ATM Colony question.

[1Clown]

I have a 55 litre tank.

Nitrates were 25 and nitrites 0.01, did a 50% water change, nitrates are now 5 and nitrites still 0.01 which is strange. Test kits used were Salifert.

Should I add some ATM colony to boost the bacteria in the tank to see if it'll help, if I do are there any side effects like a mini cycle or anything?

Thanks

 

[jeff williams]

I have a 55 litre tank.

Nitrates were 25 and nitrites 0.01, did a 50% water change, nitrates are now 5 and nitrites still 0.01 which is strange. Test kits used were Salifert.

Should I add some ATM colony to boost the bacteria in the tank to see if it'll help, if I do are there any side effects like a mini cycle or anything?

Thanks

Well colony won't help nitrate but .01 nitrite isn't anything to worry about. What's your ammonia reading and how old of a tank are we talking about?

 

[1Clown]

Well colony won't help nitrate but .01 nitrite isn't anything to worry about. What's your ammonia reading and how old of a tank are we talking about?

Don't have an ammonia test kit atm as last one expired. Tank is 6 months old now.

 

[ndrwater]

Just to be on the safe side, I would suggest getting an Ammonia test kit. At 6 months though, you should have an adequate colony of the beneficial bacteria to break down Ammonia and Nitrite. Nitrate is best handled with regular water changes using high quality salt and RODI water.
Adding additional bacterial cultures shouldn't be necessary at this point in the game.

 

[1Clown]

Just to be on the safe side, I would suggest getting an Ammonia test kit. At 6 months though, you should have an adequate colony of the beneficial bacteria to break down Ammonia and Nitrite. Nitrate is best handled with regular water changes using high quality salt and RODI water.
Adding additional bacterial cultures shouldn't be necessary at this point in the game.

I'll be ordering the ammonia test kit tonight, just to be safe though shall I just get the small colony bottle and dump it in? I believe it isn't harmful? My current water change schedule is 50% per week although I'd love to make that bi-weekly as it'll make my salt go twice as long saving me money but of course it all depends on my nitrate readings and what not. Salt I'm using is H2Ocean Pro+ and my RODI reading is 0 TDS.

 

[ndrwater]

I'll be ordering the ammonia test kit tonight, just to be safe though shall I just get the small colony bottle and dump it in? I believe it isn't harmful? My current water change schedule is 50% per week although I'd love to make that bi-weekly as it'll make my salt go twice as long saving me money but of course it all depends on my nitrate readings and what not. Salt I'm using is H2Ocean Pro+ and my RODI reading is 0 TDS.

You can add the bottle bacteria, but at this point more likely than not a waste of money, but definitely not harmful.
As far as water changes go, regular SMALLER water changes are better than irregular larger ones. Your tank is pretty small, so 4 litres +/- a week should be plenty. It seems you have gotten a handle on the Nitrates being relatively high, so regular SMALLER changes should be the thing to keep things nice and stable

 

[jeff williams]

You can add the bottle bacteria, but at this point more likely than not a waste of money, but definitely not harmful.
As far as water changes go, regular SMALLER water changes are better than irregular larger ones. Your tank is pretty small, so 4 litres +/- a week should be plenty. It seems you have gotten a handle on the Nitrates being relatively high, so regular SMALLER changes should be the thing to keep things nice and stable

+1 plus you didn't mention what the tank was stocked with but for fish don't get worried about nitrite the chloride in the salt water blocks the absorbsion by the fishes if your tank is over stocked or over fed this could cause the ammonia to spike resulting in a spike eventually in nitrite and nitrate. Imo I would get an ammonia kit and monitor it and nitrate if the ammonia is up add some colony and a few drops of prime for every gallon of water then do WC to regulate nitrate.

 

[Daniel Elwell]

Hi I have high ammonia and nitrites will adding atm colony bring my ammonia levels and nitrite levels to where they should be ?
Thanks Dan

 

[Daniel Elwell]

Hi I have ammonia and nitrite spikes in my new tank they are quite high will adding atm colony bring them down to the level they should be at
Then when they are at safe level add fish ?
Thanks Dan