# Cloudy Freshwater Tank???



## LOUIE ACES (Apr 14, 2009)

Hello everyone, I seem to have a reoccurring problem with changing the filter with my tank. My water will be crystal clear for months. I assume that I need to change the carbon insert in the filter since the instructions direct you to replace the carbon every month. But once I replace the carbon with a new one, my water gets all cloudy and muggy. It seems like a algae bloom maybe...??? I made sure to rinse the carbon before putting it in the filter.

Any suggestions besides using the water clarifier or that's the way to go?


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## mollies (Mar 27, 2009)

Yes leave your old filter media in the filter with the new one for a day, so it helps put the bac into the new media. It is normal to do that to the water when you change the media. it is a mine cycle. I do have a question do you clean the substrait at the same time you chand your media? If so that has a big part to do with it as your taken a lot of bac out of the tank. What is your schedul when you clean your tank.>>>(first week) I do 25 percent water change ( second week) 25 percent water change and sub vac the substrait ( third week) 25 percent water change ( forth week) 25 percent water change with the filter media.


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

when i change my media out i have the same issue but it usually clears up after a few hrs or so. mollies is correct in what he said, but i would like to add. the cloudieness could also be from debris that is caught in the filter being shaen loose when you take the media out and then it is then put into the water which would cause cloudy water. but then again we may be talking about two diffrent types of "cloudy" water. what i do to prevent this is just turn my filter off when i do the replacement and when the new media is in place turn the filter back on.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

LOUIE ACES said:


> Hello everyone, I seem to have a reoccurring problem with changing the filter with my tank. My water will be crystal clear for months. I assume that I need to change the carbon insert in the filter since the instructions direct you to replace the carbon every month. But once I replace the carbon with a new one, my water gets all cloudy and muggy. It seems like a algae bloom maybe...??? I made sure to rinse the carbon before putting it in the filter.
> 
> Any suggestions besides using the water clarifier or that's the way to go?


Good advice from prevous responders. But on your last question, don't use chemicals to "clear" the water. These stress out some fish terribly. Always find the source of the problem and deal with it, as in this case nothing to worry about and some suggestions to prevent it next time. Stay away from chemicals. The fish have to stay in the water no matter what you put in it; they can't escape. And these things do stress them. Same applies to any "stuff," proper tank maintenance is the best preventative and cure.

Byron.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

What kind of filter is it? I see in your aquariums tab you have 2 tanks. Which tank is it? Do you have a test kit that you can test for ammonia and nitrite when this happens? If it's a filter with just a carbon cartridge than you are throwing out the majority of your beneficial bacteria when you change it out. Instead cut a slit in it and dump out the carbon. Put in a new cartridge but leave the old "floss" in as well so it can seed the new cartridge. I actually don't run carbon unless I need to remove meds.


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## JohnnyD44 (Dec 5, 2008)

thats what I was thinking....I thought carbon was used to remove medication after you treat for disease. What kind of filter are you running? There's no need to "change" out the filter media that much at all...you can use the filter floss which jeaninel was referring to. You can simply swish that stuff around in some water from your pwc....

I agree with money...when i do my pwc, the water is usualy cloudy for....maybe an hour or so, after that it clears right up and return to normal.....


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## LOUIE ACES (Apr 14, 2009)

wow i never thought of leaving the old one in with the new one. this time i didnt vac the gravel when i changed the carbon. but like a week later when i realized how cloudy the water was, i checked all the levels and the nitrates were getting high, not dangerously, but thats when i decided to do a 30% water change. its been 2 days and no improvement on the clarity of the water. 

i usually do a water change with a vac of the gravel every week and a half to 2 weeks. i had perfect balances in my water quality with my old media with that schedule and didnt even think i needed to change the carbon but it was like 2 months that i had it in there and figured i might as well replace it before i was too late.

right now i have a aquaclear 110 running on my 75 gallon tank. i want to stay away from using chemicals. ive tried using the water clarifier and it didnt even work that well. should i do another water change? ive already thrown the old carbon insert away. am i going to lose my fish???


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

sounds like you sent the tank into a cycle. during the cycle it is common for the water to become cloudy i know mine did for a while when it cycled. cant tell you exactly why it happens all i know is that its common for this to happen hopefully someone can iterate more on this for ya.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Well, in an Aquaclear 110 filter there should be no problem changing the carbon insert because there should be a sponge on the bottom for mechanical cleaning, then the carbon insert (if you want to use it), then Biomax on top for your biological filter. Is that what you have in your Aquaclear? The Biomax (ceramic bead shaped things in a mesh bag) you shouldn't have to touch. That is where your bacteria will colonize. The sponge can be rinsed out in used tank water and the carbon insert would be optional if you want to use it.


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## LOUIE ACES (Apr 14, 2009)

yeah jeaninel thats the set up i have right now. so far its been almost a week since my last water change and i've also used the water clarifier twice and conditions are the same. i'm not sure how long its supposed to take for this water to clear up but it's not getting any better. all my fish seem to be doing fine though...active and full of life. i'm going to try to do another gravel vac with a water change either today or tomorrow. hopefully this will help


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## LOUIE ACES (Apr 14, 2009)

ok i did my water change with a gravel vac this weekend...had great results. i can see through the tank now. hopefully the bloom doesnt come back. i also shortened the amount of time the lights are on during the day to about 8 hours. i didnt want to bc then i cant see my fish as much. i also bought an amazon plant to control the water quality and increase the amount of oxygen in the water. hopefully the tank remains clean and stable.


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## shaynaglover (Oct 28, 2009)

*Cloudy freshwater tank... Need help please!*

Hi, I have had a 60 gallon tank now for about three months... I have about 13 guppies, five mollies, two algae eaters and four bottom feeders in it. It seems that my water is always merky and cloudy. Sometimes it gets to the point where I can hardly see into the tank. I have done water changes. I have cleaned the filters and yet the water still stays cloudy. I have used that water clearer crap and it does not work(I have just read from another poster that it is not good for your fish so I will stop using it) I just dont know what to do anymore. I know it's bad to do this but I did a complete water change about a month ago and the water stayed clear for about a day an then went back to cloudy. What can I do to find out why my water is soo cloudy? All my levels are fine and the temp is kept at 81 degrees. Could it be the temp of the water? I am kind of new to this whole situation but I am just becoming more and more frustrated because nothing is working! Please someone help me before I rip my hair out!


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

shaynaglover said:


> Hi, I have had a 60 gallon tank now for about three months... I have about 13 guppies, five mollies, two algae eaters and four bottom feeders in it. It seems that my water is always merky and cloudy. Sometimes it gets to the point where I can hardly see into the tank. I have done water changes. I have cleaned the filters and yet the water still stays cloudy. I have used that water clearer crap and it does not work(I have just read from another poster that it is not good for your fish so I will stop using it) I just dont know what to do anymore. I know it's bad to do this but I did a complete water change about a month ago and the water stayed clear for about a day an then went back to cloudy. What can I do to find out why my water is soo cloudy? All my levels are fine and the temp is kept at 81 degrees. Could it be the temp of the water? I am kind of new to this whole situation but I am just becoming more and more frustrated because nothing is working! Please someone help me before I rip my hair out!


I can't give the ultimate solution, but I can offer suggestions to hopefully get us there. I would lower the temperature (not suggesting this is the problem by any means), 81F is high and the fish you list will do well a bit lower, say 78F. Partial water changes, even if most all of the water, are not bad, they are good. The nitrification bacteria colonize hard surfaces in the aquarium--grains of gravel/sand, plant leaves, wood, rocks, tank walls, and obviously the filter media and tubing, etc. Changing the water will not disturb the bacteria. What water conditioner do you use?

You're right to not use the so-called "clarification" chemicals. The work by binding the suspended particulate matter which usually "clears" the water because the filter then traps them, but the chemicals also bind the gills of the fish. Years ago I used one of these in a problem tank; the fish all swam to the opposite end within seconds, and I did a significant partial water change or I might have lost them. I have learned and changed my views considerably since then.

Can you post the test results of your water parameters? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and hardness (GH) if you know them. Also, which test kit (and liquid or test strips)? We may get a clue from the numbers.

Are there any live plants in the tank, and if yes, are there lots or just one or two?

Are any other chemicals or "tonics" aside from the water conditioner being put in the tank, and if so, for what reason?

Last question, when you clean the filters, what do you do? Rinse the media or replace it, same with the pads, in tap water or tank water, etc. And what media is in the filter (carbon, pad, biomax...)?

With this info I or others should have some suggestions.

Byron.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Some good info from Byron. A few more questions that may help us. Do you have any driftwood in the tank? What type of filtration are your using? What color is the water? Is it greenish or tea colored or milky white? (it's sometimes easier to tell the color of the water after you've drained some water into a bucket during a water change) If you have new driftwood it will leech tannins into the water and turn it a tea color. Green water suggests an algae bloom and milky white suggests a bacterial bloom. Answer these and Byrons questions and we will try to figure out what's going on.


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## LOUIE ACES (Apr 14, 2009)

i agree with byron and jean...the temp is def too high. how often are you doing your water changes? once a week? 2 weeks? month? more? are you vac'ing the gravel when u do? and do you have enough gravel to have a sufficient amount of beneficial bacteria build up in the tank? also i found out that i had the lights on too long possibly causing my algae bloom so maybe u have ur lights on too much?


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## shaynaglover (Oct 28, 2009)

Wow! Thanks for all the great replies! Well ok so I now know to turn my temp down. I was told to keep it at 81 by a friend so my guppies would start dropping fry but really Im stupid because I know guppies can drop fry in colder temps lmao...
This is a list of the stuff I have put in my tank
- Nutrafin waste control (don't really know if it works there really has not been a big enough change for me to notice)
- Multi- Purpose Aquarium Water Conditioner (Big Al's brand) I only put this in when I am doing water changes. 
- Stress Coat (I put this in a couple times when I thought my fish were acting a bit funny. I also put it in when I have done recent changes because I have run out of the multi purpose stuff.
- Crystal Clear (does not work so dont even try it lmao)
- Parasite Clear (but ran out)
- Lifeguard all in one treatment to replace
I know this may be a little weird but I don't ever want my fish to get sick so I do a treatment of one of these two products atleast once every week or two. Specially if I put new fish in. I have to run to Big Als soon because I just tested my water and the levels are out of wack. Which they were not two or three days ago. My ammonia is high and both my nitrates and nitrites are high :S Ahhhhh lmao I don't want anything to happen to my fish! I turned the temp down in my tank as well. I will answer the rest of your questions when I get back from Big Als... Sorry guys!


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

shaynaglover said:


> Wow! Thanks for all the great replies! Well ok so I now know to turn my temp down. I was told to keep it at 81 by a friend so my guppies would start dropping fry but really Im stupid because I know guppies can drop fry in colder temps lmao...
> This is a list of the stuff I have put in my tank
> - Nutrafin waste control (don't really know if it works there really has not been a big enough change for me to notice)
> - Multi- Purpose Aquarium Water Conditioner (Big Al's brand) I only put this in when I am doing water changes.
> ...


Not sure where to begin--put blunty, your good intentions in preventing the "problems" are in fact doing far more harm than the problems themselves would if they existed.

*Nothing in the way of chemicals should ever be added to an aquarium containing fish unless it is absolutely necessary.* Using a good water conditioner is essential to detoxify chlorine, chloramine, heavy metals and ammonia if these exist in the tap water (they often/usually do). But don't add medications for diseases that are not even present, it will not prevent them. These chemicals stress out the fish to varying degrees depending upon what they are, and that in turn makes the fish more susceptible to disease and parasites because stress weakens the immune system by causing the fish to work harder against the stress and less doing what it otherwise would. Hope that makes sense.

Nutrafin Waste Control is totally unnecessary. The normal bilogical and bacterial processes in an aquarium handle the "waste" along with the weekly partial water change. This chemical actually causes ammonia to rise, and your bacteria need time to multiply to handle it, so it is counter-productive. There are probably other side effects I'm not sure of. And "waste" will not be a problem unless you overfeed, overstock, or fish/plants die and are not removed.

Stress Coat is unnecessary; the water conditioner will work fine,use it every pwc. The fish are acting "funny" because of all the stuff they are being subjected to, esp the Crystal Clear stuff as I've previously explained.

Parasite Clear will do nothing good when there is not an obvious parasite infestation, but it does harm by subjecting the fish to another chemical that further stresses them out. Don't buy any more.

Lifeguard is another medication that should not be used without good reason, and even then there may be better alternatives.

The fish are confined to the aquarium, and every chemical substance that you put into the tank is going to have an impact on them. The less the better they will be, less stress means better health. Think of it as you being shut in a small room, and someone keeps pumping gasses into the room; you can't escape, it weakens you, and eventually you will be severely harmed if not killed.

Byron.


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## shaynaglover (Oct 28, 2009)

Thanks for the great info.... I actually thought I was doing a good thing in trying to keep my fish healthy but what you have explained makes sense and I will discontinue anything that I put in my tank unless it is absolutely necessary. I have come to the conclusion that I am over feeding my fish so I definitely have to watch that. My fish are still happily swimming and playing around in my fish tank, they are showing no signs of stress or anything, but my nitrite, nitrate and ammonia levels are high.... I am going to be doing a partial water change in a couple minutes and I am going to vaccum the gravel. Hopefully my levels will go back to normal after that but I will keep you posted. I just dont like sitting at my fish tank and not being able to see in because it is sooo cloudy  Anywho thanks for the great info I will keep you posted... 

Answers to last repliers
- my water does look like a cross between greenish and milky
- I do leave the lights on too long so I have limited the time I keep it on
- I do not use driftwood in the tank
- I have all fake plants 
- I have two filters I actually dont know what kind they are due to me buying it from someone else not brand new. 
-


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

shaynaglover said:


> Thanks for the great info.... I actually thought I was doing a good thing in trying to keep my fish healthy but what you have explained makes sense and I will discontinue anything that I put in my tank unless it is absolutely necessary. I have come to the conclusion that I am over feeding my fish so I definitely have to watch that. My fish are still happily swimming and playing around in my fish tank, they are showing no signs of stress or anything, but my nitrite, nitrate and ammonia levels are high.... I am going to be doing a partial water change in a couple minutes and I am going to vaccum the gravel. Hopefully my levels will go back to normal after that but I will keep you posted. I just dont like sitting at my fish tank and not being able to see in because it is sooo cloudy  Anywho thanks for the great info I will keep you posted...
> 
> Answers to last repliers
> - my water does look like a cross between greenish and milky
> ...


You're welcome. Let's see if we can resolve this for you.

Your tank after three months should be cycled. The high ammonia and nitrite readings probably result from all the disturbance due to the chemical additives. Stopping them and doing a significant pwc will help start the restoration. You haven't said the exact numbers, I'd like to know the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Nitrate is not important, but it should be less than 40ppm, preferable at 20ppm or less, once things are settled. The ammonia and nitrite are more critical.

Do the pwc, and vacuum of the gravel; the good bacteria colonize the gravel, so you don't want to disturb them, but if there is an excess of mulm and detrius you should get rid of it to help clear the water. Rinse the filter pad--you probably have a white pad in the filter? It traps the suspended particles and can be rinsed in water taken from the tank in a bucket.

I've had new tanks remain unclear for weeks, others clear within a day or two and stay. Different biological/bacterial things I suppose. But clear it will with time and good maintainance. Let us have the readings when you've time, and good luck. You're now on the right track.

Byron.


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## shaynaglover (Oct 28, 2009)

Hey, 

Thanks again! I did a pwc and vaccumed the gravel which took a lot of uneaten food and stuff out of it... Which in turn the water was still cloudy... When I checked my levels they were really high (I can't remember what they were) when I went to Big Als I asked the person there what I should do about my Nitrates and Nitrites being hight and they gave me nitr zorb. I put the nitro zorb in and did the partial water change and the vaccuming of the gravel and the tank cleared up mostly. But not all the way. So I just did a second testing and my levels are still high. 
Ammonia: 4.0
Nitrate: 80
Nitrite: 1.0
The levels are really scaring me although my fish are not acting weird or anything. They are swimming around happy and chasing each other as if there were nothing wrong. The water is clearing but my levels are still high. Could it be giving me false readings? I am using the water solution test kit not test strips so I thought it would be a little more better... PLEASE HELP! I dont want to lose any of my fish. And also a good sign my guppies are still dropping fry as we speak so the water condition should be good a little bit I would think lmao....


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## LOUIE ACES (Apr 14, 2009)

holy crap those are some high readings! one thing u wanna make sure u do if u learn anything from reading some of the things we write, ESPECIALLY BYRON CUZ HE'S A GENIUS AND HELPED ME OUT TREMENDOUSLY, is not to listen to the people in the pet stores when they tell u what u need to put in ur tank! they will always tell u to put a million different things cuz they wanna make a sale. and when u say u were told not to use something or u tried it and it didnt work, they'll refer u to a different chemical. always refer to a site like this with real people not looking to make a buck.

i would say ur gonna lose a few fish with readings like that unfortunately. it happened to me. u just gotta replenish ur livestock. if u dont lose any, ur a lucky lucky individual! just keep a close eye and keep it clean naturally...good luck!


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

shaynaglover said:


> Hey,
> 
> Thanks again! I did a pwc and vaccumed the gravel which took a lot of uneaten food and stuff out of it... Which in turn the water was still cloudy... When I checked my levels they were really high (I can't remember what they were) when I went to Big Als I asked the person there what I should do about my Nitrates and Nitrites being hight and they gave me nitr zorb. I put the nitro zorb in and did the partial water change and the vaccuming of the gravel and the tank cleared up mostly. But not all the way. So I just did a second testing and my levels are still high.
> Ammonia: 4.0
> ...


If your water conditioner detoxifies ammonia, it probably does so by converting ammonia to ammonium which is basically harmless, so the fish will be OK even though the ammonia reading is high (and 4 is very very high) but we are working to get it down. Nitrite at 1 is also very dangerous, but partial water changes of 50% every deay using the water conditioner will help with this. 

If you mean Nitra-Zorb, that is a filter media made by API and is OK to use in your circumstances. It supposedly removes ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. I haven't looked into how it does this, but in the filter in this instance I would use it.

The cloudiness will likely be gone when the nitrification cycle is established and the biological equilibrium settled in the aquarium. Continue with daily pwc, and keep us posted of results.

Byron.


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## shaynaglover (Oct 28, 2009)

Hey, So I havent lost any fish yet( Thank God) I had to work today so I got my dad to keep checking in on them. My tank was somewhat clearing up last night when I went to bed I could actually see inside. I woke up this morning to an extremely cloudy tank again  That is the reason for me asking my dad to keep checking on them. I came home from work to find both my filters not working.... My parents are doing renovations in the house and shut the power off which in turn my dad did not go prime my filters again so I have no idea how long they had been not working for. Grrr.... So my tank is still cloudy. I did another level check and all my levels have gone down but they are still high. 
Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrate: 20
Nitrite:1.0
I have no idea what else I can do I will try another pwc. My dad wants me to go to Big Als and ask them but I don't want to have more chemicals shoved in my face. Please help lmao! Plus last night with my levels so high my guppies were still giving birth so could that be a good sign? Like could my testing be wrong? Anywho look forward to hearing from you and thanks for all your help!


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

shaynaglover said:


> Hey, So I havent lost any fish yet( Thank God) I had to work today so I got my dad to keep checking in on them. My tank was somewhat clearing up last night when I went to bed I could actually see inside. I woke up this morning to an extremely cloudy tank again  That is the reason for me asking my dad to keep checking on them. I came home from work to find both my filters not working.... My parents are doing renovations in the house and shut the power off which in turn my dad did not go prime my filters again so I have no idea how long they had been not working for. Grrr.... So my tank is still cloudy. I did another level check and all my levels have gone down but they are still high.
> Ammonia: 0.5
> Nitrate: 20
> Nitrite:1.0
> I have no idea what else I can do I will try another pwc. My dad wants me to go to Big Als and ask them but I don't want to have more chemicals shoved in my face. Please help lmao! Plus last night with my levels so high my guppies were still giving birth so could that be a good sign? Like could my testing be wrong? Anywho look forward to hearing from you and thanks for all your help!


I recommend continuing as you have been; daily pwc, no chemicals other than water conditioner. Having the filters off all day is a minor setback to rectifying things, but move forward now. Good luck.

Byron.


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## shaynaglover (Oct 28, 2009)

Still cloudy  My levels have gone down once again... 
Ammonia: between 0 and 0.25 (there was a little tinge of green in the yellow)
Nitrate: 10
Nitrite 1.0
The levels are the only thing that seems to be getting better. I went to Big Als last night and talked to a lady there who deals with the fish only.... she reccomended that I get filter floss and if it does not clear up within a couple days then I am to bring a sample of my water in. She said that my water could be cloudy because I changed the media within the last couple of weeks, the pwcs, and because I vaccumed the gravel.... So I have no idea what to do next... Im getting frustrated.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

This takes time, you have to be patient. Jumping in with some different "remedy" whatever it may be every day is not the way to go. We've set you on the correct path, please just follow. The cloudiness itself may be unsightly but it is the reason behind it that we have to fix, then it will go away. And the high levels of toxins is far more serious that cloudy water, and may be the cause or related to it. Continue with the pwc's and tests daily.

Byron.


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## shaynaglover (Oct 28, 2009)

As you can see Im not a very patient person lmao. And waiting for replies on a post is not one of my favourite things to do. lmao.... I like info right at that moment that is why I went to Big Als. But this forum is a wealth of information and has a lot of great people who know what they are doing therefore I stick with it. I have learned a great deal from the posts on this forum and for that I thank you. My levels are still dropping but the water is not clearing I am going to continue to do pwcs daily and I will keep you posted.... Im hoping to have my levels back to normal within a couple of days the only one that is not budging is my Nitrites and I dont know how I can bring those down. Anywho I am going to bed cause I have to work tomorrow morning so I will post tomorrow with the levels again.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Patience grasshopper!! LOL I know how cycling can be frustrating waiting for levels to get to 0. But they will get there. Nitrites seem to take forever. All that testing and water changing every day then suddenly one day...Boom...ammonia and nitrites will be 0. You'll get there. Just need to be patient and keep doing what you're doing.


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