Help with nitrate level

[highlife]

Hey, I'm just getting started into this hobby so I'm not quite sure whats going on, heres my situation.

A friend of mine gave me his 30 gallon aquarium, along with 2 goldfish and 3 other fish(not sure of the type). We emptied the aquarium all but the gravel and about 1 inch of water and moved it. Well I filled it up and put the fish back in, needless to say the 3 unknown fish died, but the 2 goldfish managed to make it through. Well after about 2 and 1/2 weeks I put 2 black tetras, one cory catfish, and a pleco algae eater in the tank. Due to my beginner ignorance I only tested the water once or twice during the cycling period. Well about 3 weeks later the catfish dies, which sucks because I liked that little guy, and I noticed the tank was still pretty cloudy. So then, another amateur mistake, I buy a new Penguin 200 series filter to replace my friends Tetratec 150, hoping that will solve the problem.

Well now I've had the new filter for a week, and my tank has been set up at my house for about a month and a half now, and I'm still getting nitrate levels of around 80ppm consistently, I've finally started testing everyday. The nitrite level looks very close to 0, the alkalinity is between 0 and 40ppm, but much closer to 0, and the Ph is around 6.8, and my water is on the hard side, about 150ppm. The temperature stays between 76 and 78, I do not have a heater, nor an airpump. Is it likely that after replacing the old filter the tank had to start a new cycle, due to the lost bacteria? Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. Also I was wondering if theres a better testing system I should use, right now I'm using these quick dip test strips, made by "Jungle," it tests for the things I listed above, any other recommendations? Thanks alot for any responses, hope I didn't drag this story out too long, lol.

 

[trace1]

from wot i learnt on here get a liquid test kit, i just got 1 n i gota say they r ace, either that or take a sample of ur water 2 lfs & let them test it 4 ya.
do u do water changes 2 ur tank ???.
also ur new filter needs 2 build up the fishy friendly bacteria.

 

[rdd1952]

There are a couple problems other than your nitrate. First, gold fish are cold water fish so they shouldn't be in a tank with tropicals like tetras and corys. Second, 2 gold fish in a 30 gallon tank IS fully stocked. The general rule of thumb is 20 gallon for the first goldfish and 10 gallons for each additional. Also, if the pleco is a common pleco, he needs a minimum of 55 gallon tank as he will grow to well over a foot.

Now for the water parameters, the high nitrate is probably because goldfish are big waste producers. You should be doing a 25% water change once a week. You said your nitrite was 0 but what is your ammonia reading? It is very likely that you did start your cycling over by changing the filter unless you used the media from the old one in the new one. Also, have you checked your tap water parameters. A lot of people have nitrate present in their tap water so water changes don't do much to lower it.

 

[highlife]

Hey thanks for responding. I talked to the LFS and they said that they would take the goldfish, so I guess I'll take them up there. My pleco just passed on anyway , so there goes that. Three weeks after it was set up I performed a water change(about 30%), and I've done so once a week the past two weeks. After I take the goldfish out I'll have only the two black tetras left, should I get a couple more fish to finish cycling? I need to buy an ammonia testing kit, but I'll get back to you soon with those results. In case my tap water does contain alot of nitrate, what can I do to treat it before I put it in the tank? Thanks again.

 

[rdd1952]

You have to take it very slowly when cycling with fish. Get test kits (preferably liquid, they're more accurate than strips) for ammonia and nitrite. You can get a Aquarium Pharmaceuticals master kit that tests ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH for about $15 online. The liquid kits will also last much longer than strips. Anyway, start checking the water and when you are getting readings of 0 for ammonia and nitrite, add about 3 more fish. After a couple days, you will start to see levels of ammonia and nitrite again. Keep checking till they drop to zero and then add 3 or 4 more. You may have to do water changes more often (15 to 25 percent 2 or 3 times a week) while cycling to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels from going too high and killing your fish.

As for the nitrate, unfortunately, water changes are the only way to lower them. If you have nitrate in your tap water though, that won't do much good. Some people use some sort of nitrate removers in their filters but I don't know how well they work.

 

[highlife]

OK I finally went out and bought a liquid testing kit, seems to work a little better. Well my pleco died and my goldfish are gone now so thats left me with just my two black tetras the past few days. Ive been feeding them a small amount once a day, and performed a water change every few days. Today at the store I picked up 3 Buenos Aires Tetras. I tested my water for Nitrate and then performed a 35-40% water change before adding then new fish, the nitrate reading looked somewhere between 40 and 80. After the water change I got the following readings,

Nitrate-still somewhere between 40 and 80ppm
Ammonia- about 0.25ppm
Ph- about 7.1
Nitrite-0

I also tested my tap water for Nitrate- looked pretty dead on 10ppm, so that sucks, I guess theres no chemicals to add to neutralize it before changing the water? It doesn't seem like the water changes are lowering the nitrate at all, maybe I need to be more persistent and do them everyday or something. Is my tank ever going to level off so I don't have to perform them that frequently? Would live plants help at all, or should I just wait until my tank is fully established before considering those?

 

[rdd1952]

Nitrates are the end result of the nitrogen cycle so you will always have them. Adding live plants would definitely help. If you don't have live plants to use the nitrate, you will end up with algae using it. As long as they are under 80 ppm, that is acceptible. It is best if you can keep them under 40 but not absolutely necessary. For the time being, just keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrite. Ammonia at .5 is much worse than nitrate at 80 so you have to keep them in perspective. Unfortunately, frequent water changes are a necessity when cycling with fish. Once you are fully stocked and cycled, you will be able to back off to every week or every other week. All my tanks are cycled but I still do weekly water changes.

 

[laurasmithuk]

i found that moss balls help with lowering nitrAte