Nitrites too high!

[Louis Charles Bruckner]

what kind of filter do you have?

if you don't have any kind of substrate there is no where for the helpful bacteria to grow and break down the frogs wastes.
other than the filter media.
99% of the bacteria lives in the substrate.

[elliotulysses]

what kind of filter do you have?

if you don't have any kind of substrate there is no where for the helpful bacteria to grow and break down the frogs wastes.
other than the filter media.
99% of the bacteria lives in the substrate.

I have a tetra whisper ex20. I mean, there is a fair amount of decor and some large river rocks, from what I understood, bacteria also like to attach themselves too.
However, I do plan to go with a bottom layer of organic soil and put 2-3 inches in of sand so I can get some plants growing. But sadly, this has to wait another paycheck

[carsona246]

Waterchanges do not "throw off" water chemistry. They limit the amount of nutrients the bacteria receive, but waterchanges should not harm beneficial bacteria, and do not cause high nitrite. You have too much nitrite because you do not have enough bb to convert nitrite into nitrate. I would do waterchanges until the nitrite is at a safe level. Make sure your temperature is the same when doing waterchanges, and everything should be fine.
Doing waterchanges weekly will speed up cycling slightly, but it will also subject your frogs to ammonia/nitrite poisoning, which depending on the levels of ammonia/nitrite may not be significant enough to worry about.
I agree with Michael about throwing in chemicals into that tank. Many products can actually harm your water instead of improve it, especially if you don't know what they actually do.

[elliotulysses]

Waterchanges do not "throw off" water chemistry. They limit the amount of nutrients the bacteria receive, but waterchanges should not harm beneficial bacteria, and do not cause high nitrite. You have too much nitrite because you do not have enough bb to convert nitrite into nitrate. I would do waterchanges until the nitrite is at a safe level. Make sure your temperature is the same when doing waterchanges, and everything should be fine.
Doing waterchanges weekly will speed up cycling slightly, but it will also subject your frogs to ammonia/nitrite poisoning, which depending on the levels of ammonia/nitrite may not be significant enough to worry about.
I agree with Michael about throwing in chemicals into that tank. Many products can actually harm your water instead of improve it, especially if you don't know what they actually do.

Yeah, he suggests doing a weekly change. Mine should be within a few days. Right now the nitrites are high, but not dangerously high. And, as suggested, I dosed the tank with the proper amount of Seachem Prime to detoxify the nitrites and give them some suitable water.

However, do you think the problem is a lack of substrate? I've heard of people using a bare bottom tank for their frogs and it working just fine.
If not I'll probably do my best to rearrange some tank things. I want to grow some plants, so maybe this could be a sign to go ahead and get the right substrates. :O