Still showing high levels of nitrite

[logans]

Still trying to get Nitrites down. I have had my tank for about 6 weeks now. I am now at the point in the cycle where there is no ammonia but the nitrites are spiking. I have been getting all sorts of conflicting info on what I need to do.

I have been told by some to do a massive water change. I have been told by someone else that I should not do a water change becuause that will just slow down the process of the cycle and I should just let it finish its course. I have been told by others that I can just ad AmQuel and that will detoxify the nitrites. I have been told by someone else that by adding AmQuel I am just preventing the cycle from continuing to the next stage by detoxifying it and preventing the needed bacteria growth. And that I should not add any AmQuel. I was told by someone else to ad bio spira which will make the tank immediately safe for the fish and speed up the cycle.

I did go to the pet store seeking out bio spira. They didn't have any but the lady there directed me to a bottle of Cycle that she says she uses that works good for her. It explains on the bottle that it adds nitrifying bacteria that speeds up the cycle, helps eliminate nitrates and ammonia, and makes the tank environment less stressful when adding new fish. I added the Cycle last night, just checked the nitrites again tonigh still showng abut 4 or 5 ppm.

Not sure what to do at this point, do I do a water change, do I add AmQuel, do I not add AmQuel, do I do nothing and just let things take their course?
Fish seem to be doing fine but I am worried about the ongoing high level of nitrites. Tank has been showing this level of nitrites for at least a week now. I was adding AmQuel every couple of days but since stopped based on advice given not to add it (as mentioned earlier in this post)

Any input from you fish gurus would be great.

---Mike

[emc7]

If you have fish in your tank, do enough water changes to keep the nitrite in the "safe" or at least "stress" level (look at your test kit) for fish, just letting it rise will kill the fish, so its worth lenghtening the cycle to keep your fish alive, and also really high nitrite can kill the bacteria you need and start your cycle all over again. There are lots of posts on cycling tanks here just search. Hate to tell you this but although both bio-spira and stability speed up the cycling process, the product called Cycle has actually been proven to lenghthen it. The cultures it contains are not the ones you need. Prime supposedly "detoxifies' ammonia and nitrites without keeping the bacteria you need from eating them. Amquel only detoxifies ammonia, so it that part of the cycle is finished, and your ammonia readings are zero, you don't need it anymore. If it were my tank, I would do a large water change without gravel washing or rinsing the filter and add a double or quadruple dose of Prime to protect the fish from nitrite. However, Prime can mess up nitrite and nitrate test results. I think repeated uses of amquel without water changes can drop your pH drastically, so skipping water changes entirely is a bad idea.

[logans]

Thanks for the quick reply. I am going to do another water change right now. I guess there is no need to add AmQuel if it only detoxifies ammonia. My tank shows no signs of ammonia and only like 10 ppm of nitrates. Nitrites seem to be the main concern. Regardless of what I add, a water change will definitely help with the nitrite levels. So it seems like Cycle was not the right thing to get afterall. Hmmm, too bad I didn't know that before spending the $8 on it. Oh well, live and learn I guess.

Just grabbed the bottle of AmQuel+ and this is what it says on the bottle
"Eliminates nitrite, nitrate, Ammonia..."
Right on the front of the bottle it says
"removes nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, chlorine, and chloramines"
It also says:
"Does not interfere with the biological filtration or nitrifying bacteria"

So according to the bottle it actually removes nitrite. Someone else told me it won't remove it but it only detoxifies it and it will still show up when I do a test but it just wont be toxic. And now according to the reply I just got it only detoxifies ammonia. So which is it?

Quick edit:
I just noticed that I have "Amquel Plus" not "Amquel" when I read about Amquel it says that it eliminates ammonia, chloramines and chlorine. When I read about AmQuel Plus it says that it eliminates nitrites and nitrates as well. So perhaps I should add the AmQuel Plus
Any other feedback from others would be appreciated.
---Mike

[emc7]

I just looked at the description for amquel plus, it does claim to remove nitrites without interfering with the cycle or pH, or nitrite testing. So keep using it, nothing can replace water changes, but a product like this should keep your fish alive if the nitrites spike quickly.

[vinimack720]

water changes wont drastically slow the cycling process, the majority of the bacteria live on the gravel and in the filter, so changing water wont directly kill the bacteria, it will remove their food source(amonia and nitrite). i suggest frequent small water changes so that you wont drastically drop the nitrite levels to a point where the existing bacteria will die, but also so that you can keep it low enough to not stress the fish, its kind of a balancing act

[Alin10123]

Dont use the cycle. There isn't one person here who recommends it. It's the wrong kind of bacteria for cycling a tank anyways. THe only thing that you really want is the bio-spira. It will finish up your cycle within 24 hours. Or in this case since you are halfway through, maybe within 12 hours. In my opinion, it would be the least stressful on the fish. Since bio-spira is an actual bacteria, it's technically considered natural. So doing thinge the natural way is the least stressful on fish. Try another LFS to see if they've got it around.

[Georgia Peach]

personally, I would just continue with moderate water changes to keep the nitrite levels to a lower level and let the tank continue to cycle. as long as you keep the nitrite levels down to a low level, the fish will be fine.

[logans]

Thanks for all the replies. I have a better understanding now of what exactly is going on in the cycle process. As was mentioned in one of the other posts, it does seem to be a balancing act between keeping the nitrites at a low level with water changes but not doing too big of a water change. After doing a waterchange and adding AmQuel Plus the nitrites are back down to .5 ppm, fish seem happy and are doing well. Thanks again for the feedback.

---Mike

[Georgia Peach]

Originally Posted by logans

Thanks for all the replies. I have a better understanding now of what exactly is going on in the cycle process. As was mentioned in one of the other posts, it does seem to be a balancing act between keeping the nitrites at a low level with water changes but not doing too big of a water change. After doing a waterchange and adding AmQuel Plus the nitrites are back down to .5 ppm, fish seem happy and are doing well. Thanks again for the feedback.

---Mike

thats good! Just do water changes everyday to keep it down - it may take a day or two longer, but its better than wasting money on tons of chemicals that dont really work anyhow..