Nitrite levels high..

Neutron

So my tank is cycling with 3 platies and 2 panda cories.
I tested the water today and ammonia was 0.3, nitrite 0.4 and nitrate 5 ppm.
I changed about 30% of the water and the nitrites only dropped to just below 0.3.
I was reading about adding aquarium salt to help with nitrite toxicity and am wondering if this would do more harm than good with the panda cories.

DKRST

Just an initial suggestion, others here probably will contribute soon.
Do you have any Prime? That's a great water conditioner and in an emergency, can help detoxify nitrates and nitrites. Test your tapwater, it could have high nitrites. If so, you may need to use bottled (distilled or RO) water.

LOTO Dave

I used Prime a lot to get through the cycle in my tank. Works wonders, daily water changes also help.
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Neutron

Yes I use Prime. I read the bottle and it said how to detoxifies nitrite. Do you add the 5X dose directly to the aquarium? I find the instructions a bit confusing.

I have been doing water changes often but the levels are still high. I tested my tap water and it has no nitrites or ammonia.

Byron

Prime is a water conditioner so it shuld only be used with a water change, in an amount appropriate for the volume of water being added. It should not be just added to a tank solely to handle nitrite or nitrate.

A partial water change of 50% daily if nitrite is above .25 using Prime as above is sufficient. Prime detoxifies for 24-36 hours, so if nitrite is above .25 the following day, do another 50% water change.

Adding some live plants would significantly help the cycle. Especially fast growing ones like stem plants, allowed to float will work.

Byron.

Neutron

Okay, I have 3 live plants in the tank.

I will keep doing water changes whenever the nitrites are too high. Thats probably the best way instead of trying to mess around with Prime..

Thanks!