Nitrite Issue

Nano Tank Update! 🐠🪸

After the last round of Salifert tests showed the alkalinity had dropped and the calcium had dropped. We decided that it was a good time to do our first water change to try bring it up! We did approximately a 20% water change, maybe 16l all up, and left it for 5 days before retesting.

Results are in! Alkalinity is up, Calcium is up, Nitrate is down, and Nitrite is gone! Pretty stoked with how it’s going, can’t wait for fish! 🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠

🌊🐠 New little king settling into his kingdom 👑

A week ago he was hiding in the corner… now he’s exploring the whole tank, playing with the sand, and already begging for food 😂

Still cycling the tank slowly and carefully:

✅ Ammonia: 0

✅ Nitrate: 5

⚠️ Nitrite still showing 0.25

Keeping things simple:

* natural sand setup

* driftwood & stone

* pothos roots

* low stress environment

Thinking maybe 1–2 ghost shrimp soon for enrichment 🦐

It’s honestly amazing watching a tiny Flowerhorn slowly gain confidence and personality day by day. 🌱🐠

Cycling my new tank - I find the waiting the hardest. Nitrites are 0,5ppm and Nitrates are 5ppm.

I still need to get my lights and I’m having a hard time deciding.

Day #7 🐠🔥

Unexpected update… the Flowerhorn is arriving EARLIER than expected tomorrow 😅📦🐟

The tank is still in the middle of the nitrogen cycle, but we’re seeing solid progress every day 👨🏻‍🔬

Current parameters:

• Ammonia: ~0.25 ppm

• Nitrite: ~1.0–2.0 ppm

• Nitrate: 5–10+ ppm

• pH: 7.6

✅ Crystal clear water

✅ Nitrites processing

✅ Nitrates increasing

✅ Heavy aeration & filtration running 24/7

✅ Pothos added for natural nitrate absorption 🌱

✅ Beneficial bacteria growing fast

At this point the tank is officially alive — now waiting for the nitrite spike to crash before full stabilization 💪

The Flowerhorn lands tomorrow morning before noon 👑🐠

So now it’s crunch time 😅

Day #6 🐠🔥

The Flowerhorn tank is officially entering the nitrite spike phase of the nitrogen cycle 🔬

Current parameters:

• Ammonia: 0.25 ppm

• Nitrite: 1.0 ppm

• Nitrate: 0.50+ ppm

• pH: 7.6

Good signs:

✅ Beneficial bacteria growing

✅ Ammonia dropping

✅ Nitrates appearing

✅ Crystal clear water

✅ Heavy filtration & oxygenation running 24/7

Now we wait for the nitrites to fall and the ecosystem to stabilize before the Flowerhorn arrives 👑🐟

Slow process… but worth doing right 💯

#Flowerhorn #Aquarium #FishTank #NitrogenCycle #Aquascape #Cichlid #Fishkeeping #MonsterFish

My first set up newbie…. Currently finishing up the cycling process

pH: 8.0–8.2

Ammonia: 0 ppm

Nitrite: 0–0.25 ppm

Nitrate: 0–5 ppm

Week 5 and 6! I have definitely learned a lot the last 2 weeks with the help of some amazing experts in the field. They were hard to find as not a lot of people that are sellers take marine husbandry serious. My parameters were stalling and the advice to add more of the RIGHT bio media and some more bacteria saw my nitrites drop within 24 hours finishing my cycle. Some more water changes to come before fish but my first corals are in deviating from the original two planned to allow some learning. Mushrooms allowed me to learn corals opening and closing, rocks and frag plugs and what glue works and doesn’t; which corals can be glued to frags and which can’t and a whole lot of trial and error before getting things right.

Finally, the nitrite levels dropped to zero, and at last the first fish arrived!

newest addition to the tank.

firefish gobby.

levels are staying 0 for NH3 and NO2

also 2 emerald crabs.

Week 3 and 4! Diatoms everywhere! Massive KH drop forcing a mid cycle water change. Understanding KH and the role of KH/PH in cycling was a massive learning curve for me! Hopefully nitrites continue to drop to 0! Ammonia at 0! Should be cycled in a week or so!

Did another water change to bring nitrite to 0 Zoey is happy

Everyone have a great week and keep reefing

Water change Saturdays soon looking to add some colorful corals but my nitrite crept back in I think to much food for Zoey