High nitrates

[Nogauthi]

Hi I can get my nitrates level to go down

 

[gummibear]

What have you done so far and what are your levels?

 

[Nogauthi]

What have you done so far and what are your levels?

Doing a 25% water change daily and a 50% today. Been doing this for a week. My test is still very red. So probably something like 100 ppm

 

[Cynic]

Is your tank over stocked? What is the tank size/stocking?

 

[shellieca]

Is your tank over stocked? What is the tank size/stocking?

+1 & have you tested your tap water?

 

[Nogauthi]

Is your tank over stocked? What is the tank size/stocking?

Yes I think overstock but other says no

I've got a 65 gallon with 17 African cichlids. Approximatetly 2.5 inches

 

[Nogauthi]

+1 & have you tested your tap water?

Yes and none in tap water

 

[vaquero]

I'd use some prime. What size filter system you using??

 

[vaquero]

Could be over feeding or over stocked. You could also try some aquarium salt and keep up on the water changes. Do you have any inverts in the tank, one could be dead causing the nitrates to go up. Just a thought

 

[shellieca]

Yes and none in tap water

Since your tap has no nitrates I'd do a 50%+ water change, test the water an hour or so later & if still high another 50%+ water change. Multiple changes in the same day appear to be needed. How long does it take for the nitrates to get that high?

 

[tarpon]

What kind of test kit are you using? Is it expired?
Also, have you double checked that you're doing the test directly as the instructions say?

 

[Wroberson]

I had the same problem. NO3 at 200+ppm. I took a slow route to get the NO3 down. Using filter media only got rid of a small part of the NO3. Weekly waster changes also only goes so far. It took another month of 35-40% water changes to get the ppm down from 100 to 10-20 ppm.

Test for Ammonia and get a PURA filter media to help remove it.
40% water changes 3 times for one week and then test water.

Theory says, biofilter can only use so much ammonia per day and the filter removes the rest. Removing excess will prevent build up of ammonia and reduce the source of nitrite. Biofilter can only process so much nitrite per day. Over time, the nitrite will decrease and less nitrate will be produced, lowering your NO3 level. You will then be able to notice a reduction. As long as there's excess ammonia in the tank, nitrites and nitrates will be at maximum. Remove the excess ammonia and the nitrite and nitrate will level out to match the daily ammonia production of the fish.

I recommend PURA Phosphate Pad. It also removes heavy metals and ammonia. I guarantee this pad works at removing ammonia and phosphate. I don't test for heavy metals and cant verify that.

 

[Nogauthi]

Since your tap has no nitrates I'd do a 50%+ water change, test the water an hour or so later & if still high another 50%+ water change. Multiple changes in the same day appear to be needed. How long does it take for the nitrates to get that high?

Wouldn't changing my water to often in a day affect my fish. It will affect my ph and what about the bacteria?

 

[Nogauthi]

I had the same problem. NO3 at 200+ppm. I took a slow route to get the NO3 down. Using filter media only got rid of a small part of the NO3. Weekly waster changes also only goes so far. It took another month of 35-40% water changes to get the ppm down from 100 to 10-20 ppm.

Test for Ammonia and get a PURA filter media to help remove it.
40% water changes 3 times for one week and then test water.

Theory says, biofilter can only use so much ammonia per day and the filter removes the rest. Removing excess will prevent build up of ammonia and reduce the source of nitrite. Biofilter can only process so much nitrite per day. Over time, the nitrite will decrease and less nitrate will be produced, lowering your NO3 level. You will then be able to notice a reduction. As long as there's excess ammonia in the tank, nitrites and nitrates will be at maximum. Remove the excess ammonia and the nitrite and nitrate will level out to match the daily ammonia production of the fish.

I recommend PURA Phosphate Pad. It also removes heavy metals and ammonia. I guarantee this pad works at removing ammonia and phosphate. I don't test for heavy metals and cant verify that.

When I do my test with API. It now takes longer to turn red. It's not instant like it was. But I don't have ammonia and nitrite. The reason my nitrates are so high is probably because I was told to never do a water change if water is clear so I didn't really do any just two small one in two months

 

[Nogauthi]

I'd use some prime. What size filter system you using??

My filstar is a filstar 3 xp

 

[creic38]

Make sure you are shaking the heck out of bottle #2 of the nitrate test. You have to shake rigorously for a good 2 minutes, smacking it on the countertop a few times.

As for water changes......whoever told you to not change the water should be slapped in the mouth. You should be changing 20-30% of your water every week, no matter what. You'll néed to do more changes for awhile to get those levels down, then get into a routine after that. Make sure you are not overfeeding. Fish do not need to be fed every day. I usually feed once per day, skipping a day every now and then.

 

[creic38]

Oh, and 17 cichlids in that tank is overstocked. You are going to have a hard time keeping those parameters in check with the current set up. They may be small now, but cichlids have a higher bioload, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[shellieca]

Wouldn't changing my water to often in a day affect my fish. It will affect my ph and what about the bacteria?

Well, your fish aren't going to be fine if the Nitrates stay so high, that is more stress on them. Doing 2 50% water changes in a day will not harm your fish if you are temp matching & conditioning the water. It will not effect your bacteria if you condition the water, the bulk of your bacteria is in your filter media. As for your Ph it will bring your Ph to your taps Ph which your fish should be accustomed to unless you are adjusting it for some reason. Whoever told you not to do water changes if the water is clear was completely wrong, IMO & the opinion of most on here, you should be doing 50%+ water changes weekly.