Lost three fish in the past week with the biggest one in the tank (4") today. Have been checking the water every few days and since Xmas I have gone from zero ammonia to 2.4 and back to 0 - 0.1 today, nitrites from zero to an explosive 3 or close to it today and nitrate from zero to 50 ppm. The high nitrites is kind of through ink me for a loop since I went from 1.2 to 3 within five days
I have gone through two 15% water changes in the past two days and will check levels again in the AM.
I know the higher ph can be an issue getting the system to cycle but I have now seen the level drop from 7.8-8 down to 7.5 which is at least on the right track. I added some bacteria two days ago and will have to add some more I think but with possibly more water changes and wondering if I should wait.
At this point I am pretty confident the the high nitrite levels are what did the fish in but anyone have any other thoughts?