I have a 55 gallon freshwater aquarium with african cichlids. I am having a problem with nitrates and nitrites that are off every known scale. I have contacted my local dealer and he does not know what to do so he suggested I contact you. There is no ammonia in the water but as I said the nitrates and nitrates are through the roof. My fish seem to be tolerating it okay at this point but I am certainly worried about a massive fish kill if this continues. This has been going on for at least 3 weeks and is getting progressively worse. Any suggestions?
Tech Support CH
05-04-2006, 13:58
High levels of nitrites can actually prevent the bacteria that consume them from growing. I would suggest several large water changes to bring the level down. Nitrites are the biggest killer in freshwater. Once the levels are down you will want to add some Stability to speed up the bacteria growth that consumes nitrite. During this time I would also recommend only feeding your fish once every other day. This will slow the production of waste down.
You may want to have your water source (tap, RO, DI) tested to see if it has any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate. This could be the cause of your problems.
For your Nitrate problem you may want to read through this thread: http://www.seachem.com/support/forums/showthread.php?t=123&highlight=de%2Anitrate
If you have any further questions please let me know.