBac Aquarium, and the directions pretty much say the more you use the better it is. The bottle is big enough to treat a 80 gallon tank, should I dump all of it into my 55? I've put in a little by little every few minutes. And the hole on my polleni is from him bumping into something I think, he tends to be very skittish and he'll fly around his tank like a torpedo and crash into things. Yesterday I caught him trying to jump out of his tank and catch a fly that was sitting on his light fixture.


----------



## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

I would just use the daily recommended dose. That's what I did and it worked out fine. I'm sure you could add the whole bottle but I wouldn't just my opinion. As far as the hole on your polleni I would treat with melafix and salt. My Oscar was always bumping into things and damaging his sides and head and this always worked like a charm. Good luck just give it some time and you will be back in the game


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Well there has been no change in water conditions, not even in the slightest. What are the odds of my fish surviving? It looks like hes already beginning to breathe heavily.


----------



## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Well, depending on how devoted you are, you could do massive water changes for the next couple of days/weeks, until the water conditons even out. Or you can do smaller water changes, and that will for sure help, but may not be enough. Do you have another tank, or know someone with another tank that could loan you some filter media? That would be a sure-fire way of fixing this problem...depending on how desperate you are, you can always beg the LFS.
Hope that helped, and please update us on this...

Manoah Marton


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

I don't really know anyone who'd be able to keep my polleni. I've been doing about 35% to 50% water changes every day. I haven't fed him more than three or four pellets throughout the whole ordeal. I'll try stopping by my LFS and see if they can give me anything that could help. Thanks for the tips.


----------



## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

I didn't mean re-house the fish, I was thinking of moving filter media from an established tank to your tank, instantly cycling it. Your LFS (depending on how nice they are) could possibly give you some.
Good luck,

Manoah Marton


----------



## DrTim's (Jun 8, 2010)

Pardon me for jumping in here but something just does not not seem right. Rinsing a filter pad under tap water for a few minutes really shouldn't hurt your nitrifiers that much plus this assumes that the majority of your nitrifiers are on the filter pad and that is generally not the case as the filter pad gets covered with gunk that smothers the nitrifiers. What else do have for filtration?

I think something else happened - think really hard - what exactly did you do to the tank in the week or two before you measured the nitrite and ammonia. Don't leave anything out that you might think is not important - list everything. Before the cleaning when was the last water change?


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Honestly, all I did was rinse the gunk off the filter pad for about a minute or two. I've added some live plants about a week ago, and I've added two pieces of treated driftwood about a month ago. The tank does have its fair share of driftwood, but I've bought all of it from my LFS and I don't know if that could have anything to do with the water conditions. I had a couple of snails before the polleni killed them (I assume he killed them. Either that or nitrates were already high then, but the snails lived for a few weeks). He doesn't have any tank mates, and even when the water conditions were perfect I would change 25% every few days.

EDIT: My only filter is an Emperor 280.


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

These are what his current water conditions look like

pH 8.0
Ammonia is between 0 and 0.25ppm
NitrIte looks to be between 2 and 5ppm
NitrAte is at 20ppm


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Blah, its too late to edit my previous post, but I'm also using plant food tabs from Plant Care Solutions. Maybe this is the culprit? Its been a month I'm using them..


----------



## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

No Drew. Trust me the rinse under the tap water is the culprit. It has to be only a few mins that will kill off your bacteria that's all it takes. It's not going to hurt your nutrifiers first, it's going to go to your ammonia, then your nitrites, and then Nitrates. Thus recycling your tank and you have to go through the whole process again. Plants aren't going to effect it either, if anything they would take out the bad stuff. I would just let the water sit without water changes, and keep adding the bacteria booster in a bottle. That's what I did and with in a week my tank was back to normal. I'm just telling you how I see it cause I was in your shoes about 2 months ago when I rinsed my entire filter minus the sponges under the tap. Just be patient! You will get there.


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

I guess man. The fish does seem to be doing better, he isn't breathing heavy anymore. Water conditions are still poopy but its slowly getting better. I'll try not changing the water for two days and see what happens. Thanks again for the help everyone! I'll update this if anything changes.


----------



## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Have faith you will get there bro!


----------



## ebjdftw (Aug 24, 2010)

what if your snails actually died and they started decomposing? wouldn't that up the ammonia in the tank? not sure if it would effect your nitrites though.... hmmm.

edit: i say this because i foolishly bought some plant bulbs from a chain store and tried to grow them....they all started decomposing in my tank and it made my ammonia go up a fair amount. i just recently found where i tried to plant them all. stupid stupid stupid!


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Ah, that sucks man. I wish my problem were the plants, I feel like it'd be an easier fix knowing whats messing with the conditions. We all make mistakes, could've ended much worse for ya  I removed the snails as soon as I saw that they were dead, so they weren't in the tank for longer than 10 minutes before I scooped them out, so we can rule out the snails I guess.

EDIT: DJ! You the man, thanks for the encouragement.


----------



## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Np Drew :thumb:


----------



## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Any Updates Drew????


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

The nitrates are just a little high now, everything else has already steadied out. Nitrates are at about 10 to 20 ppm right now after a 25% water change. Thanks again But of course, due to my luck, I have two other problems now. Theres a crack in the tank, in the bottom where the plastic is mounted. I've been watching it all day to make sure it doesn't get worse, don't know exactly what to do about that. And I've also spent about $40 on ice the past three days because its been over 110 degrees where I live the tank has a high temp throughout the day.

EDIT: Sorry for the late response, I'm in the middle of midterms currently. And the cut on his head healed up about two days later.


----------



## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Man bro you just can't win! So the Ammonia and Nitrite are Zero now? How bad is the crack? Just make sure it's not leaking. Man I feel your pain, just sucks you got the one problem taken care of and yet another arises. I wish you luck my friend!


----------



## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Yeah, good luck. I'm having the same problem with over heating. Grr...it was about 100 here yesterday.

Manoah marton


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Right now I feel like I'm overwhelmed with this tank. I'm glad I didn't get a bigger one. The crack looks more like a stress crack in the corner of the tank, where the plastic on the bottom is. The glass isn't cracked, just the plastic. And at least its starting to cool down a few degrees Manoah.


----------



## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Yeah...at least where you are. It looks like it's gonna be hot where I am...
And as long as the actual glass isn't cracked, I think your good.


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Well I'm in Southern California, and I think today is going to be 95, which is almost 15 degrees cooler than about two ago. If the plastic keeps getting worse though, wouldn't it effect the glass eventually?


----------



## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Hey sweet...where in SoCal? That's where I am as well(San Juan Cap.)
Haven't heard the forcast for this week, but it has been stinking hot here. Monday it was 120 in the sun  . Fishies didnt like that.


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Glendale, its just south of LA. At least I think its just south. It was hotter here than it was at Palm Springs two days ago. I've heard San Juan Cap is a beautiful place.


----------



## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Thanks, yeah it is nice. We just moved here from Laguna Hills, and like it much better.
I know where Glendale..wow, that's hot! Summer was pretty late this year huh!
Have a nice, hot, icepack-in-fishtank filled day,

Manoah Marton


----------



## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Wow guys I see it's still very hot on the west coast! Man I feel for you 2. It's in the 70's on the east coast just got out of the 90's and it's cooling down. I hope you guys get some relief to


----------



## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Me too. BTW, watch all tank upstairs closely. My little bro has a little 5g up there, and 3 of his fish roasted before I even knew what had happened.


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Manoah, I just want you to know that, for some reason, the comment you left for my tank had me burst out in near hysterical laughter in my class this morning.. "notorious" rofl

DJ, I see you're from Philly. I actually want to move there when I get my masters. Been a long time fan of the Eagles (since 2000).


----------



## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

:lol: 
It's just that I've read a bunch of your posts, and there weren't any pics of the new 55g...that's all. 

MM

P.S. Class...like at school?


----------



## DrewForDummies (Jul 26, 2010)

Yessir, I have a morning math class that starts at 6:15 AM at my community college.


----------



## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Sounds like a barrel of fun. Bet your teacher was like What the... :lol: 
Tank looks good though.

Manoah Marton


----------



## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Hey Drew. Yup I'm from Philly bro. Well 20 mins out I will say south side lol. Stay away from West Philly if you want to move here free advice. North and South are ok. Good luck on your Masters! :thumb:


----------

