How do you keep Nitrate levels healthy for your fish? - Aquarium Advice

Hannah6578 · 07-21-2009, 04:44 PM

I change the water and i use aqua safe chemicals that make tap water safe for fish but the nitrate levels are still way too high. I even tried this nitrate reducer but nothing seems to work. Do i even have to worry about the nitrate levels? Should i just let my tank do its thing? or do i need to do something drastic?

**jsoong** · 07-21-2009, 04:58 PM

What kind of tank - SW? FW? Planted?

How high is high?? What size tank & occupant?

For FW, the way to reduce nitrate is by water changes. A nitrate that is not coming down usu. means the tank's carrying capacity is exceeded. You can temporize by doing bigger & more frequent pwc's, but eventually, a bigger tank is the answer. <Before we go down that road, do check that your nitrate test is accurate! The kits are pretty notorious for giving false readings, esp. if you don't shake up the reagents exactly as instructed. Also, test your tap water to make sure there isn't nitrate there to start.>

For SW, there are de-nitrogenator set-ups. And nitrate levels in a planted tank is a totally different beast.

**roka64** · 07-21-2009, 05:04 PM

Purigen is a great product. I agree with Jsoong, more info is needed.

Since this is your 2nd post and the other post is about a small tank and FW:
I am assuming you are talking the FW setup.
With that being said, I can't help on the FW side of the house, but I believe J hit the nail on the head....