Nitrates

[griff5499]

My tank is cycled.
0ppm Amm
0ppm Nitrite
40ppm Nitrates
I did a 30% wc and retested nitrates. Still at 40ppm.
Did I not do enough wc? Is this the only way to lower nitrate levels?
What is the ideal nitrate or safe level for my fish?
Thanks for your help!

 

[tangs27]

It's possible that your nitrates are higher then you thought. Try doing larger water changes, 50-75% test the water again after half an hour to an hour. Do it everyday until they lower then you will be able to spread the water changes out.

 

[mrvincent]

My tank is cycled.
0ppm Amm
0ppm Nitrite
40ppm Nitrates
I did a 30% wc and retested nitrates. Still at 40ppm.
Did I not do enough wc? Is this the only way to lower nitrate levels?
What is the ideal nitrate or safe level for my fish?
Thanks for your help!

Just test your tap to see if it contains any nitrates...

If your tap contains 30ppm nitrates and the tank 40ppm, 50%WC will drop tank levels to 35ppm.

 

[BBradbury]

Your Nitrate Level

My tank is cycled.
0ppm Amm
0ppm Nitrite
40ppm Nitrates
I did a 30% wc and retested nitrates. Still at 40ppm.
Did I not do enough wc? Is this the only way to lower nitrate levels?
What is the ideal nitrate or safe level for my fish?
Thanks for your help!

Hello Griff...

40 ppm nitrates is far from the end of the world. If the level was twice that, you'd have a bit of a problem. Small water changes of less than 50 percent don't do much to maintain stable water conditions and you want a stable water chemistry, not a particular chemistry.

Stems of floating plants just dropped into the tank will help reduce nitrates. Anacharis (Egeria densa), Pennywort and Hornwort are all "nitrate hogs". The more nitrates, the faster these plants grow.

A company by the name of Acurel has a good poly fiber product that will reduce nitrates. This company has been in the aquarium business for decades.

Here's a good rule to follow: Small tanks up to 30 gallons, change half the water every week. The tanks larger than 30 gallons can generally go 2 weeks between water changes, but still remove and replace half the tank's volume.

B

 

[griff5499]

Thanks for the advice. I will try all suggestions to see if I can lower trates. Thanks again!

 

[griff5499]

I just tested my tap water. Nitrates are 20-30. Tank is showing around 40ppm. Do I need to go to RO water to get my nitrates down? I have been using tap for my tank since I set it up. Was surprised to find that the tap is so high.

 

[Maridia]

My tap is also 20-30 ppm. This was a scary thought. My whole family drinks out of this. But that's another matter. As far as fish go, they're just going to have to be tough... I have done my part and do at least 50-70% WC's every week. And they look like they're doing fine. At the end of the week my nitrates hovered around 40 ppm. After many weeks of this consistency, I stopped testing and kept up my routine and all seems well. I will look into these nitrate hog plants.

 

[threnjen]

I would recommend planting your tank very heavily to help suck out the nitrates.