nitrate issue

[Arimc]

Does anyone know what may be causing the nitrates in my tank to be too high? I started having a problem several months ago. I added a lot of fish and live plants to an established tank and and then had to battle a problem with ammonia and nitrites. However I have not been able to get the nitrates down. They have been testing off the scale ever since (and I am shaking the test bottle!)
Thanks,
Ari

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hi and welcome.
There are two ways to reduce nitrates, weekly water changes and live plants. Are you changing a % of your water every week? If so how much? And what fish, how many and what sized tank? Thanks.

 

[Arimc]

We do weekly water changes - about 25% since we are trying to correct the nitrate issue. We have a 55 gallon tank with community fish. One angels, 1 gold gourami, 4 tiger barbs, 1 danio, 8 tetras, and 1 red fin shark. During the battle with ammonia and nitrites we lost 1 angel, 3 dwarf gouramis, 10 tetras, 3 danios, 1 tiger barb, and 8 mollies. They died over a period of two months while we were doing water changes, using ammo lock and nitrazorb. The tank had been running with only the two angels and 5 or 6 neons in it for two years when we added the additonal fish and 7 or 8 live plants (over the period of about a month). The plants died during the first month and then we started having water problems. We thought maybe the problem was caused by the plants. I think we put in too many fish. We finally drained most of the water out, cleaned the gravel and decor and put the tank back together using the quick bacteria stuff from the pet store. The rest of the fish survived the ordeal and the ammonia and nitrite problem went away. Two months later, nitrates continue to test off the scale. Thanks.

 

[RedFlame]

I would say do a water change down to the point that the fish have enough water to survive in and replace the rest. I use prime which supposedly neutralizes ammo, trites and trates. I would say do a massive water change and up the weekly water changes until the numbers get into a reasonable or readable ppms. Once the trates drop then you can go back to your 25% weekly. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

We do weekly water changes - about 25% since we are trying to correct the nitrate issue. We have a 55 gallon tank with community fish. One angels, 1 gold gourami, 4 tiger barbs, 1 danio, 8 tetras, and 1 red fin shark. During the battle with ammonia and nitrites we lost 1 angel, 3 dwarf gouramis, 10 tetras, 3 danios, 1 tiger barb, and 8 mollies. They died over a period of two months while we were doing water changes, using ammo lock and nitrazorb. The tank had been running with only the two angels and 5 or 6 neons in it for two years when we added the additonal fish and 7 or 8 live plants (over the period of about a month). The plants died during the first month and then we started having water problems. We thought maybe the problem was caused by the plants. I think we put in too many fish. We finally drained most of the water out, cleaned the gravel and decor and put the tank back together using the quick bacteria stuff from the pet store. The rest of the fish survived the ordeal and the ammonia and nitrite problem went away. Two months later, nitrates continue to test off the scale. Thanks.

I wouldn't add any more fish. You have some minor stocking issues but we won't go into that now.
25% a week isn't cutting it. Try doing 50% or 25% twice a week from now on. There is no such thing as too many water changes. The more fresh, clean water you can put through your tank the better.
You want to avoid ammonia and nitrite absorbing products at all costs. They will mess up your cycle by removing everything before your BB (beneficial bacteria) can consume it.
Decaying plants will contribute a bit to the problem.
Try to avoid over cleaning your tank. Vacuum the gravel, clean the glass and change the water. Don't replace your filter media unless it is literally falling apart. Instead rinse it out in a bucket of tank water during a water change. There is no need to clean decor in your tank unless you really want to. BB live on all the surfaces of your tank so cleaning too much at once could lead to a mini cycle.
Bacteria in a bottle IMO is a waste of money. The bacteria is either dead from temp changes and lack of food or is the wrong type altogether.
So the answer to your problem is more clean water for your tank more often. You may need to do a PWC everyday for a week to bring them down to a reasonable level. After that a larger weekly water change every week to keep them under 20ppm.

 

[DragonFish71]

Moved to fresh water getting started

 

[Arimc]

Thanks for the help. I'll try the massive frequent water changes.
-Ari

 

[foster53]

I would test your tap water also. Lots of well water, as well as municipal water supplies contain nitrates. If your makeup water contains nitrates, you are fighting a loosing battle