I have two aquariums. One, a 20 gallon, recently finished its cycling. The second one however, a 29 gallon which is almost two weeks old, is giving me more problems than the first one did. I'm scared. please help.

Here's the dillemma.... I have been using ACT form mardel to help boost the colony of good bacteria..... but still, I had to do water changes about everyother day to begin with because ammonia and nitrites. I never changed so much water in it to make the levels say 0, because I read that this messes up the cycling process, but I have always brought them down low enough to make sure there was no immediate danger.

Two days ago I changed 8 gallons be cause the ammonia was a little high and the nitrites were really high. Yesterday, I tested again, and the ammonia was alot lower but the nitrites were at the same level. So, at first I changed 5 gallons. Then I tested: ammonia was low to begin with, but now it was at 0 nitrite however did not go down AT ALL..... so I changed 5 more gallons. IT did not go down at all again!

I know you'll want to know what the exact level of nitrites is in this tank, but I'm not even sure! to explain, on 5 ppm, the color on the chart is a dark reddish-purple and my test water is a dark purple-purple. my color doesn't match up anywhere on the chart. does this mean that the nitrite in my tank is off of the scale (I'm using dr. fishwellls test kits for ammonia and nitrite)...

I'm really freaking out here. I really love these fish! what should I do? In this tank i have a large red cap oranda, a "very" small black more and a small fantail....

I do have another tank that I can set up.... 10 gallons. Do you think I should move some of the occupants into there for awhile?and then begin monitering the both of these?

please help soon!

Are you sure you are reading it correctly? Nitrites should not exceed 5ppm unless your ammonia was off the charts. If your ammonia always stayed not too too high during cycling (1-2ppm, or even 3-4 ppm), and it seems you change water pretty often, I would say its impossible to have nitrites above 5ppm.

If you think it is correct, then you can do a 50% water change, that should cut the nitrites in 1/2.

to me there seems to be too many fish for you to cycle this tank properly. if you can use just one or two at a push. its best to use one fish for a week the two for another couple of weeks so the ammonia is being eaten up slowly. the filter bacteria cant cope just yet with that amount of fish waste, hence the many water changes to try and keep it under control.
just my two cents worth.

hmmmmm.

I know I was reading it correctly, and I did the test several times. You know how the ammonia builds up, bacteria changes it to nitrite? I figure maybe thats the part of the cycle the tank is now at?

Anyway, I went to the LFS and she said to change anymore water, because this can just prolong the cycle finishing... However, she did say that I should add some amquel plus (did I spell that right?) because it will lower the nitrites.....

I bought some and it worked. the nitrites are now at .25 ppm..... WAY lower than what it was before. even when it was high though, my fish weren't acting sick or anything, I just knew it was a matter of time before they would. freaked me out.
but the water changes weren't helping.... she said maybe because there was nitries in my tap water and just adding conditioner wasn't getting it out?

Now, throughout the cycling process, to be safe, what is the utmost peak of ammonia and nitrites that end up hurting fish? I guess what I'm trying to say is, at what level of ammonia or nitrites should I intervene by doing a water change/add amquel?

When I was cycling, I tried to always keep ammonia and nitrIte under 1ppm.

What nitrIte does they get into the bloodstream thru the gills and bind up the red blood cells keeping them from carrying oxygen. Salt helps because it competes with nitrIte for uptake thru the gills.

Since you're in the nitrIte part of the cycle, you should add 1 level teaspoon of salt per gallon of water. predissolve it in tank water and make sure it disperses well when you pour it into the tank. When you do partial water changes, add 1 teaspoon of salt per gallon of water you're changing out. That'll get you .1% salt solution in the tank.

When using amquel+, you need to keep an eye on your pH. Any idea what your KH levels are?

Is that how low I would want to keep the ammonia too? under 1 pm?

Kh... I know that I know what that means... hmmm. Okay, I can't remember what Kh means, a little help here?

I know I have read about it, but to tell you the truth I have never seen a kh or nitrate test kit for sale... Do you know of any pets stores that sell them? I'd like to buy them this weekend.

also, I use freshwater salt (dr. fishwells brand), but the package says to use 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons..... can I still use the measurements that you gave (1 teaspoon per gallon) with this brand?? It would probably be okay right?

Man! I knew I was forgetting to test something today! I tested for ammonia and nitrites but forgot to test the Ph!!!! I'll do it as soon as I get home

after I test all of this stuff, I'll write ya back and let you know.

Wow! DataGuru! I just went to your personal webpage, and I noticed claypots in your aquarium! are those "normal" clay pots??? I love to garden, my living room looks like a jungle, and if I can stick clay pots with fake plants in them in my fish tanks, I'd be in HEAVEN!!!!!!

Please let me know!