Help! Nitrate 160 ppm!

[Byron]

Really what about the benfical bacteria, I worried to loose so much of it

Bacteria lives on surfaces, not in the water. And it is sticky and adheres to the biofilm which forms on every surface under water. It is not easy to dislodge it, you would need to scrape or scrub it vigorously. Water changes even with cleaning into the substrate will not dislodge it.

 

[Aquarist2020]

High nitrate is not something that will quickly affect your fish like ammonia or nitrite. But it will severly cut their lifespan and make them more susceptable to disease and parasites if they are added to the tank by new fish, plants etc.

Have you tested your tap water for nitrate? I get 30ppm nitrate out of my tap so I am creating a heavily planted tank to help deal with that.

If the nitrate is purely building up in the tank this is often due to 3 reasons

1. Not enough water changes
2. Dirty filter
3. Dirty substrate

I dont think 3 gallons a week in a 30 gallon tank will cut it you would want to be doing between 10-15 gallons a week. It is also important to keep your substrate as much as possible and remove any organic waste that has built up - if you have any bottom dwellers this will help as they will make sure it breaks up and gets into the water column and sucked into your filter.

I think it would be worth cleaning your filter out (in a bucket of tank water) and checking it again.

Wills

My filter is quite dirty

 

[Aquarist2020]

With 30 gallons, you need to be changing at least 15 gallons every week.

Nitrate gets high when
the tank is overstocked
the fish are fed too much
water changes are not large enough or frequent enough.

Nitrate is made in the tank by the filter bacteria. if there are lot of fish creating a lot of ammonia, it will be turned into a lot of nitrate. Eben if you are not overstocked, if you feed the fish too much, the left over food will decompose to make nitrate.
The only way to remove nitrate is by water changes, so not enough or not big enough leaves a lot still in the water so it builds up.

You need to get the nitrate down, and water changes are the main way of doing this. A 75% water change should reduce it but you'll need to more than one to get nitrate down to the same levels as your tap water. Once you've reduced it, you need to keep it down.


The filter bacteria live in the biofilm which is tightly bound to surfaces. Water changes do not damage them.

I do over feed also

 

[Wills]

My filter is quite dirty

I reckon thats where your problem lies - keep on top of it and make your water changes bigger each week and I think you will fix it

 

[Aquarist2020]

I have a water container that's 12 gallons so I can't do water changes bigger than 12 and also how do you guys do it

 

[Wills]

I do over feed also

...also this - why do you over feed?

 

[Aquarist2020]

...also this - why do you over feed?

I don't know I always think that they are still hungry

 

[Aquarist2020]

Thanks guys will do what you guys said no wonder my gourami died

 

[Wills]

I have a water container that's 12 gallons so I can't do water changes bigger than 12 and also how do you guys do it

haha we are replying over each other sorry.

Couple of ways to do your water changes, if you have the 12 gallon bucket fill it as comfortably as you can move it and I think that will be a good amount for you to do as with decor, substrate you wont be exacly 30 gallons of water anyway. I use a pond pump rated for 1800 lph which means in my new 100 liter tank a 50 liter water change takes me about 10 mins. My tank is close to my kitchen sink so I run a hose from the tank to the sink then swap it around and put the pump in a bucket with the tap running to match the pump.

In terms of how much to feed the fish, usually a fishes stomach is the same size as its eye so try to think thats how much it needs - you also dont need to feed everyday.

Wills

 

[Wills]

Sorry one more question that has me concerend your ph is at 8.8 and you have a Bolivian Ram in your picture? 8.8 is really really high is that from your tap too or is there something in your tank that is raising it?

 

[Aquarist2020]

Thanks will start feeding less and clea

Sorry one more question that has me concerend your ph is at 8.8 and you have a Bolivian Ram in your picture? 8.8 is really really high is that from your tap too or is there something in your tank that is raising it?

I don't know I do live in Ca so......

 

[Aquarist2020]

Sorry one more question that has me concerend your ph is at 8.8 and you have a Bolivian Ram in your picture? 8.8 is really really high is that from your tap too or is there something in your tank that is raising it?

will test my tap, according to api the nitrate ( and ph hardness ) probably came from food build up

 

[Byron]

What is the GH, KH and pH of your tap water? You might be able to get these numbers from the water authority, check their website.

Fish will be seriously harmed by overfeeding, so watch this closely. The Ram feeds from the substrate (mine never surfaced) so a good quality sinking pellet like those for cories and loaches works well. Substrate fish will take longer to feed from these. But upper fish only need a tiny flake or two per day, and they can go without food a day or two each week as well. What goes in must come out, and besides this the fish in an aquarium are not requiring as much energy as in the wild to begin with, and food is readily at hand. They will by instinct eat anything given to them.

 

[Aquarist2020]

What is the GH, KH and pH of your tap water? You might be able to get these numbers from the water authority, check their website.

Fish will be seriously harmed by overfeeding, so watch this closely. The Ram feeds from the substrate (mine never surfaced) so a good quality sinking pellet like those for cories and loaches works well. Substrate fish will take longer to feed from these. But upper fish only need a tiny flake or two per day, and they can go without food a day or two each week as well. What goes in must come out, and besides this the fish in an aquarium are not requiring as much energy as in the wild to begin with, and food is readily at hand. They will by instinct eat anything given to them.

my bolivian ram eats from the top even though I try to feed him bottom feeder food. I use Top fin algae thins for the bottom feeders

 

[Byron]

my bolivian ram eats from the top even though I try to feed him bottom feeder food. I use Top fin algae thins for the bottom feeders

That is odd, I have never had one that would. But that's not a problem, just feed less, lol.