Nitrate Help

[FatherKing]

I have a heavily planted 20gal tank. The tank is about 2 years old. I don't have the best mix of fish at the moment, but am in process of receiving a 55 gal and waiting for that to arrive. 5 adult fancy guppies, 2 flying foxes, 2 chinese algae eaters, 2 oto cats, and about 8 guppy fry (3 6 weeks, 5 3 weeks). I am 2 weeks into seeding a Fluval canister filter and am still running a whisper hob.

Here is the issue: My ammonia is 0ppm, my nitrite is 0ppm and my nitrAte is constantly over 60ppm. This week alone i have done 4 30% water changes and an 80% water change. I've vacuumed my gravel with every water change and am moving my rocks and driftwood around when I do so. I am using an api tester liquid testing kit. My tap water is only testing at about 5ppm for nitrAte. What do I DO?

 

[Zevyn]

I'd at least rule out a faulty test kit by having a reputable fish store test the water as well. I literally beat the nitrate bottle #2 to death when i shake it up to get that powder in there to mix, but it's a guess every time for me and I just assume it's mixed enough.

 

[foster53]

Test your tap water for nitrates. Sometimes there is nitrate in it.

 

[FatherKing]

I finally purchased a better gravel-vac system "Lee's Ultimate Gravel-Vac." It really does make water changes so much easier. Now that I'm not dragging buckets all over the place I've done enough water changes to get my nitrates down to only about 10ppm. I am still wondering if there is something else that might be causing the fast production of nitrate. Now that my new canister filter is seeded, i can give the hob a good cleaning (not the filter media, just the casing). that will help too.

Any suggestions on how often to give the canister vac a scrub down? I know they also can become nitrate factories. Advice would be appreciated. @foster53: as it says in the initial post, my tap water tests at 5ppm for nitrate. is that too high?

 

[foster53]

5 PPm in tap water is not bad, some has much more. Weekly water changes, and gravel vacs should keep your nitrates at a safe level. Stocking levels, amount of feedings, and amount fed each time all has a bearing on nitrate production. As for the canister filter, I clean mine about every 6 weeks. Thats just my personal schedule for cleanings. Everyone has a different opinion on length of time between cleanings. As long as you keep your bio material wet with tank water I don't think it matters what time frame you use. Regular tank maintenance is the key to healthy fish!!

 

[boadams87]

Im surprised that nitrates r that high, with it being heavily planted.

 

[librarygirl]

Have you checked your filters recently? Sometimes old plant matter and debris can get in there and decay and cause high nitrates. During a water change, open the filter and take out anything visible (plants, etc) and rinse out the media in old tank water (it'll probably turn the water brown and be gross lol).