High nitrates in tap water

[DazF]

Hi all, back again haha
I have been scratching my head trying to figure out why i cant seem to get my tanks below 40 nitrates. For example i done a 50% wc sunday, then yesterday nitrate was about 40 so i done another 50%, today it is 40 again...

So i decided to check the water and it is actually reading higher than the water in the tank, probably around 50??!!

Is there anything else i could do to reduce the nitrate in the tap water?

Seems a bit pointless changing the water daily if the tap water is higher than the tank!

 

[kevan07]

I am not sure how to get that out of the tap water but if you put live plants in your aquarium they should eat the Nitrates then you won't have to worry so much about it in the tap water.

 

[DazF]

I do already have about 20 low light plants in the tank which is probably why the nitrate is lower than that of the tap water...

 

[DazF]

Looking into a few products with mixed reviews, would anyone recommend any of these?

Tetra nitrateminus
Api nitra zorb

 

[Sk3lly]

I dont see an issue with having 40ppm nitrate. I think most fish are very tolerable at these levels. I might be wrong though

 

[DazF]

Could it not be the reason why my angelfish died so suddenly? No sign of disease and the other hardier fish are ok, but i have a ram that seems to be losing colour...

In my other tank my neons seem to have got white spot (which hasnt gone after treatment)

Could both these things not be due to the nitrites?
I might try adding some more plants, maybe some moss balls?
I might order the nitra zorb too for backup? What do you reckon?

 

[Sk3lly]

Well you havnt posted ammonia and nitrite test results. These are 100times more likely to be the cause of fish deaths than nitrates.

Your call on adding chemicals. Chemicals are not natural and therefore not for me. Prime is the only chemical i would use.

Test your tap water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and post results on here including photo.

Wash vials out and do the same for your tank water. Post results and photo

 

[DazF]

Not at home at the mo, but ammonia and nitrite levels in both tanks are zero and have been for quite a while, when i tested the tap water before there was a small amount of ammonia but it doesn't show in the tanks as they are cycled.

I don't want to add any chemicals really which is why i am looking at the nitra zorb as it goes into the filter

Just unsure what to do as i want to keep the gbr but know they are bery sensitive to the water conditions, the angels too

 

[Sk3lly]

I think you should still post the results when you get home. Doesnt cost you anything and it helps ppl get an understanding of your tank. What size tank is it? You might be overstocked or feeding too much

 

[DazF]

I can post when my fiance gets home (shes on a late shift) as my camera doesnt work atm, but im positive what i said is accurate

The stocking is on my profile i am feeding just once per day and i am taking out any uneaten food. Also have done a wc and gravel clean the past 3 days running

 

[mrvincent]

I'm sorry to hear about your bad tap water quality, it's not fun for aquarits.

Depends on the light intensity for the maximum NO3 levels.

To get rid of nitrates, you'll need a RODI unit or lot of RODI water.

You put RODI water in a buck, and remineralize it with a product like Seachem Equilibrum until you have a pleasant KH value. This is a water free of nitrates, so if you do 50% WC with this, you'll drop levels to 20ppm.

50% next week, 10-15ppm
50% next week, 5-10ppm.

I hope this help.

 

[mrvincent]

In my other tank my neons seem to have got white spot (which hasnt gone after treatment)

For neons only tank (like a hospital tank), the best way I found is to raise temp to 26-28C°, add salt to 0.3% level (0.1% each day for 3 firsts days) and wait for 10-14 days without waterchanges. You need good aeration.

Anyway you need to threat all the tank for white spots, as it's a "tank disease"

At day 7, the fishs will look worse, but will be free of white spots on day 10.

 

[Paul1792]

These three work

Poly-Filter by BioMarine. I just began using it a month ago and it does work. It costs $ 6 per pad @ Dr. Foster & Smith and cuts down on my use of $1 per gallon spring water & 27 cents per gallon RO water for water changes. I split one pad between my two tanks and for every $6 I spend, it saves about $12. I keep nitrates below 20 ppm doing 20% weekly water changes. Otherwise I'd be doing 30%+ changes to keep nitrates at the same level.

Fluval Lab Series nitrate remover: I just ordered some from Amazon. Expensive but reviewers and others on here say it works ..... will bring nitrates to zero:

Amazon.com: Hagen A1502 Fluval Lab Series Nitrate Remover, 150-Gram, 5.29-Ounce: Pet Supplies

SeaChem Denitrate: It works but you have to keep the flow under 50 GPH.

 

[Old Scales]

I have a friend that has high nitrates in his tap also. He bought a small AC20 HOB filter as an extra, put just a thin filter pad in with a packet of the Seachem Denitrate and turned the flow down as low as it goes. It keeps his NO3 below 20 after a couple of days after his WC. OS.

 

[DazF]

Thanks guys, I think i will eventually get a ro filter but cant afford it at the min
I went to the lfs on the way home and they didnt have any SeaChem Denitrate so i bought some tetra easybalance for now to see if that can be a shirt term solution? The woman in the shop said it would be fine longterm but i'm not sure? Obviously i will still do 1 or 2 water changes a week and not leave it 6 months like it says! Just use it to bring the nitrate down (hopefully)

 

[DazF]

For neons only tank (like a hospital tank), the best way I found is to raise temp to 26-28C°, add salt to 0.3% level (0.1% each day for 3 firsts days) and wait for 10-14 days without waterchanges. You need good aeration.

Anyway you need to threat all the tank for white spots, as it's a "tank disease"

At day 7, the fishs will look worse, but will be free of white spots on day 10.

They also didnt have any aquarium salt in until tomorrow :/ but i got home ans 3 neons have now died the shrimp are fine but the betta seems to have a white patch? Not any spots just one patch... Looks like it may be too late to save my little tank

 

[Old Scales]

Oh man! Bummer. So sorry Daz. Don't give up though. OS.

 

[DazF]

I refuse to give up haha il get some salt tomorrow for the small tank hopefully.

Added the easybalance about 2 houra ago to both tanks and it seems to have already started working.
Nitrate in the small tank has gone down to about 20 and the big tank has hone to about 25

 

[Ian086]

I refuse to give up haha il get some salt tomorrow for the small tank hopefully.

Added the easybalance about 2 houra ago to both tanks and it seems to have already started working.
Nitrate in the small tank has gone down to about 20 and the big tank has hone to about 25

I honestly would not panic about 40ppm. Hang on, don't buy anything else for the Nitrates and look into the aquaclear 20(I have a link), set to lowest flow and it is good for the DeNirtate. Will probably cost you about £50-£80 to set-up but once set-up it will be a long term solution....

 

[DazF]

I will buy a filter at one point bit cannot really afford one right now. The easybalance seems to have done the trick though, all the fish are happy as every, the colours in my gbr have come out so much, the cherry barbs are much redder too