Nitrates 100mg/l!! - Page 2 - Aquarium Advice

MarkW19 · 04-15-2004, 05:08 PM

OK...even though I'm cycling? Will it not harm the cycling?

quarryshark · 04-15-2004, 05:14 PM

I wouldn't water change if your cycling and there is no life in the tank. That would interrupt the cycle. Now if you have animals in their, thats a different story.

MarkW19 · 04-15-2004, 05:21 PM

OK...

So even though Nitrites are way up and, more worringly, Nitrates are at 100mg/l (!!), it'll still sort itself out?

I read somewhere that when Nitrates get to such high levels (I read it on the back of a Tetra Nitrate test kit actually!) they can easily turn into Nitrite?

Will my Nitrite levels still go down to 0 as they normally would in cycling, even with my Nitrates being so high? I thought Nitrites had to go down before Nitrates could even be there??

If so, I'll wait until my Nitrites are down and then do the waterchange, and wait until my Nitrates are down to a suitable level (preferably 0!) before I add any fish, through waterchanges.

BillyZ · 04-15-2004, 05:29 PM

what sticks out to me was your comment "i put in many more drops than I was supposed to"... by "many more" exactly what do you mean? were you supposed to put in 10 and you put in 20 or were you supposed to put in 5 and you put in 50? If you only over did it slightly then I wouldn't be worried, but if you really over did it on the ammonia booster then that chemical (whatever it is) may still be throwing things out of balance and I would do a partial water change, like 20% even though it goes against the "norm" because you're trying to correct something that's already out of balance.

MarkW19 · 04-15-2004, 05:36 PM

Well, the instructions on the Biomature say "add 5 drops of Biomature per day per 1 gallon of aquarium water, until Nitrites have reached 10ppm". That's the exact wording, so therefore I added 150 drops (30 gallon tank) in the first two days, before realising I was going to use up half the bottle in just 2 days. I re-read the instructions over and over, but concluded I was doing it right, then just let common sense (what I have of it!) take over. The instructions were terrible.

I then began the correct dosage (phoned a guy I knew used the stuff successfully with a similarly sized tank) from day 3.

OK, so I should do a 20% waterchange to try and get things back on track? Will this bring my 'trites down as well as my 'trates?

Will things cycle ok from when I've done the waterchange, albeit slower than they should?

MadManMac · 04-15-2004, 05:51 PM

My suggestion, Stop buying chemicals to shorten the process and get some [acronym:291c6100ac="Live rock"]LR[/acronym:291c6100ac]. I used 45 lbs in my tank, that was cured, and the cycle lasted 6 days. For the last 3 months my nitrite and amonia have been 0 and my nitrates less than 4. [acronym:291c6100ac="Live rock"]LR[/acronym:291c6100ac] is the answer to cycling, even though it costs money.

MarkW19 · 04-15-2004, 05:53 PM

Well, I've already done it now, and won't be adding any more chemicals - there's already more than enough in there

MarkW19 · 04-15-2004, 06:01 PM

So is it decided that I should do a 20% waterchange then, then leave things alone from there?

MarkW19 · 04-15-2004, 07:02 PM

I've got enough pre-mixed saltwater (aged for a few days) to do almost a 30% waterchange. Is this too much, will it stop the cycling? Or should I do the full 30%?

What amount of water would you guys recommend to change?

MarkW19 · 04-16-2004, 03:27 PM

OK, just done a 25 - 30% waterchange, and nitrites have reduced quite a bit. Down to about 5ppm from 10ppm.

Nitrates don't appear to have budged much at all though, perhaps down to 90mg/l from 100.

What should I do now?

04-15-2004, 05:29 PM	#14
BillyZ Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Western NY Posts: 3,622 Images: 6	what sticks out to me was your comment "i put in many more drops than I was supposed to"... by "many more" exactly what do you mean? were you supposed to put in 10 and you put in 20 or were you supposed to put in 5 and you put in 50? If you only over did it slightly then I wouldn't be worried, but if you really over did it on the ammonia booster then that chemical (whatever it is) may still be throwing things out of balance and I would do a partial water change, like 20% even though it goes against the "norm" because you're trying to correct something that's already out of balance. __________________ Acronyms and Abbreviations

04-15-2004, 05:51 PM	#16
MadManMac Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 424 Images: 16	My suggestion, Stop buying chemicals to shorten the process and get some [acronym:291c6100ac="Live rock"]LR[/acronym:291c6100ac]. I used 45 lbs in my tank, that was cured, and the cycle lasted 6 days. For the last 3 months my nitrite and amonia have been 0 and my nitrates less than 4. [acronym:291c6100ac="Live rock"]LR[/acronym:291c6100ac] is the answer to cycling, even though it costs money. __________________ Hook'em Horns!

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04-15-2004, 05:08 PM	#11
MarkW19 Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,671	OK...even though I'm cycling? Will it not harm the cycling?

04-15-2004, 05:14 PM	#12
quarryshark Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 5,377 Images: 53	I wouldn't water change if your cycling and there is no life in the tank. That would interrupt the cycle. Now if you have animals in their, thats a different story.

04-15-2004, 05:21 PM	#13
MarkW19 Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,671	OK... So even though Nitrites are way up and, more worringly, Nitrates are at 100mg/l (!!), it'll still sort itself out? I read somewhere that when Nitrates get to such high levels (I read it on the back of a Tetra Nitrate test kit actually!) they can easily turn into Nitrite? Will my Nitrite levels still go down to 0 as they normally would in cycling, even with my Nitrates being so high? I thought Nitrites had to go down before Nitrates could even be there?? If so, I'll wait until my Nitrites are down and then do the waterchange, and wait until my Nitrates are down to a suitable level (preferably 0!) before I add any fish, through waterchanges.

04-15-2004, 05:36 PM	#15
MarkW19 Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,671	Well, the instructions on the Biomature say "add 5 drops of Biomature per day per 1 gallon of aquarium water, until Nitrites have reached 10ppm". That's the exact wording, so therefore I added 150 drops (30 gallon tank) in the first two days, before realising I was going to use up half the bottle in just 2 days. I re-read the instructions over and over, but concluded I was doing it right, then just let common sense (what I have of it!) take over. The instructions were terrible. I then began the correct dosage (phoned a guy I knew used the stuff successfully with a similarly sized tank) from day 3. OK, so I should do a 20% waterchange to try and get things back on track? Will this bring my 'trites down as well as my 'trates? Will things cycle ok from when I've done the waterchange, albeit slower than they should?

04-15-2004, 05:53 PM	#17
MarkW19 Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,671	Well, I've already done it now, and won't be adding any more chemicals - there's already more than enough in there

04-15-2004, 06:01 PM	#18
MarkW19 Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,671	So is it decided that I should do a 20% waterchange then, then leave things alone from there?

04-15-2004, 07:02 PM	#19
MarkW19 Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,671	I've got enough pre-mixed saltwater (aged for a few days) to do almost a 30% waterchange. Is this too much, will it stop the cycling? Or should I do the full 30%? What amount of water would you guys recommend to change?

04-16-2004, 03:27 PM	#20
MarkW19 Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,671	OK, just done a 25 - 30% waterchange, and nitrites have reduced quite a bit. Down to about 5ppm from 10ppm. Nitrates don't appear to have budged much at all though, perhaps down to 90mg/l from 100. What should I do now?