General Care Discussion :: nitrites too high - help

[birdslikeleaves]

Hi, I was wondering if any of you guys have some suggestions... I'm having a problem with the nitrites being too high in my 30 gal. tank*.

This whole thing started 4 weeks ago when I did a complete water change and cleaned out the filter. The water got cloudy at first, like usual, but instead of clearing up, it got worse - then a little bit of algae started growing in the filter tubes and the water turned brownish. So I did a 50% water change, rinsed out the filter, cleaned the filter tubes, and bought a test kit. First it kept saying nitrate and nitrite levels were too high (which I didn't think was possible?)... now nitrate levels are in the normal range, but nirtites are elevated. I've tried changing 1/2 the water every couple days, but soon enough, the water is cloudy again and nitrite levels are go from normal to too high. I've read threads on here that said doing a complete water change would be a bad idea. Any suggestions on how I can lower the nitrite levels? My turtle, Ace, seems unhappy and I don't want her to get sick! I'd rather not use chemicals unless I have to, but if you think that would work, suggestions on what to use would be helpful too.

Also, the test kit I bought doesn't test for ammonia, and I'm worried - do high ammonia levels usually go with high nitrite levels or just nitrate? (I've been trying to read up on the nitrogen cycle and read some related threads on this forum and now I'm all sorts of confused, lol)

Finally, I wanted to send a general thank you to all you awesome people on this forum. You guys are all so helpful - I've been lurking for a while and have gotten many useful tips and info here!


*yes, i know the tank is too small. it's the best i can do for now due to cost and space.

[Bascomb]

bird- l What you are dealing with is a bacteria bloom. It is also called "new tank syndorm" I don't know where you are in your getting your bacteria leveled out. You can start over and watch your chemical levels and then start your 50% water changes. One area to start is to check the gph on your water filter. Make sure that the water exchange is al "least" 5 times the water volume. Make sure your media is correct so that your bacteria can do their job. b.

[seanwb]

Unfortunately doing a complete water change can have the same effect as rinsing your filter out in tap water.

Suggest you go for frequent 30-50 % water changes, but are slow to rinse out the filter. If you really do need to rinse out the filter, then make sure you do it in tank water not tap water.

The nitrates will peak, followed by an increase in nitrates, possibly followed by an increase in algae.

Ammonia is probably high as well, but I would get a test kit to check. Make sure you use a water conditioner when changing water. The combination of high amomnnia and chlorine is deadly to fish, and may irritate a turtle.

Hopefully the tank will go back to how it was 4 weeks ago

[SpotsMama]

However, if your tank and filter are not adequate, you may not be able to maintain water quality for any period of time. A lot of water in a bigger tank dilutes the waste so the biofilter (bacteria that neutralize ammonia and nitrite) can handle it. People with small tanks and filters don't have much choice but to change water continuously. Don't give up on the biofilter yet, though.

Do you have fish in the tank? If so, they are adding to the bioload and you might want to move them out.

Is uneaten food left in the tank? That adds to the bioload. Net out any uneaten food and "stuff" and vacuum up any crumbs.

Better yet, try feeding your turtle(s) in a separate container. Not only will that keep crumbs of food from spoiling the water, but usually a turtle poops soon after eating, so if you can let him/her take care of business before putting him/her back in the tank, that will help a bit.

How many turtles are in the tank and how large are they?

[trudykurz]

Bird I saw you don't like using chemicals but where I live I have to use a chlorine remover because our water source has such a high chlorine content. In fact when I built my 500 gallon pond I had a nitrite explosion and lost quite a few fish until I had the water tested and bought AmQuel. I use it for every water change (I never do more than 50%) and everyone is healthy and happy. I buy a gallon bottle at Petco for $39 and between the pond, two fish tanks and turtle tank it lasts me for a few months.

[birdslikeleaves]

i lost my internet connection over the weekend so hadn't been able to check back until today...

to answer your questions:
i have one turtle, a female, about 8 inches long. i've had her for about 14 years. she won't eat in a separate tank, so i feed her in her reg. tank.
no fish.
i use a filstar xp2. the filter's been sufficient so far, but i do net out any uneaten food, waste, etc. each day. also do partial water changes frequently. i usually rinse the filter media in tank water, as suggested. this is the first time i've had this problem, and i've had this set up for several years
filter media: foam 20 and 30, biochem stars, super activated carbon pouch, micro filtration pad

the local petco is out of ammonia testers - i'll run over to petsmart tomorrow morning and see what they have. will treating the ammonia problem (if there is an ammonia problem) help with the high nitrite problem as well? while i was searching for the tester, i saw lots of stuff to fix high nitrates & ammonia, but nothing for nitrites...

i've never used a water conditioner but i'll grab one of those while i'm at it. i guess i assumed plain old tap water was ok because she's never been sick or anything in the 14 years i've had her.
trudy-does chlorine affect nitrite levels?

thanks again

[grem89]

I haven't heard of chlorine affecting nitrite levels. But i would still try to knock down the chlorine levels since chlorine can kill the beneficial bacteria in your tank. It sounds to me like your turt could use a bigger tank. She would be a lot happier in a bigger tank. There's the general rule of thumb > 10 gallons of water for every inch of shell. I would definitely take a look around at new (or better yet USED) tanks. But as for your water quality issue, algae blooms can happen sporatically to anyone. It sounds like your filter and tank need to cycle again to help cut down on nitrites. If i can remember correctly, i believe the cycle goes amonia-nitrites-nitrates. This transformation is done by bacteria in the water and filter.

[trudykurz]

Bird it's not chlorine that affects it but a water conditioner per se will not get rid of nitrates/nitrite. I made a huge mistake when I built my pond, I bought NovaQua, a water conditioner, instead of the AmQuel that I normally used. I wasn't thinking about the fact that a water conditioner doesn't also control the nitrite factor. I put my goldfish Brutus in the new 500 gallon pond on a Sunday, I had already put 12 very tiny feeder goldfish in it, and when I got home Monday night the pond was white and most of the feeders were dead. I ran to Petco, had the water tested, it was extremely high in nitrites, and then smacked myself in the head when they told me to use AmQuel. I bought two bottles (the only two they had), threw both in the pond, and within an hour it had stablized. So I always use AmQuel for water changes for the pond, the fish tank, and the turtle tank. High nitrate/nitrite levels in fish tanks are caused by overstocking the fish tank, which most people do. And since turtles are very messy it would make sense that their levels would be high when they are in a small tank.
Let me know how your turt is doing!

[birdslikeleaves]

Thanks again, everybody who replied, for your help. I meant to post an update a while ago but procrastinated and then forgot about it until now.

I ended starting from scratch - doing a complete water change and changing the filter media. I bought some Amquel Plus, and added that when I filled the tank again. Since then, I haven't had any problems at all!

[trudykurz]

Glad your tank is stable Bird!