Cichlid Water Issues

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Ships

Ships

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 7, 2018
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Hello, I've been having a problem. My nitrites keep going up in my tank. I did my weekly 10% water change and tested it a day later and my nitrites were still high (1.0) the day after. I don't have many fish or plants in mine. It's a 38 gallon with 2 small cichlids, 2 cory catfish and a pleco. Other than store bought decorations and gravel, there is 1 live plant and 1 moss ball. Anybody have any idea why the nitrie level is spiking? (Also I don't overfeed, I only drop a couple of pellets a day for them.)
 
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Ships said:
Hello, I've been having a problem. My nitrites keep going up in my tank. I did my weekly 10% water change and tested it a day later and my nitrites were still high (1.0) the day after. I don't have many fish or plants in mine. It's a 38 gallon with 2 small cichlids, 2 cory catfish and a pleco. Other than store bought decorations and gravel, there is 1 live plant and 1 moss ball. Anybody have any idea why the nitrie level is spiking? (Also I don't overfeed, I only drop a couple of pellets a day for them.)
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Welcome aboard :)
How long has the aquarium been setup?
When you do water changes do you use a dechlorinator such as Seachem Prime?
What are the readings for Ammonia, Nitrate?
 
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In addition to what tlindsey asked, any recent filter media changes? What is your tank cleaning like?

As a side note, it is better to do larger water changes then just 10%. That really doesn’t do much no matter your stocking. 50% or more is better and really not much added time for a small tank.
 
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Thank you, and the aquarium has been setup for about a month, but I just completely set it back up (100% water change) a week ago. Yes I do use Prime. Ammonia is at .25 and Nitrates is at 10.
 
Ships said:
Thank you, and the aquarium has been setup for about a month, but I just completely set it back up (100% water change) a week ago. Yes I do use Prime. Ammonia is at .25 and Nitrates is at 10.
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Yes your aquarium is cycling over. Did you change out the bio media?
 
Ships said:
Yes, I did change my filter, it needed to be changed when I checked it. Also thank you for the input!
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Whenever you decide to do that keep your bio media. Also never let dry out. The beneficial bacteria will help quick start a new setup.
 
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