how to keep nitrates down?

[leesanhua]

i have a 29 gallon tank which with me for 2 yrs. i can't keep the nitrate down. how can i decrease the NO3? the test kit showed that the nitrate in my tank is 40ppm.
i do change me water once a week.
i do not have any plants in the tank. (but plastic plant because my mollies keep eating up the plants everytime i put in it)
wht should i do?

my tank has inhabited trumpet snail which i cannot get rid of them. if i put the live plant in my tank, will the snail consume my plant like mollies? i have bought Anacharis for few times but like i said mollies keep eating on them.

i have read a magazine saying that snail will only eat plants that are damaged or dying. is this true?

one more Q. how can i keep PH down to 7? my tank have PH 7.8.

 

[Raimeiken]

i wish my heavy planted tank has that much nitrates anyway, there are some plants out there that any kind of fish won't touch. Try Java ferns.

 

[Menagerie]

How many fish are in the tank? What types of fish? How much are you feeding your fish? After you do a water change, what is the nitrate reading? How much water do you change out? Do you vacuum the gravel during water changes?

I lower pH with driftwood in my tank (50 and 10 gal). I know it has made a difference of 0.5 and the tank is fairly new.

 

[leesanhua]

i have 15 fishes in the tank.
4 mollies
3 cory catfish
2 black tetra
6 neon tetra

i feed then once a day. just a small pinch.
i change 25% of the water once a week and i do vaccum the gravel everytime i change the water.

 

[Menagerie]

How big is each fish? I don't usually go by the inch rule, but it sounds like the bioload maybe too much for the filter to handle. What filter are you using?

 

[leesanhua]

Penguin Bio-Wheel Power Filters by Marineland

 

[Christmasfish]

I think a 50% each week should solve that. When DO you do your 50%s? Eventually there will be a build up as you take one bucket out for every 3 generated.
Try some lucky bamboo if you can have a spot for it to poke put. It will drop nitrates. You have to watch that diatoms don't use the sicates it produces tobloom. But if you feed light with that many bottom feeders Iseeno prob. Just keep an inch of the top of the pole above water and it will thrive.

 

[leesanhua]

i never do 50% before. should i do that?

 

[Menagerie]

Penguin Bio-Wheel Power Filters by Marineland

What size?

 

[leesanhua]

Penguin Bio-Wheel Power Filters 125

 

[Menagerie]

50% is the max you would want to go and it should get rid of the nitrites eventually. After you do a water change, what is the nitrate reading?

 

[Menagerie]

The 125 may not be enough. I know it's rated for a 30 gal, but you want to go by gph and I forget how that works--someone will jump in hopefully.

How is the bacterial colony doing on the wheel and on the cartridge?

 

[leesanhua]

i don know wht is the nitrate reading after water changed. but i just change my water 3 days ago.
eerrr.. i don know how the bacterial colony doing on the wheel. i seldom clean the wheel but only clean the cartridge whenever i change the water.

 

[Menagerie]

I'm grasping at straws, but those are the things I would check. My hunch is the filter is some how not doing its job (either something is wrong, or it is over powered). Next time you change the water grab a reading just to see where it is.

 

[leesanhua]

so, any other ways that i can reduce the nitrate?

how do i adjust the PH?

 

[Menagerie]

Okay, my fiancé just came in and told me I am thinking backwards. Nitrites are no good and nitrates are basically plant fertilizer. Funny, one would like I would have that memorized by now.

But you want them lowered. The 50% water changes may help and getting plants like java fern or the lucky bamboo.
I suggest you add driftwood to the tank to lower the pH. I have lots of driftwood in my community tank that has tetras and cories (among other things).

 

[leesanhua]

so, all i need to do is get some plants. will do that tomorrow.
thank you for your help. i really appreciated it.

 

[Menagerie]

You are welcome!
You will want plants that like low light and are easy to grow. Check out the planted tank forum before going to the LFS. Fruitbat posted to someone (if I can find the thread, I will post the link) plants that were easy to keep in low light.

 

[Menagerie]

AH HA!! Found it:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=20641
Read this over before going to the LFS--there are three or four recommendations for low light plants.

 

[leesanhua]

why want to have plants that keep in low light? wht about high light? high light no good?