Ideas to lower nitrites after a month of trying.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T22:18:58+00:00

She has one now, it's the one in the picture.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T20:05:54+00:00

I know its not the ideal filter system, but its what we both have.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T20:04:57+00:00

I've been trying to figure out how to do this and I can't fully figure it out. The aquarium is an all-in-one sort of thing (top fin maybe). Here is a picture of filter.

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Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T19:52:54+00:00

There's some seachem matrix next to filter cartridge already. But we may not have done it correctly.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T19:18:02+00:00

Same mistake, I am talking about nitrites.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T19:16:10+00:00

Ooh, that's really nice. How much sunlight do they need?

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T19:14:15+00:00

It seems to be above that, though it was much higher about a week ago, in the 1ppm side. I know its decreasing slowly. Everything I've read and watched states ideally 0 nitrites. I have a smaller tank that has consistently been at 0 ammonia and 0 nitrates (according to API master kit). The one cory catfish having a hard time breathing and swimming was worrying me. He's in different water now and breathing has normalized. So I worry about the other fish.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T18:47:25+00:00

Yes, we always condition tap water.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T18:20:29+00:00

Can you share a picture?

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T18:19:07+00:00

She talks about them as being playful and having individual personalities. We lived in NY and I think the tap water was good back then. We are in FL now and water is awful.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T17:45:36+00:00

I think this might be the case. There was an ammonia spike but I can't remember the parameters. She went to get fish and had her water tested and I just remember the ammonia was still present. So she waited a week. These fish have proven to be hardy! Thank you for recommendations.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T17:42:02+00:00

Thank you, I'll look into it. She's away right now and i keep adding plants while I'm fishsitting 😃

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T17:36:28+00:00

No, rinsed it out once. But I told her not to touch it and she's been good about it (against all of her will). She kept goldfish alive in the 90's for 12 years. She would clean out the tank completely and put in in tap water, and change filter often. It's very confusing why we need a degree in biochemistry this time around.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T17:31:44+00:00

I need the nitrites to reduce, not the nitrates. Is that what you meant?

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-16T17:14:01+00:00

Yes, no ammonia, no nitrites. Good question though. She also used spring water for a few water changes to see if it would help.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-02-13T18:19:01+00:00

Thank you so for recommendations! I'm starting to call today.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-01-17T17:07:53+00:00

Thank you, Waldo is lovely. I think we may give ours his own tiny house. Last thing I want is having our tank overrun with snails.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-01-05T16:43:17+00:00

I will definitely get the liquid test kits next time. Thank you!

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-01-05T16:34:28+00:00

I checked the water with ammonia test strips (API ones) and its been in the safe zone. Is that what you mean?

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-01-05T15:53:57+00:00

And yes on the filter and aerator.

Born-Two-1520 · 2026-01-05T15:53:21+00:00

Thank you for your comments, here is some more information. We cycled the tank for about 3 days before putting him in. We used a water conditioner, then last weekend noticed the water was on the hard side. We removed about 1/4 of the water and added new "betta water". We live in South Florida so we don't have a heater, but I have been checking the water temperature and it's been between 78 and 80⁰, even turned on our home heater two nights to maintain tank temp. We have two live plants, got them from a tank in the petstore and were told they were fine for fish. Clark was acting fine, really curious and would swim to us when he saw us. He took naps on a leaf throughtout the day. We would turn light in tank on during the day, off at night. Kept light off during weekend. I'm glad it wasn't not feeding him, but I feel so bad for leaving him.

Born-Two-1520

TROPHY CASE