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I recently just started a 55 gallon tank and populated it with cichlids. I had 9 die already and the nitrite is off the charts on the tester. I tried two diffrent chemicals that claim they remove nitrite (prime and cycle) and it did absolutly nothing. can someone pls tell me how to get my nitrite lvl down? thanks

Hi there,
what is happening is that your tank is going through the nitrogen cycle.
This is when fish produce ammonia, a type of bacteria grows that uses ammonia and produces NitrItes.
Over time another type of bacteria grows that uses up nitrItes and turns it into nitrAtes.

The nitrogen cycle can take up to 60 days or so to complete, and during this time, you should do regular water changes to keep fish safe, and not overstock your tank.
A cycling tank should be cycled with a few hardy fish, like zebra danios, and once ammonia and nitrItes disappear off your tests and nitrAtes become visible, you can replace the cycle fish with your wanted stock.

It shoulds like your tank is about halfway through the nitrogen cycle.
I would recommend doing at least 3x weekly water changes of 20% without vaccuuming the gravel to avoid the death of all your fish.
Prime will help, but wont get rid of the nitrIte totally as it is constantly being produced.
I would hold off on adding any other fish, and try to keep the ones you have alive.

Welcome to the site, and best of luck with your nitrogen cycle!


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Hi,

Welcome to FP. How many days you have started the tank and how many cichlids (or other fish) are there in the tank (excluding the 9 dead ones)?

hi welcome to fpif nitrites are your problem,and very high as you said,partial water changes can help reduce nitrties,but if you can get it in your area(i dont know which country you are in theres no flag near your user name)try some nitra-zorb,its made by aquarium pharmaceuticals,and its great stuffand you mite want to keep adding the cycle even thoo it done nothing to combat your high nitirtes,it will speed up your bio filter and help cycle your tank,i also use cycle and swear by it,great stuffif you can get the nitra-zorb,make sure you keep using it untill your test chart says zero,even tiny trace amounts of nitrites can stress your fish,and stressed fish can become sick and are more likely to fall victum to a desease.maybe next time let it cycle longer,then do your testing before you add fish.

I have had this tank for 1 month and i got 10 cichlids left that are, so far, doing good. I went out and got a better pump called the h.o.t. magnum with a biowheel attached so that might help too. Thank you for the info i guess ill just wait another month or so doing alot of water changes . thanks very much for the help guys.

you dont really have to do alotof water changes,just make up a routine that suites you and your fish and stick to it.also good move on the bio wheel they are excellent filters..

Camaro, if you can, look or call around to your
local fish stores to see if they carry a product called
Biospira.
If they do, that will help to quickly cycle your tank
all the way.
It would definitely be a big help to you.

For water changes, I would just monitor the nitrItes
closely and when they reach 2ppm or more change a
bit of the water.
That will avoid too much stress on the fish while still allowing the cycle to complete.


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thanks for all the info I think im starting to get the hang of it now...The nitrites are going down (still not quite safe) but going down. The only problem im having now is that i got new gravel. (I had big river rocks and I am gonna switch to fine white/gray gravel) Will doing this mess up the somewhat of a cycle that i got now? (will the cycle completly start over)

Most of the benefical bacteria are in your gravel. Switching gravel at this time would definitely cause a major set back to your cycling process. I'd wait until the cycle to complete and gradually change the gravel (25%) at a time over a few weeks.

Actually only about 20% of the bacteria lives in the gravel, probably less if you have larger stones.
What I would suggest though is also leaving it until your cycle is complete (ammonia 0 nitrites0 nitrAtes +5)
give it another week to 10 days, then change out 50% of
the gravel one day, wait 1 week and change out the other 50%.
If you can get biospira, you could do it all in one day no problems and the biospira will complete the cycle effectively.


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