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Prime, nitrite, Tetra Safestart

5K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  weedkiller 
#1 ·
Okay so after a month long fishless cycle that stalled/stopped, I am back at square one. I want to try the cycle with tetra safestart and some danios. Now I have done 2 95% water changes and I am still showing some nitrite maybe 2ppm looks like a little less though. I know Prime does not remove Nitrite but it says it detoxifies it. Am I correct in assuming that even though Nitrites are showing,it will not cause harm to the fish since its been detoxified? Hopefully that is the case so I can start the new cycle. Otherwise i will just keep changing the water until it shows zero. Thanks for any help.
 
#2 ·
No I would not do it. It helps, but not that much. What you can do is go grab some Stability and use it to quickly cycle your tank. You should be able to add fish within a couple of days. Follow the directions on the bottle. Make sure you provide a source of ammonia.
 
#4 ·
its a shame you gave up on your cycle, im sure you would have had some bacteria so whatever had gone wrong could have been saved especially if you had nitrites as they come from bacteria feeding on ammonia, patience is the key that's all...
if you are starting afresh with safestart you may as well change 100% of the water, and if you've done 2 95% changes to be honest you shouldn't be seeing nitrites at 2ppm unless your nitrites was seriously off the chart, that would probably be caused by not cutting back on the ammonia once your nitrites spiked which in turn meant you was probably nearly cycled, if you have not cleaned your filter media it may be worth having another go with a fishless as the bacteria will probably be present, add a bit of ammonia to get it to 2ppm an see what happens :)
 
#8 ·
Okay so after thinking about it, I decided to stick with fishless cycle and I think its a success...2ppm ammo converted completely in a day n half and nitrites are about the same but nitrates are rising so it looks like some of my nitrites are converting...hopefully only another week or two.
 
#13 ·
Dose every day to keep feeding your bacteria, it needs feeding the same as your fish lol, keep at 2ppm max and be patient, drop it to 1ppm if you like but keep an eye on your ammonia, if it starts taking longer the dose back to 2ppm
 
#15 ·
it doesnt stall, its usually so high its hard to tell if its doing anything, as you say, one day its suddenly 0, you may see a slight drop gradually
 
#16 ·
My nitrites are definitely getting lower now. Instead of turning purple as soon as the drops go in, it actually stays light blue for 1 minute then turns purple. My ammonia is being converted so quick its hard to keep up with. I added a little of 1 ppm last night and this morning it was gone. Glad I stuck with it.
 
#17 ·
cool, couple more days and you probably done...
once your nitrites are 0 check your nitrates... they are more than likely off the chart, do a large water change if they are at about 80% with dechlorinated water, treat the water before you add it to the tank, and add more ammonia to take it to 1ppm and check again in 12 hours, if ammonia and nitrites 0 your ready, keep topping up the ammonia till you stock it and the ammonia and nirites must be 0 before you add the fish ;)
 
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