nitrates

[elliemay]

i would like to bring down my nitrate levels to under 40ppm[mg/l] they are around 70 at the moment, i do a10% water change alternating with20% every week a good internal filter with a strong water surface agitation outlet. My tank holds 80ltrs housing 8 glowlights 7 zebra danios and 1 male guppy

 

[black angel]

what are the nitrate levels from the tap?

 

[FishLuvr]

more like what are your ammonia and nitrite levels, increase your water changes percentage and your frequency of them till you notice a drop in nitrates. there very high. AMmonia and nitrites are your worse enemy though

 

[breezer40]

Hi elliemay

Nitrates can "build up" if waste from the fish is not adequatly removed. I would reccomend increasing the amount of water you change on a weekly basis by maybe doing a couple of changes a week. To get the nitrates down to the under 40 mark now...do a 20% water change daily and keep testing then when the right level is reached follow the twice weekly routine.

black angel is right you should test your tap water for nitrates as no amount of water changes will be effective in that instance.

Hope this helps

 

[elliemay]

Hi all , i have tested my tap water for nitrates and it is 5ppm, plus another tank test and still nitrate is above recomended level[ around 60ppm] thanks for your comments.

 

[black angel]

as the tap water is at 5 then you will need to do more in the way of water changes. do 40% each day for a week and hopefully this will lower it for you, as i dont think 20% is a big enough quantity. then after that check your nitrate level each day and as you see it rise do a 30% water change and test again each day. this should give you a routine as to how often you need to do water changes.

 

[abstract]

your nitrates are so high because a 10% and 20% water change alternating weekly are simply not enough to maintain the tank....you should be doing at least 25%-35% weekly ....if you still have high nitrates right before doing your next water change (that is, after having done 30% water changes weekly for a couple weeks), then you may have to up the weekly water change amount closer to 50% ....TBH, although it is not recommended i do around a 50% water change (or a little more) weekly on my largest tank due to a farily high stocking level

 

[black angel]

i used to have high nitrate levels on both my tanks at 100 and i was doing 30% water changes each week which obviously wasnt enough. i tried 30% twice a week and that only took it down to 60. then i did 40% three times a week based on my readings and now i do 50% twice a week.
make sure as well your not too overstocked like i am and do a good gravel vac with each change. do you have live plants? having a few will eat some of the nitrate but you have to make sure you remove any dead leaves often.
what size tank and inhabitants have you got too? filtration must be good and i have got my overstocked tank on around 10x tank volume per hour.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Very high nitrates is a sign of too many fish, too many waterchanges or high levels in tap water.

Your tap water is fine, your stocking seems fine which leaves water changes. I'd do a couple of 35% water changes over a couple of days and then change to 30% change weekly and I bet you'll see a difference.