Help...Nitrate levels off the scale.

[alison73]

Can anyone advise me on how to get my tanks nitrate levels down?

I have been losing fish around 2 a week, with no symptoms...So i tested the water today which i do every week and OMG the nitrate levels are so high!! I was so shocked that i tested them twice...

I have done a 30% water change...

Cleaned the filters....

Gave the sand a GOOD clean....

Now i thinking what else can i do, if there is anything else i can do????

Tank has live plants in....

 

[HN1]

Test again and do another water change (50% +) if nitrate is > 20. What type of fish have you lost and what are the remaining inhabitants?

 

[alison73]

I ve been testing every hour and seems no change as of yet..Since doing the 30% change i have took another 2 buckets out.

Ive lost 2 Clown Loaches, 1 Rosey Tetra, 2 Bolivian Rams and my female Convict has developed 'pop eye' a bad case which fingers crossed seems to be getting better as i have been treating it with Melaflex...

Really worried as ive a pair of Red Severums breeding at the moment..

 

[alison73]

Ive also got 1 Plec, 3 bolivian rams, 1 male convict, 1 angel, 2 gouramis, 3 panda corys, 3 pepper corys, and red tail shark.....Dont want to lose any more..

 

[mfdrookie516]

What size tank is it and what is the nitrate reading? What are you using to test your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

 

[alison73]

I have a 240l tank...Ive been testing them all and all the other readings are reading ok but the nitrate reading was 160, its around 80 now..Im using an API Freshwater master test kit bought from LFS....

 

[jsoong]

Don't drop that nitrate too fast! This is a typical "old tank syndrome".

A tank where the water changes had been neglected, overfed, or had accumulated a lot of MULM may show sky high nitrates. When the nitrate is that high, there are a lot of other stuff (DOC, etc) in the tank as well. This make for a very high osmolar environment. <Sometimes the osmolarity gets to be higher than sea water.>

Although the environment is bad for the fish, they are at least used to it, as the levels were going up gradually. A sudden shift to clean water (with little osmolarity) can shock & kill the fish. The safe way to return to clean water is to do 10-20% pwc's frequently (once or twice a day). This gives the fish a chance to acclimatize to the new water over a few days.

Alternatively, if you have to do a large pwc, don't dump the new water in all at once. I would drip the new water in over an hour or so. <Set up a siphon with a small tubing.> This help minimize fish stress.

The underlying cause of this might be:
1. inadequate cleaning (gravel vac) & pwc, and /or
2. tank is overloaded / overfed.

Once you get the nitrates down to something reasonable (like 20) with the pwc's, you will need to find out & correct the underlying cause. What size fish & numbers? Off hand, I might think the tank was overstocked (adding in the current & lost fish.)

 

[alison73]

Tank is no way over stocked, far from it....The only cause i can think of is slighty over feeding...I like to give them a good diet of dry and frozen..Think im just going to give them just the 1 kind but alternate them..

I spend around £20/30 every two wks on live plants but my fish just eat them or destroy them so i do try to keep a good balance of plants..I do regular water changes...20%-30% every 2wks, and everything gets took out and cleaned,sand and filters too..So i do take good care of my tanks, just like i say i must have been giving them a lil too much food! (oh dear ..)

 

[HN1]

A good measure of overstocked or not is nitrate accumulation. The pair of sevs alone could easily command an entire 60G IMO. Don't get me started on the pleco....

 

[alison73]

How can having 23 fish in a 4ft tank be over-crowed? most of the fish are tiny..i was told i can get more in there if i wanted.So over-crowding is not the issue here..But i do understand that over-crowding can be a major factor, just not in my case...

 

[mfdrookie516]

How can having 23 fish in a 4ft tank be over-crowed? most of the fish are tiny..i was told i can get more in there if i wanted.So over-crowding is not the issue here..But i do understand that over-crowding can be a major factor, just not in my case...

It has nothing to do with the fish being crowded, it is the bio-load that those fish contribute to the tank.

Also, IMHO, water changes should be done weekly. I do a 50% water change every week in all of my tanks. You can get away with a slightly high bio-load if you're diligent in your water changes, but long term its not a good idea. Of course, this is only my opinion

 

[alison73]

So basically all i can do is maybe a small water change daily till this problem is solved?

 

[logansmomma1228]

+1 on the bioload, especially from the pleco. They are said to excrete more waste than they clean up. What do you have for filtration? Plus, I am guessing you have had all these fish for a while, but jic, did you add a lot at once? If the LFS told you you could add more it's because they are trying to sell.

Also, is it possible that you are keeping your tank too clean? If you are constantly washing the fiter media and whatnot you could be killing off the beneficial bacteria. Just a couple thoughts. Good luck!

EDIT: Yet again I am recommending this site for stocking levels; I have found it to be quite helpful. http://www.aqadvisor.com

 

[TCool]

I haven't seen this question asked/answered yet (could have missed it I guess).

How often do you normally do water changes? It could be that your overstocked, but it also could be that you went far too long without doing a water change.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here. Even a tank that is not overstocked will eventually build up toxic levels of nitrates if you don't do regular water changes.

 

[alison73]

I have a Jewel Rio 240 tank, so i just use the filter that came with it..I also have 2 air stones on the go..

I do water changes every fortnight,i also do the filters but not all at the same time..Ill do one half at a time.I used to do changes every week but was told there was no need as if the water is ok then no need to change every week hence i now do it every 2 wks..

My tank is never overstocked, i know my limits..My LFS are very good, they know what i have and would tell me that i have too many if that was the case and would not sell me any, even if i wanted more..

Someone did mention to me whether its true or not that if you have sand which i have that you should change it yearly...Does anyone know if this is true?

I do appreciate all your advice, as im not specialist, have been keeping fish for nearly 4 years and this is the first time i have had such a disaster...Ive been rattling my brains and all i can think is that i must have been slighty over-feeding!! (or the kids have been sneaking a few treats in when im not around which no1 is admitting too!!)

I re-tested the nitrate levels today and there is slight change,its hovering around 20/40..I didnt feed them last night,and have done 1 bucket water change making sure that any waste lurking is removed..

 

[tw0lves]

How do you wash the filter, in your old water, treated water, or tap? It is best to rinse it old tank water.

You may want to research the nitrogen cycle more, use the links mfd's profile. Nitrates are basically the end of the line of the cycle, they have to be removed by pwc's or a combination of pwc's and plants. Having dead plant material in the tank from the fish eating the plants, doesn't help, in only adds to the problem. So high nitrates essestially boil down to infrequent pwc's, not enough water being removed, too much food, too much fish, or some combination of the two.

From what I read about clown loaches and bala sharks is they both require large tanks, if your 240l = ~60 U.S. Gallon that is not a lot of space, especially after all the other fish you have. Is the pleco a common pleco, or a bristlenose of some type? If its a common pleco your tank is already too small for its adult size of over 12".

I wouldn't be so quick to reject what everyone is telling you about an overstocked tank. It may not be what you want to hear, but it is what your tank is telling you.