Nitrate wont ever go down. yes the tank is cycled

[davidwolf]

My tap water has an extremely high nitrate level. I purchase reverse osmosis with a DIY risen to get the nitrate down. I've already done one 50% water change. It didn't even faze it. I run an fx4 on the filter unit. I sent some pics. My fish are occasionally gasping. I could be wrong but I really believe it's the nitrate causing it. Should I do multiple water changes? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[davidwolf]

fish tank level

fish tank water level conditions.

 

[Aiken Drum]

What is your nitrite?

 

[davidwolf]

I test weekly

I test that weekly. It's 0 and appreciate your helping me.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Its a bit difficult for me to see from a photo, it looks 40ppm +. Can you confirm what your reading is.

Nitrate really isnt a problem unless you get stupidly high. 40ppm is considered a good upper level to aim for, but many people have healthy fish at higher levels than that. Nitrate is the end product of the nitrogen cycle, your cycle produces nitrate. High nitrate is a sign that you arent doing enough water changes to remove it. Perhaps you have a very high level of bioload from an overstocked tank? Perhaps you are neglecting your regular water maintenance?

Like me you have nitrate in your water supply which makes removing through water changes more difficult as the water you add in is topping up what you have just removed. In which case its more important to stock lightly. What is your tap water at? Mines about 7ppm.

Plants can take up some nitrate, if you have fast growing surface plants, they can take up quite a lot of nitrate.

Whats your normal water change schedule?

 

[davidwolf]

Tap water

Heres the tap water nitrate. Its hard to tell 40ppm or higher in the tap water. This is why I switched to RO water.

 

[Aiken Drum]

If you are seeing high nitrate and you are using RO water, thats a clear sign you are not doing sufficient water changes proportionate to your stocking.

Can you give some more details on the aquarium? Size, filtration, what fish do you have etc?

What is your normal water change schedule? How much, how often?