Nitrate acceptable level

[gdcmv]

Hi there.
I have a 65 litres aquarium. At the beginning I had 3 male guppies and making weekly 20% water change's I was keeping the nitrate levels between 10 and 20 ppm. Now that my stock went up to 8 guppies, the nitrate levels are above 40 ppm. I don't want to do 50% water change's and my fish looks happy. What do you guys think about my dilemma? What's the absolute maximum ppm value, at which is better to do big water change's in order to reduce it?
Any comments on this subject are welcomed.

 

[Delapool]

Following, following

My own opinion is that 30ppm is ideal for plants and common, hardy fish. My tank is often 40ppm and I take that as a sign to work it down (slightly tricky when I'm dosing for plants at the same time).

Long flowing finage or less hardy fish or no plants and I'd go for lower. Maybe also for invertebrates as well, I'd have to check notes.

 

[J.Mcpeak]

I aim for zero. Yes it's impossible long term but it's nice to see yellow occasionally!
(I'm not a plant guy though, I'm a fish guy)

I do midweek changes and the weekend, some systems get three visits, some get two, one tank gets a weekly visit most of the time but occasionally I double up for one week a month. Then if I fall behind a bit, it doesn't really matter too much.

Really it depends on the fish, some fish really don't like it.

My opinion on your situation, you're talking about one extra bucket of water, not a great deal of work considering you're already stood with wet hands and a bucket etc.
(Please though, no hate, I'm not inciting a riot, just my opinion!)

 

[BBradbury]

Your Tank

Hi there.
I have a 65 litres aquarium. At the beginning I had 3 male guppies and making weekly 20% water change's I was keeping the nitrate levels between 10 and 20 ppm. Now that my stock went up to 8 guppies, the nitrate levels are above 40 ppm. I don't want to do 50% water change's and my fish looks happy. What do you guys think about my dilemma? What's the absolute maximum ppm value, at which is better to do big water change's in order to reduce it?
Any comments on this subject are welcomed.

Hello gdc...

40 ppm nitrates is acceptable for a hardy fish like a Guppy. However, 20 percent water changes are still leaving 80 percent of the old water with dissolved wastes in it. A small tank needs a 50 percent water change a couple of times a week if you want the fish to live in the best water conditions.

You're the water keeper, do what you feel needs to be done.

B

 

[gdcmv]

I am afraid that making such big water change's will disrupt the balance of the water parameters. I read somewhere that is not recommended to do big water change's if is not required (ammonia spike or similar). Another thing made me think. Each time when I brought an fish or other aquatic creature from the shops, I tested their water and the nitrate levels were always over 40 ppm. If for them is OK maybe for me will be as well....

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[Caliban07]

Maybe you are feeding to much too often?

Over stocking and over feeding are the two main causes of high nitrates. Although guppies have a higher bioload than you may think I don't believe you are over stocked?

I would agree that you may need to change more water though. 50% is a good number to aim for and is easily manageable in a 60 litre tank. Just keep the tank water stable. 50% weekly will do just that as well as keep things a little 'fresher'


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[Delapool]

I am afraid that making such big water change's will disrupt the balance of the water parameters. I read somewhere that is not recommended to do big water change's if is not required (ammonia spike or similar). Another thing made me think. Each time when I brought an fish or other aquatic creature from the shops, I tested their water and the nitrate levels were always over 40 ppm. If for them is OK maybe for me will be as well....

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

Mainly I think the trick is not to stress the fish out overall when doing a water change and changing conditions too rapidly. Otherwise discus people growing out young fish wouldn't get away with the large water changes they do. So not changing temp or ph (TDS/kh/gh) all at once drastically.

However neons on the other hand I don't think like really large water changes. For the water here anyways.

I change out 75% of the water for growing out Molly fry each week with no issues. Small tank so a bit easier to temp match a bucket of change water. On the larger tank I change 35% to 40% which I find works well. Keeping the water as fresh as possible does seem to help with disease control.

Shops are different to home tanks imo.

 

[fish wrangler]

How do you guys/gals determine what is a say 50% wc on a tank? The size or how much water it holds? My tank is a 29 gallon but I know it doesn't hold 30 gallons worth of water

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[DeeLee2013]

How do you guys/gals determine what is a say 50% wc on a tank? The size or how much water it holds? My tank is a 29 gallon but I know it doesn't hold 30 gallons worth of water

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I have a 36g bowfront. I visually slice it into thirds when I do the smaller water changes. I don't "measure" from top tank rim to bottom rim; I use the distance between the top of the substrate and the top of the water.


? Diana Lee ?
? the St. Augustine Redhead ?

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36g Rescape in Progress!
10g Orchid Endler's N-Class
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[Delapool]

How do you guys/gals determine what is a say 50% wc on a tank? The size or how much water it holds? My tank is a 29 gallon but I know it doesn't hold 30 gallons worth of water

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Tank size but I have two canister filters to balance out substrate / caves.

 

[fish wrangler]

Forgot about my canister! I want to say it holds 1.5-2 gallons. Should equal out for the substrate

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[gdcmv]

In conclusion, when I reach 40 ppm I need to do bigger changes (up to 50%) in order to stay below 40 all the time. Because I have some plants, I need to stay above 10 ppm nitrate level.
One more question:
Is it worthy to add to my filter some chemical filtration (purigen)?

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[Delapool]

In conclusion, when I reach 40 ppm I need to do bigger changes (up to 50%) in order to stay below 40 all the time. Because I have some plants, I need to stay above 10 ppm nitrate level.
One more question:
Is it worthy to add to my filter some chemical filtration (purigen)?

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I have a note that below 10ppm may also encourage blue green algae. Which seemed to match what was happening in my tank.

On the other hand plenty of people have tanks with less than 10ppm without any issues so could have been specific to my tank.

 

[em1981ma]

Just do a 50% weekly water change its only a 65litre tank lol. I do 40-50% weekly changes on a 465litre tank. ( bare in mind I have goldies) but I still think you could easily do that to keep nitrates down.

we're gona need a bigger tank (boat).. JAWS ~~~∆~~\o/~~

 

[Hholly]

In conclusion, when I reach 40 ppm I need to do bigger changes (up to 50%) in order to stay below 40 all the time. Because I have some plants, I need to stay above 10 ppm nitrate level.
One more question:
Is it worthy to add to my filter some chemical filtration (purigen)?

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I used to use purigen but found the recharging process to be a pain in the butt. I switched to Seachem Matrix and my tanks have been happy ever since.

 

[ScotJudd]

I use purigen but I don't recharge it, I replace the contents of the plastic sachet with some from a 200g tub, reselling it with a plastic food bag clip. It's cheaper than buying sachets and I really don't like the idea of using bleach to recharge it. I know some say it's safe but it's safe until the first time you make a mistake.
Purigen is an absorbent polymer so I wouldn't class it as chemical filtration as it absorbs but does not release anything in exchange.
It's worth trying a bag and seeing the effect on your water. I was well impressed as it also removes tannins and gives you crystal clear water.


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[J.Mcpeak]

Their is a difference between absorption and adsorption, Purigen is an adsorption media.