Nitrates so high!!

[yahooandgoogle]

Hi I am asking a question not about my tank but a tank at my work.

So on Friday I got asked to have a check on a fish that was sick unfortunately by the time I got there it had already died.

I looked at the tank the water looked clear but there was green slush on the side of the tank the plant in the tank had rotted. So I immediately checked the nitrates which were 160 plus! The colour wasn't even on the testing kit. So I performed about a 25-30% water change with water conditioner removed the rotted plant and wiped the aquarium glass. They have a filter which pours water into their tank. The other fish looked ok.

I checked the other levels also and these were the results
Ammonia 0-0.25
Nitrite was 0
PH 7.2

I left a letter saying they need to preform more water changes to drop those nitrates. The lady is going in today to perform another one.

Should I do another on Monday when I go back to work? Or will that be too stressful on the fish? They are small goldfish only tiny.


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[ravenxcore]

Yes! If the nitrates are that high I would def suggest another change on Monday. 1) What size tank is it. 2) What fish are in it

 

[yahooandgoogle]

Hello thanks for replying. Two common goldfish very small. Unsure of the size of tank I would say by looking at it around 45-50 litres. I will check Monday when I do the change.


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[MMantelli]

Yes! If the nitrates are that high I would def suggest another change on Monday. 1) What size tank is it. 2) What fish are in it

+1 on another pwc i would do 50% every couple days untill there down below 40 then do 50% per week and all will be good.

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[Titaniumtim]

Don't know if you know this or not, but Prime by Seachem is your bestest friend.

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[MMantelli]

Prime Phelps in a pinch but other than a de-chlorinator all it does is detoxify ammonia and nitrates it does not remove them

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[yahooandgoogle]

Thanks I'm getting some today


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[Titaniumtim]

Prime Phelps in a pinch but other than a de-chlorinator all it does is detoxify ammonia and nitrates it does not remove them

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As i don't see how this comment helps the OP at all, i will expand on my own comment, that Prime is your best friend....yes, all prime does is de-chlorinate the water, and detoxify ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates to a certain degree.(Wow, thats all??!!!!) Dose it at 3-4 times the amount for your tank and it provides further protection from said toxicity for a maximum of 24 hours. Allowing you to do water changes at a rate that is safe for your fish, while reducing stress from toxic ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. And, as MMantelli mentions, it helps in a pinch,......which I assume this situation is!!!

 

[MMantelli]

As i don't see how this comment helps the OP at all, i will expand on my own comment, that Prime is your best friend....yes, all prime does is de-chlorinate the water, and detoxify ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates to a certain degree.(Wow, thats all??!!!!) Dose it at 3-4 times the amount for your tank and it provides further protection from said toxicity for a maximum of 24 hours. Allowing you to do water changes at a rate that is safe for your fish, while reducing stress from toxic ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. And, as MMantelli mentions, it helps in a pinch,......which I assume this situation is!!!

Thank you. For elaborating

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[Matt68005]

I don't really like prime. I know alot of people use it, and it last a long time, but masking bad water quality with chemicals is just not my style. Regular "tap water coditioner" is cheap, Uses the same dose as prime (none of that aloe vera crap) and dosent nullify other chemicals you might need to use, such as cheical dyes for ich......which prime does. Not to say its all bad, Seachrem makes good products, just to say that its ovverated and you just need to clean the filters and substrate more often to keep nitrates lower. Anything under 40ppm is fine for fish.

 

[jlk]

Hello thanks for replying. Two common goldfish very small. Unsure of the size of tank I would say by looking at it around 45-50 litres. I will check Monday when I do the change.


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Water changes (frequent and large) will lower the nitrate level but the main issue is two common goldfish in a 40-50l tank. A 10-13g tank is honestly not suitable for even a single common goldfish unless large wcs are performed daily. Even with large wcs daily, this is only a very short term solution. You should consider discussing rehoming these guys to a happy pond and stocking the tank with more appropriate fish for such a small tank size. Please ask if you have any questions!

 

[yahooandgoogle]

Thank you everyone for your help. The nitrates in this tank are slowly dropping with water changes and water conditioner.

I have explained to the lady that more regular changes need to be done to ensure they are at safe levels for the fish.

I bought the fish a new live plant. I am going to do two more small changes this week and a gravel vacuum in between.

Also I noticed the the gravel these coloured ones look really old. If I was to replace these it would upset the balance of the tank wouldn't it? Do I just replace half?
Thanks everyone


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[lectraplayer]

I wouldn't replace the gravel, but I would plow it with the vac at every water change. I alsu would train the water changes until I got nitrates "into the twenties." Stress from changing water is secondary to cleaning the ecosystem up for those fish. You get paid by the hour to do that don't you?

I also noticed a lot of love here for goldfish.

 

[yahooandgoogle]

Lol. Thanks for that they aren't my goldfish but they are pretty neglected so I will do my best to help save them.
Ok I won't change the gravel I will gravel vacuum it. I bought a gravel vacuum for them today, and a few new decorations as the old one the paint had all come of. I don't know if the filter cartridge has ever been replaced either?


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[lectraplayer]

Any luck so far on those goldfish?

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[Coursair]

Don't replace filter cartridge. Just rinse them well in USED tank water or Dechlorinated tap water so you don't kill the BB.

Don't over clean either.

If you wash filter with untreated tap water and gravel vac too thoroughly all on same day , you can kill off BB.

You can change gravel later as most BB lives in the filter. But I'd only change 1/2 at a time ??

Here is a thread that may help explain why the GF should not be in a small tank.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...uire-big-tanks-visual-perspective-265871.html




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