Levels Rising... Please help!!

Have been getting spikes in my Nitrite, Nitrate, & Possibly Ammonia...
My test kit shows Nitrate near 40ppm, Nitrite lethally near 10ppm, and
I can't test for ammonia, but it smells strong in my tank...

It's a 10 gallon freshwater tank with (3) 2" adult Sword Tails, and
about 10 baby fry in a net... I just performed a full water change as
advised by PetCo, and cleaned out all the algae in the tank and things
were fine for about 5 days...

Also my Alkalinity (KH) is 40ppm and I know it's supposed to be 120-180
for freshwater fish, but the Pet store has no idea on how to raise
that...

I've used the AmQuel Plus that treats Nitrate, Nitrate & Ammonia for
the past 3 days and still it does not seem to be dropping anything....
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am hoping my fish don't
die...

This is a simple problem that you will have to have patience with....

Your tank is not cycled. I assume you have a proper filter set up with
filter media to act as a biological filter.

First thing you do is a 75% water change - that will drop your Nitrite
and Nitrate levels (and NH4 if any). This will buy you time and lower
the stress on the fish. Measure the levels after you do this change and
in two days, do a 50% water change. Watch the levels again and if they
start to rise, do another 50% water change. Keep doing this until the
tank stabilizes (levels don't rise). No need to get the levels to zero,
just low enough to be safe. Your tank will cycle in 7-21 days - but it
is critical you have a filter media for bacteria colony to grow on.

JB wrote:
Have been getting spikes in my Nitrite, Nitrate, & Possibly Ammonia...
My test kit shows Nitrate near 40ppm, Nitrite lethally near 10ppm, and
I can't test for ammonia, but it smells strong in my tank...

It's a 10 gallon freshwater tank with (3) 2" adult Sword Tails, and
about 10 baby fry in a net... I just performed a full water change as
advised by PetCo, and cleaned out all the algae in the tank and things
were fine for about 5 days...

Also my Alkalinity (KH) is 40ppm and I know it's supposed to be 120-180
for freshwater fish, but the Pet store has no idea on how to raise
that...

I've used the AmQuel Plus that treats Nitrate, Nitrate & Ammonia for
the past 3 days and still it does not seem to be dropping anything....
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am hoping my fish don't
die...

JB wrote:
Have been getting spikes in my Nitrite, Nitrate, & Possibly Ammonia...
My test kit shows Nitrate near 40ppm, Nitrite lethally near 10ppm, and
I can't test for ammonia, but it smells strong in my tank...

It's a 10 gallon freshwater tank with (3) 2" adult Sword Tails, and
about 10 baby fry in a net... I just performed a full water change as
advised by PetCo, and cleaned out all the algae in the tank and things
were fine for about 5 days...

Also my Alkalinity (KH) is 40ppm and I know it's supposed to be 120-180
for freshwater fish, but the Pet store has no idea on how to raise
that...

I've used the AmQuel Plus that treats Nitrate, Nitrate & Ammonia for
the past 3 days and still it does not seem to be dropping anything....
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am hoping my fish don't
die...

I meant tyo type AmQuel Plus is supposed to treat Nitrate, Nitrite &
Ammonia.. I listed Nitrate twice for those who noticed.. Also after
washing my hands 2-3 times there's still a slight rotten egg or so
smell on my hands after dealing with my aquarium if this helps point
the way to diagnosis and treatment...

Well it takes the presents of ammonia to get nitrite and it takes that
nitrite to make nitrate., so yu can pretty well assume you have high
levels of ammoina. Amquel doe snot remove ammonia. It is stil there
and will show up as being there is a ammonia test is run, however it
locks up that ammonia and renders it safer for the fish. I wuld do as
Deathco suggests and that is do a water change. I would not worry too
much about alk right now until yu get your water parameters to where
they should be in terms of nitrate, nitrite and ammonia.....onc eyu
get that then concentrate on the alk. Fish can go for a long long
period of time with improper alk or ph, but last only a short time
with levels of nitrate and ammonia being wrong.

Is there any dead or missing fish in that tank? Are yu feeding too
much. Reduce or feed one every couple of days or so for awhile and
see if levels drop. Overfeeding is a major cause of ammonia and
nitrate / nitrite levels being high. Fish can go days without food,
and do just fine and more water has been fouled and fish killed by
feeding proceedures than most other problems......I do not think I
would do a full water change. That can sometimes compound things.
Are you sure your test kits are in date?

When was the last time you cleaned or changed your filter media?

On 14 Jan 2007 10:14:05 -0800, "JB" wrote:

Have been getting spikes in my Nitrite, Nitrate, & Possibly Ammonia...
My test kit shows Nitrate near 40ppm, Nitrite lethally near 10ppm, and
I can't test for ammonia, but it smells strong in my tank...

It's a 10 gallon freshwater tank with (3) 2" adult Sword Tails, and
about 10 baby fry in a net... I just performed a full water change as
advised by PetCo, and cleaned out all the algae in the tank and things
were fine for about 5 days...

Also my Alkalinity (KH) is 40ppm and I know it's supposed to be 120-180
for freshwater fish, but the Pet store has no idea on how to raise
that...

I've used the AmQuel Plus that treats Nitrate, Nitrate & Ammonia for
the past 3 days and still it does not seem to be dropping anything....
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am hoping my fish don't
die...



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

The rotten egg smell is more than likely hydrogen sulphide which is a
build up of decaying matter in the gravel. It smells like rotten eggs.
Do you give your gravel a routine vac cleaning?

Amquel Plus other than doing what Amquel does also locks up those
nitrates and nitrites, and makes them safe, but they will still show
them as present on a test. A water change wil dilute that reading, and
after 2 or three changes with proper feeding routine and vac of gravel
they all should be within limits.

On 14 Jan 2007 10:23:04 -0800, "JB" wrote:


JB wrote:
Have been getting spikes in my Nitrite, Nitrate, & Possibly Ammonia...
My test kit shows Nitrate near 40ppm, Nitrite lethally near 10ppm, and
I can't test for ammonia, but it smells strong in my tank...

It's a 10 gallon freshwater tank with (3) 2" adult Sword Tails, and
about 10 baby fry in a net... I just performed a full water change as
advised by PetCo, and cleaned out all the algae in the tank and things
were fine for about 5 days...

Also my Alkalinity (KH) is 40ppm and I know it's supposed to be 120-180
for freshwater fish, but the Pet store has no idea on how to raise
that...

I've used the AmQuel Plus that treats Nitrate, Nitrate & Ammonia for
the past 3 days and still it does not seem to be dropping anything....
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am hoping my fish don't
die...

I meant tyo type AmQuel Plus is supposed to treat Nitrate, Nitrite &
Ammonia.. I listed Nitrate twice for those who noticed.. Also after
washing my hands 2-3 times there's still a slight rotten egg or so
smell on my hands after dealing with my aquarium if this helps point
the way to diagnosis and treatment...



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

I do not think I would change any nore than 50% MAX........and if fish
are doing ok probably do a 25% and then do another 25% in a day or two
again. Too much too soon is as bad as not doing anything. Water change
is all that is feasible to get levels back down, and frequent smaller
changes are usually better than less but large changes.

IMHO for me to do a masive 75 to 100% water change my fish would have
to be in big troubles. Then again I keep aged water around so it would
not be as tramatic for them either........but large water changes can
be bad.


On 14 Jan 2007 11:12:50 -0800, "JB" wrote:


Tristan wrote:
The rotten egg smell is more than likely hydrogen sulphide which is a
build up of decaying matter in the gravel. It smells like rotten eggs.
Do you give your gravel a routine vac cleaning?

Amquel Plus other than doing what Amquel does also locks up those
nitrates and nitrites, and makes them safe, but they will still show
them as present on a test. A water change wil dilute that reading, and
after 2 or three changes with proper feeding routine and vac of gravel
they all should be within limits.



I did a 100% Water change just over a week ago, and when I did, I
rinsed off my gravel thoroughly, and all my plants, and cleaned out my
filter housing & changed my filter, plus removed a ton of algae from my
tank just over a week ago...

I added Cycle to my tank to get the beneficial bacteria going, and am
due for more soon.. So should I do as the previous poster suggested
and change 75% of my water even though I just changed and cleaned
everything just over a week ago??



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

Tristan wrote:
The rotten egg smell is more than likely hydrogen sulphide which is a
build up of decaying matter in the gravel. It smells like rotten eggs.
Do you give your gravel a routine vac cleaning?

Amquel Plus other than doing what Amquel does also locks up those
nitrates and nitrites, and makes them safe, but they will still show
them as present on a test. A water change wil dilute that reading, and
after 2 or three changes with proper feeding routine and vac of gravel
they all should be within limits.



I did a 100% Water change just over a week ago, and when I did, I
rinsed off my gravel thoroughly, and all my plants, and cleaned out my
filter housing & changed my filter, plus removed a ton of algae from my
tank just over a week ago...

I added Cycle to my tank to get the beneficial bacteria going, and am
due for more soon.. So should I do as the previous poster suggested
and change 75% of my water even though I just changed and cleaned
everything just over a week ago??

JB wrote:
Tristan wrote:
The rotten egg smell is more than likely hydrogen sulphide which is a
build up of decaying matter in the gravel. It smells like rotten eggs.
Do you give your gravel a routine vac cleaning?

Amquel Plus other than doing what Amquel does also locks up those
nitrates and nitrites, and makes them safe, but they will still show
them as present on a test. A water change wil dilute that reading, and
after 2 or three changes with proper feeding routine and vac of gravel
they all should be within limits.



I did a 100% Water change just over a week ago, and when I did, I
rinsed off my gravel thoroughly, and all my plants, and cleaned out my
filter housing & changed my filter, plus removed a ton of algae from my
tank just over a week ago...

I added Cycle to my tank to get the beneficial bacteria going, and am
due for more soon.. So should I do as the previous poster suggested
and change 75% of my water even though I just changed and cleaned
everything just over a week ago??


PS...... I just purchased my test kit about 2 weeks ago, and they do
not expire until 2008.. Also
I feed my fish 2x a day, sometimes 3x a day as suggested by PetCo..

Until you get your water parameters under control you would be better
off not feeding as much. Cut it back to once a day or so every other
day. Those fish are ot goping to starve, and at the same time yur not
introducing more nutrients to decay and turn into nitrites and
ammonia. This period of time will help your bacteria catch up with any
accumulating levels in addition to water changes and you shoul dbe
able to get yur levels back under control. Its better to keep fish
hungry than over fed. I maintain my fish,. I do not provide a all you
can eat buffet. I just seemtothink that yur main problem after
reading these additonal posts is from feeding practices, which is easy
to do. So cut back on amount of food fed and the amount of times you
feed and see what happens. Odds are yu will see a difference.

Good that yur kits have not expired. There is a heap of places that
sell kits without any regard to shelf life date. Usually they still
check good, but there is always that rare occurance its not right.
On 14 Jan 2007 11:15:52 -0800, "JB" wrote:


JB wrote:
Tristan wrote:
The rotten egg smell is more than likely hydrogen sulphide which is a
build up of decaying matter in the gravel. It smells like rotten eggs.
Do you give your gravel a routine vac cleaning?

Amquel Plus other than doing what Amquel does also locks up those
nitrates and nitrites, and makes them safe, but they will still show
them as present on a test. A water change wil dilute that reading, and
after 2 or three changes with proper feeding routine and vac of gravel
they all should be within limits.



I did a 100% Water change just over a week ago, and when I did, I
rinsed off my gravel thoroughly, and all my plants, and cleaned out my
filter housing & changed my filter, plus removed a ton of algae from my
tank just over a week ago...

I added Cycle to my tank to get the beneficial bacteria going, and am
due for more soon.. So should I do as the previous poster suggested
and change 75% of my water even though I just changed and cleaned
everything just over a week ago??


PS...... I just purchased my test kit about 2 weeks ago, and they do
not expire until 2008.. Also
I feed my fish 2x a day, sometimes 3x a day as suggested by PetCo..



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

THose are not dust balls. Its uneated food particles that have started
ot grow fungus from becoming rotted and spoiled. This even further
demonstrates to much food too often is the cause of your high a/n/n
levels
Syphon those fugal critters out .....and like I posted before refrain
from feeding any today or even two or three days from now. Those fish
are not going to die from lack of food. May die form water parameters
being like they were or from acquiring a fungal infection but not from
lack of food. Then start to fdeed reduced amount of food 1x a day
every other day and see how it goes. Then perhaps feed 2 times every
other day. Most fish do not require to be fed 3x a day every day. I
often let all of my fish both fresh and salt go unfed over weekends
if were away and it does them good. It gives them a chance to scour
out those particles of food that remain uneaten, and then do not get
turned into fungal balls. I feed my fish 1 x every couple of days or
so. Feed only what is actually seen to be consumed in 3 to 5 minutes
time.

Good luck..



On 14 Jan 2007 12:37:17 -0800, "JB" wrote:


Tristan wrote:
Until you get your water parameters under control you would be better
off not feeding as much. Cut it back to once a day or so every other
day. Those fish are ot goping to starve, and at the same time yur not
introducing more nutrients to decay and turn into nitrites and
ammonia. This period of time will help your bacteria catch up with any
accumulating levels in addition to water changes and you shoul dbe
able to get yur levels back under control. Its better to keep fish
hungry than over fed. I maintain my fish,. I do not provide a all you
can eat buffet. I just seemtothink that yur main problem after
reading these additonal posts is from feeding practices, which is easy
to do. So cut back on amount of food fed and the amount of times you
feed and see what happens. Odds are yu will see a difference.

Good that yur kits have not expired. There is a heap of places that
sell kits without any regard to shelf life date. Usually they still
check good, but there is always that rare occurance its not right.
On 14 Jan 2007 11:15:52 -0800, "JB" wrote:


JB wrote:
Tristan wrote:
The rotten egg smell is more than likely hydrogen sulphide which is a
build up of decaying matter in the gravel. It smells like rotten eggs.
Do you give your gravel a routine vac cleaning?

Amquel Plus other than doing what Amquel does also locks up those
nitrates and nitrites, and makes them safe, but they will still show
them as present on a test. A water change wil dilute that reading, and
after 2 or three changes with proper feeding routine and vac of gravel
they all should be within limits.



I did a 100% Water change just over a week ago, and when I did, I
rinsed off my gravel thoroughly, and all my plants, and cleaned out my
filter housing & changed my filter, plus removed a ton of algae from my
tank just over a week ago...

I added Cycle to my tank to get the beneficial bacteria going, and am
due for more soon.. So should I do as the previous poster suggested
and change 75% of my water even though I just changed and cleaned
everything just over a week ago??


PS...... I just purchased my test kit about 2 weeks ago, and they do
not expire until 2008.. Also
I feed my fish 2x a day, sometimes 3x a day as suggested by PetCo..



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!



I just did a 25% Water change, and while doing so I noticed my filter
was pretty dirty but not clogged, so changed that as well.. Now I've
noticed the I guess dust balls randonly in my tank that are wrapped
around bits of food... What should I do about that??.. I appreciate
all of your advice...



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!