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- Sep 25, 2018
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because it has been about 14 days, and nitrite level is always above 5ppm, even water change is useless. i think my Nitrobacter bacteria doesnt work, if i can try another bottled bacteria?You have two different colonies of bacteria growing in your tank. Nitrosomonas, which oxidizes ammonia into nitrite, and Nitrobacter that oxidizes nitrite into nitrate. When both colonies are growing at the same time, nitrite levels can seem to remain constant. This is due to nitrosomonas bacteria increasing the nitrite level, while at the same time, nitrobacter bacteria are reducing it. In time, the nitrosomonas bacteria will run out of ammonia, and stop, or drastically reduce, the amount of nitrite they produce. At that point, you will begin to see a drop in nitrite levels, as nitrobacter keep doing their job, reproducing, and reducing nitrite levels. When you can no longer get a reading for nitrite, it will be safe to slowly start stocking the tank.
Peace
EC