nitrates

[stivhixon]

Ive been having trouble with ammonia and put fish in a tank that was not fully cycled, suptrisingly with constant water changes I have kept all the fish alive. My last reading was ammonia 0, nitrite 0, and nitrate somewhere between 5 and 10. Is the nitate too high or is my tank finally cycling. I hope this is coming to an end, I took some bad advice and have been battling to keep everyone alive and it appears to be working, does anyone know what a deadly nitrate reading is?? I read in the beginner questions nitrate is ok but it is toxic in high levels according to my chart Im pretty low but obviously not 0. These tests were done after I just did a 15 % water change and vacuumed the gravel, any advice would be appreciated.

 

[wuvmybetta]

You seem to be cycled
You should, and most likely will, always have a ntrate reading. Your's is very low. Congrats on a successful cycle with surviving fish

 

[rdd1952]

Nitrate at 5 to 10 is fine. As long as you keep it under 40 (some say 80) you are ok. YOu definitely don't want them to get over 80 though. Nitrate is the end result of the nitrogen cycle so there will always be some present in a cycled tank unless you have a lot of live plants that are using them up. Since you have 0 ammonia and nitrite, I'd say there is a good possibility that your tank has finished cycling. Keep testing. Once you have 0 readings on them for a full week, you will know you are cycled. You will still need to do regular water changes (I do them weekly) to keep the nitrate levels where they should be and to just give them clean water in general but you won't be stuck doing them daily trying to battle the ammonia and nitrite.

 

[glolite]

That's fine, in a mature tank as long as the nitrates are around 40 or less it's quite safe. Your nitrates will rise as the tank matures, once plants are growing and the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle is matured. Takes a few months really and sometimes a new tank gets an algae bloom due to very low nitrates. Don't worry, it will gradually diminish as the nitrates rise and the tank matures. Just clean the glass with a magnet scraper or the like, once a week. I leave the back glass for algae eaters.
Congratulations on keeping your fish alive, you must have worked hard.

 

[rdd1952]

I leave the back glass for algae eaters.

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I leave the back glass because I haven't figured out how to get to it to clean it. I can on my 29 gallon but can't even get close on the 75 gallon. It's planted though so I can't see it. I guess it keeps my SAEs happy.