High nitrates

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lukac123

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Sep 28, 2017
Messages
95
So I’m nearing the end of the cycle. I did a 90% water change last night and my nitrates are still high. How do I get them down. My ammonia and nitrites are 0. No fish in the tank. When I did the water change I didn’t vacuum the substrate. Should I do another water change and vacuum the substrate?
 
How high?

What did you use to cycle the tank? If you used any kind of decaying matter you should thoroughly vacuum and remove it all. If you used ammonia then a 100% water change should be enough.
 
I used raw shrimp and I don’t have rocks I have sand. What would be the best way to throughly vacuum the sand.
 
The best way to deal with high nitrates in a tank is a water change.

Assuming your tap water has 0ppm nitrates in it; a 50% water change will drop down your nitrates by half down to about to 45ppm. This is why it's generally recommended to do a 90% water change after completing a fishless cycle. Just be sure to avoid cleaning your filter and your cycle will be fine.
 
Nitrate Level

So I’m nearing the end of the cycle. I did a 90% water change last night and my nitrates are still high. How do I get them down. My ammonia and nitrites are 0. No fish in the tank. When I did the water change I didn’t vacuum the substrate. Should I do another water change and vacuum the substrate?

Hello luk...

Nitrate is the end of the Nitrogen Cycle, so for this form of nitrogen to be lethal to fish, it has to be in the 50 parts per million range and remain there for several days. Ideally, you want to keep the level around 25 ppm.

Most tap water has some level of nitrate. To lower it, use a nitrate reducing filter medium like the products from Acurel and HBH. Add some floating plants like Anacharis, Hornwort and Water sprite. I immerse the roots of the Chinese evergreen in all my tanks. This works better than anything I've used. The plant roots will significantly reduce nitrates in the tank water.

Keep the water changed. I change half or more every week to keep the chemistry steady.

B
 
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