80 ppm

[burf420]

Hey guys i have a ten gallon planted aquarium.just tested the water everythings perfect except my nitrates are 80ppm or higher.what's wrong? Especially since i thought plants would lower them.what do i do? Is it ok?

 

[bevoholic]

Hey guys i have a ten gallon planted aquarium.just tested the water everythings perfect except my nitrates are 80ppm or higher.what's wrong? Especially since i thought plants would lower them.what do i do? Is it ok?

Have you been doing your PWC's? You still have to do them to remove excess buildup in your tank.

 

[burf420]

I do but not very often.i was told that you don't have to do them in a planted tank.apparently that's wrong?

 

[bevoholic]

You should still be doing them weekly. Not only do they take out the bad, but the replenish the good. I would do back to back 50% PWC's as soon as possible, then do another 50% tomorrow. That should get you down around 10 or so.

 

[aqua_chem]

Plants only uptake nitrates if they A) have enough light and B) aren't limited by another nutrient like CO2. Most low light tanks are limited by A and medium light tanks are usually limited by B. In either case, if your rate of nitrate production by fish is greater than your uptake by fish (as is the case with most non-CO2 tanks), you will still have an accumulation of nitrate.

 

[burf420]

Thank you guys!