Help on nitrate?

[Sai Sauce]

My nitrite was at .25 ppm and nitrate at 20ppm. Did a water change and nitrite has gone down to 0ppm and nitrate raised to 40 ppm?????!?!!? Can't really tell the color but at the same time it looks like 20ppm and 40ppm. So what can I do to get rid of it? I have couple of ghost shrimps and one platy in there.


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[grode15]

I think you should test your water again because unless you stirred up a lot of stuff from your gravel when changing your fish tank the nitrates could not have gone up. If the nitrates still come up as high after you test it again just do a pwc and it should lower the nitrate levels.

 

[Sai Sauce]

What's pwc? Lol


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[Masha]

pwc = "partial water change"

 

[Sai Sauce]

Oh thanks lol


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[wildroseofky]

Nitrite is converted to nitrate. I makes since that as the nitrite went down the nitrate went up. Is your tank cycled? I assume it is. Disturbing the substrate will release decayed material into the water column and cause a mini cycle. Water changes will reset everything. When doing water changes try not to stir up the substrate or frequently vacuum the tank. I have a battery vacuum that comes in handy to keep the substrate cleaned up.

 

[Sai Sauce]

Well the tank was bare bottom and water was only 3/4 way. My green spotted puffer was in there due to cycling the brackish. After it finished I put my puffer in my brackish and add fish to the tank and add substrate from my brothers 50 gallon cause he torn that tank down (Eco complete substrate). As I was adding the substrate I tried straighten it up and line it flat. Afterward I did a 25% water change and filled it up all the way using kordon water conditioner. I let it settle for 30 minutes then test the water. Nitrite disappear as I mentioned it but then nitrate seem to gain a little. So could've it have been from the substrate?


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