nitrate and nitrite levels?

Question

i have a 30 gallon tank with a undergravel filter and a HOB filter for a 60 gallon tank. i have 4 small peacock bass in the tank (around 2 inches). i had the tank set up for about a week then dumped in some bio spira and the next day added 6 peacock bass. the tank has been up for a total of about three weeks now and i had no problems but last night i found 2 of them dead so i did a water test and my ammonia was at 0 but my nitrate and nitrite are off the charts any ideas?

the bio spira is supposed to cycle the tank immediatly and make it safe for fish according to the pet store.

its not 10 bass i should clearify i started off with 6 i am down to 4 now since 2 died. this is very temperary i have a 120 they will go in when they get a little bigger and eventually a 1000 gallon pond that i have in my dining room.

Answer 1

well, your tank is going through the cycling process, whereas you will see all the parameters spike
Your ammonia is already at 0, so it means you're almost there
nitrites get converted into nitrAtes
Do a partial waterchange of at least 50% if you have already 2 dead fish, they definately died from nitrite poisening
After that check your parameters every day, and do partial waterchanges as needed

In the end you're suppose to have 0 nitrites and ammonia, but NitrAtes below 20ppm




Hope that helps
Good luck


EB


Edit*
First of all, very interesting i get 3 thumbs down for giving for sure the right answer on this one

And your believe about Biospira cycling the tank right away, sorry but you're way off
yes, it's true it makes the water safe for fish, but your tank in a whole has to go through a cycling process which is called the nitrogen cycle
Your tank needs to grow good bacteria in your filter media to help your fish survive
If you want to understand it better, read the following site,it even has a graphic to explain it a bit better
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

And you said so yourself, your nitrites are off the chart, which means your fish died from nitrite poisening

Check your remaining fish if they have any visible red streaks

Answer 2

It seems as though your additions were too much at once and your bacteria now needs to catch up. You also relied on a bottled bacteria, which is never guaranteed to work - adding fish gradually still remains the safest and best alternative to stocking a tank.

For now you should do water changes to get your levels down, if your tank is cycled it will catch up quickly. If it was not cycled, you are better off getting actual live bacteria from another tank than using bottled stuff (perhaps the fish store can help you with this) - just put used gravel or filter media from anotehr tank into your own filter, making sure it stays wet from the time you get it to the time you do so.

I won't ask what you are doing with 10 peacock bass in a 30 gallon tank, but I sure hope it's very temporary.

*edit: Don't rely on what the fish store tells you. The employees are usualy not fish people, but rather just people trained to sell and answer basic questions with iffy answers. They recommend bottled bacteria because it costs you money, while giving you free bacteria from one of their tanks, while more dependable, wouldn't be profitable. Somebody who was looking out for you would have told you to add your new fish just a couple at a time with a few days or a week in between. They would also tell you that 3 weeks isn't enough to fully cycle a tank without help from added bacteria.
Do your own research and you'll go into the store knowing more than they do.

Answer 3

Tank is just sorting the "cycle" process out. Will be fine again soon just dont do any unnecessary water changes and dont add anymore fish, or over feed them


EDIT

The tank can never "Cycle" instantly as it is a build up of natural bacteria that:

Turns Ammonia > nitrite > nitrate > Algae/plant growth

Only ammonia and nitrite are harmful to your fish

Most pet shops will just sell you whatever they can. Its always best to ask on here or something first rather than go straight to a pet shop. Afteral, we dont make money from you :P

You should only do water changes and water tests every 2 weeks really. Water change at about 15% each time, anymore than this then you will probably loose too much bacteria and changing the water isnt that important if you have a good filter. It can go months without being changed and it will be fine as long as you are not overfeeding, overstocked and have a good filter.

Weekly gravel vacs are good as well, but take out the minimum amount of water that you can

Answer 4

What I have learned is that the bacteria lives on the sfilter media,and substrate,not on the water. Not doing warer changes in the presence of high nitrites is a death sentence. So yes do daily 50% water changes till nitrates are safe. Add prime at each change and adjust pH. Maintain constant water temp as you replace fresh water. By using a water change device like the no spill siphoning product makes the water change a near effortless project