General Care Discussion :: nitrates and nitrites

[PetriTheTurtle]

I don't know what's going on with Petri's tank! When I test the water the nitrates and nitrites are way out of control. I have those little test strips you dip in the water and compare to the chart and both are way out of control!

I don't know what to do. I thought it was just because I got a new tank... but I'm using the same filter as the old tank so I thought I'd avoid the whole "new tank syndrome" thing.


I have a 55 gallon tank that is filled all the way to the top and a Fuval 305 external filter and a small terta wisper in tank filter (its only rated for 40 gallons, but it helps keep the water circulating a little better).

I keep doing partial water changes and I've been adding Cycle once a week, but its not getting any better! It's been about a month now, any advice?

[SpotsMama]

Are you testing for ammonia? What readings are you getting specifically? What sort of media are used in your filters?

When you changed tanks you did lose some of the bio filter. A bio filter is just nitrifying bacteria living on the whatever surfaces there happen to be. The media in a bio filter (sponges, rings, stars) are porous, which means there is a lot of surface area for bacteria to grow on, so that's where the majority of the nitrifying bacteria will live, but nitrifying bacteria will also live on other surfaces - rocks, basking platform, plants, even the tank floor and walls. However, a month is plenty enough time for new bacteria to colonize the surfaces within the tank.

[SpotsMama]

Let me ask one more question - what does the tank water look like? Is it clear or cloudy?

[PetriTheTurtle]

i have one of those little ammonia gauges in the tank that changes color is the ammonia gets too high, and it's in the safe color.

I use the Jungle test strips for Freshwater. They test for Nitrate, Nitrite, Total Hardness, Total Alkalinity, and pH Level.

You match the color of the strip to a chart. It shows my Nitrate levels are 200 ppm (mg/L) or more and the Nitrite is 10 ppm (mg/L) or more (its really bright pink... brighter than the brightest color on the chart).

I have this as my main filter: http://www.petco.com/product/100126/Hagen-Fluval-05-Canister-Filters.aspx (260 GPH) and have been using it for years. I use the foam inserts, the prefilter media, the biomax media, and the carbon/ammonia reducing mix.

I also have this smaller filter:
http://www.petco.com/product/13868/Tetra-Whisper-In-tank-Filters.aspx (160 GPH) with the bio-bag and activated carbon

[PetriTheTurtle]

water is very clear... no odor, nothing to alert me to an issue other than the test strip!

[PetriTheTurtle]

oh yeah, all the same rocks and basking ramp and plants and stuff went right from the old tank into the new (it was leaking badly so this was a quick switch!).

[mikee]

Pet the Turt – If it was a very quick change the bacteria in your old filter should have survived. If you stop your pump for a long period of time the bacteria will die from the lack of oxygen. Your Fluval 305 filter/pump is marginal at best. It pumps 260 gph, which is, 4. 7 exchanges per hour. If everything is working perfectly this would do it. I would suggest that you stay on top of it with 50% water changes until you get it under control. If you are using chlorinated water it could be killing off you good bacteria. In my years of experience I have had tanks fall right in line and I have had some take a lot of water changes to get it going. You will want to keep an eye out on ammonia and the nitrites especially. They are the most toxic. Good Luck

[SpotsMama]

The nitrite and nitrate readings you are getting are really high - The scales from my test kit don't even go that high! If your nitrite were that high i'd expect the water to be cloudy. Is there a pet store nearby that could double check your readings for you? Some that sell fish will do it for free if you take in a water sample.

Like mikee said, too much chlorine could be killing off the good bacteria. Also, too much ph down (if you are using it) could do it. Too much salt in the water could do it.

If you confirm the readings you are getting, and you aren't inadvertently killing off the good bacteria, and you don't have a lot of extra fish in the tank in addition to the turtle that could be overloading the bio filter, then I think what mikee said is correct - you just need to keep partially changing out the water to get rid of the excess until the readings fall back in line.

[marisa]

PetritheTurtle, I haven't found those test strips to be all that accurate (they are convenient, though). Can you get actual testing kits and test the water with those?