donk18

a couple of weeks ago i posted about both my tanks had really high nitrites. the good news is my 29 is on point and all levels are great. but my 10g is still very high.
nitrites 2.0
ammona 0
nitrates between 10-20

what am i doing wrong with this tank. i have been doing small water changes every few days and a big water change once a week. i have put hornwort and red foxtail in to try and calm the nitrites changed everything in my filter (not the bio part). i am doing small feedings once a day. all the food is ate with in a minuet. i have 6 zebra danio's and one cory cat. my filter is a clearview 20(double what it should be) and i have a airation system.

i did get the tank from a buddy and it had everything with it. i changed everything in the filter but the bio sack when i set it up. i was just wondering since he had not ran the tank in about a year. could the bio sack be bad?

i need help, i don't know what to do!!!

thanks

Tommy Gun

Hey donk18!

Just to clarify a little bit, the bio sack you are referencing to here is simply some sort of media which is intended to provide a home to benificial bacteria and so, if the tank was not running for a year, or even as little as a few days or weeks, the bacteria is not present. However, it is typically suggested to remove and replace the bio media (sack) every so often and in your case, I would suggest doing so as well since it is obviously old.

However, that bio sack is not the only place in which benificial bacteria can be found - for example, it can be found on substrate, decorations, and even plants (real and fake) - so replacing that filter media is not normally a huge problem. The keyword here is 'normally' though, and in your case, it sounds as though your 10 gallon tank is still cycling so it may be more 'risky' for you to replace that sack right now. IMHO, it might be a horse apeice as to what you do with this sack, or don't do with it right now. My thought would be to do your best to promote bacterial growth on other areas in your tank rather than to focus solely on the filter media.

Otherwise, unless the water source from which you fill your tank contains nitrates, their presence is a good sign in that it means your tank is on its way to being cycled. I would stick to the feeding once a day (in fact, I only feed my fish once a day regardless) or perhaps once every other day while you continue to test for nitrites (as well as ammonia and nitrates), doing water changes on an as-needed basis. I might also suggest adding one tablespoon (three teaspoons) of dissolved salt (NaCl - table salt or an equivalent) since this will help your fish 'deal' with the nitrites a bit better. (For the record, one tablespoon of salt per 10 gallons of water is my advice because of your cory cat being present...just in case you have heard/read that you should use one tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons)

Hope this helps a little bit....keep your chin up and don't panic. For some more info and ideas, check out Super Moderator Jay's article on Cycling a Freshwater Aquarium by clicking HERE.