HIGH NITRATE - yes I have been changing the water.

[Igor]

10-20 ppm Nitrate 24 inch tank.
0ppm Ammonia
0ppm Nitrite

Not overstocked tank 3 months old, has cycled properly. UGF with mainly tetras. No nitrate from tap (checked), why does recent partial (daily) water changes not work?

 

[CiRXSi]

Welcome to AA Igor!!

For nitrate, that's actually not high at all. That's really good. You've even got quite a ways to go before it's considered high. It's nitrite that you want at 0.

 

[Igor]

Aah, thats good news, the reason I posted these figures was that the aquarium I bought the tank from stated 5ppm for Nitrate. It has risen over the past 2 weeks and this was bugging me.
I thought water changes were the only option for nitrate removal. Could something else be happening?

 

[flipz]

yea igor, nitrates are perfectly fine up to 40ppm. truly don't worry. water changes are the only option for nitrate removal, other than plants. however people with plants sometimes end up with 0 nitrate which is actually bad!

your tank is perfect!

-brent

 

[pkremer]

Also, if you look at the math of water changes, your nitrates shouldn't drop too terribly far down at those low levels. For example:

Say you have a 30 gallon tank with 10 ppm nitrates.
You do a 25% water change (7.5 gallons).

22.5 gallons left with 10 ppm.

Add 7.5 gallons with 0 ppm.

You will end up with 30 gallons at 7.5 ppm nitrates. That would barely change the color of your test!

Personally, I only do a water change every other week and my nitrates never break 10.

Paul

 

[Igor]

Thanks for taking the time everyone, any suggestions for web based reading on tank water changes?

 

[TankGirl]

It is also possible there is nitrate in your water supply, so check that, but I agree 10-20 is really just fine, and that tells me you have a strong biofilter in place.

Water changes are the topic of much debate, so it is hard to point you to articles, since there are so many opinions. I like to do small ones twice a week, because over the years I have noticed drastic increase in fish and tank health by doing this. What most people do (and this is the rule of thumb I used to always use) is do a water change when the nitrates get over 40ppm.

 

[mikemou]

okay sorry Igor i'm going to hijack your thread....

I have a sparsely planted 20-inch bioload standard 55gal and I don't have a nitrate testing tool. Can I get away with bi-weekly 25-30% water change w/o actually testing nitrate level?

 

[TankGirl]

You could probably get away with it. If you start having problems with algae or otherwise have excess debris collecting on the gravel then you might want to start testing and up your changes. I like water changes for more than just keeping nitrate down, but it is a good thing to test for so you have an idea what your tank is producing. Once I get a routine down with a tank I don't usually test the nitrate unless there is a problem, or if I increase stock, or whatever, but I do test often in my planted tank where I have to dose it.