Nitrate levels.

[FishNewbie97]

That's excellent information. Thank you very much!

 

[Aiken Drum]

If there is anything you dont understand or I'm making things too complicated let me know.

 

[Andy Sager]

That's excellent information. Thank you very much!

Sadly, the pet industry doesn't have the scrutiny that human products have so there can be a lot of claims that are not backed up by evidence. Then there is the fact that not all fish live in one type of water parameter. Some fish can even handle certain amounts of chlorine in their water as chlorine has been used as a medication for some conditions. Then to add even more confusion, farmed fish, depending on how long they have been farmed, can be changed physically to be able to live in water parameters that their wild counterparts can't. So there really isn't a " one size fits all" for the tropical fish hobby. This is why you need to ask your fish supplier a lot of questions. Are these farmed fish or wild caught? What parameters are YOU( the supplier) keeping these fish at? Have the fish been quarantined in your place? Have your fish been medicated in your place. Are the fish eating? What food do you feed at your place? Are these schooling fish or live solitary? ( for example). If a sales person can't answer those simple questions, nothing they say should be considered "gospel". We live in a very different time these days because the internet has become the main source of information while the internet's information does not take into consideration the differences. It only seems to know more about wild fish's information while the majority of the being kept are farmed. So keep asking us here as we have no "skin in the game", meaning we have nothing to sell you so we have no reason to misinform.

 

[FishNewbie97]

Sorry, I'm not going to try and count fish from a photo.

This is the problem. Water changes simply arent going to be effective to reduce nitrate if your source water already has high levels. The nitra-zorb is a solution, either pretreat the water to reduce nitrate levels before you use it in the aquarium, or use some in your filtration. If you are going to add it into your filtration i would get a 2nd filter, like an internal power filter and fill that with the chemical media so you arent needing to remove media from your main filter to accommodate it. Remember nitra-zorb gets used up, so frequently needs replacing.

There are other things you can do, like incorporating nitrate hungry plants.

That has nothing to do with your nitrate levels. Prime is significantly over strength, you are normally going to be fine with an underdose unless you have very high levels of chlorine or chloramine. If your underdose was a problem, your fish would have just died.

I have 9 of the glo-fish , 2 black skirt tetras , 2 otos and 3 nerite snails.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Thats fairly full, but your issue is the nitrate in the tap water.

Your options are.

1. Live with it. The vast majority of small scale hobbyists will go down this route. Do what water changes you can keep nitrate levels as low as reasonably practicable and things as stable as you can. Accept that its less than ideal. Accept that the fishes health might suffer due to poor water quality. Make sure you arent overfeeding, as more food equates to more nitrate. Make sure you don't overstock the aquarium, as more fish equates to more food etc.

2. Intervene to lower the nitrate levels. This could either be chemical means, like the nitra-zorb or through nutrient hungry plants that will use the nitrate as a nutrient for growth. This can either be directly in your aquarium. Or set up a container with a filter containing the chemical media or the plants, run your tap water through this set up for the week leading up to your water change to rid it of the nitrate, then use that water for your water change and start again pre-conditioning the tap water ready for your next water change.

3. Or find a different water source. You can buy bottled water that should be nitrate free. Or buy RO/DI water and remineralise it with salts. Or get your own RO/DI filter and make your own RO/DI water and remineralise that.

Really depends on how much you want to put into the hobby.

To compare.

If your tap water has zero nitrate and is normally stocked with a weekly 50% water change, your nitrate levels will settle between 10 to 20ppm. This is generally considered an acceptable level where most hobbyists will be.

If your tap water has 20ppm nitrate and is normally stocked with a weekly 50% water change your nitrate levels will be between 30 to 40ppm. This is generally considered on the high side, but many people will live with this. Obviously if you are overstocked or overfeeding, then your nitrate levels will settle at an even higher level.

 

[FishNewbie97]

So I have done two 50% water changes and it looks like the Nitrates are still around 40PPM, however, tonight is the first time in four months that they did not immediately eat their food. None of them. Looks like they may have eaten it about four or five minutes after I put it in. That has never happened once. Ammonia tested around 0.25PPM (if that) and Nitrites were 0 PPM... should i be concerned?

 

[Andy Sager]

So I have done two 50% water changes and it looks like the Nitrates are still around 40PPM, however, tonight is the first time in four months that they did not immediately eat their food. None of them. Looks like they may have eaten it about four or five minutes after I put it in. That has never happened once. Ammonia tested around 0.25PPM (if that) and Nitrites were 0 PPM... should i be concerned?

What water are you using to replace the tank water?

 

[FishNewbie97]

Still the tap water. I guess i need to buy multiple 5 gallon jugs of spring water :/

 

[Andy Sager]

Still the tap water. I guess i need to buy multiple 5 gallon jugs of spring water :/

That's part of the problem. Between the amount of fish you have in the tank and the nitrate level in your tap water, you are not getting the level down because the microbe bed is producing nitrates as fast as you are removing it.. You need to either get another water source or use something to get the nitrates out of the water before adding it to the tank. It's really a simple math problem. If you do a 50% water change with water that has 0 nitrates in it, the nitrate level will go down 50% or 1/2. If you are adding water with nitrates already in it, 50% will not reduce the level by 1/2. If you do a few water changes with pure spring water ( that should have no nitrates) and can get your nitrate level down to under 10 ppm, then you can start mixing 1/2 spring water and 1/2 tap water for some changes but again, you are going to have to keep tabs on the nitrate level because it will not be reducing as much with each change. I wouldn't do big water changes with the spring water yet. Start with doing 20%-30% 2-3 times per week of spring water. Depending on the nitrate level, you may not need to do 50% water changes after that with spring water.

 

[FishNewbie97]

Got it. I will do exactly what you said. Thanks again!

 

[FishNewbie97]

Did a 20% water change about two hours ago. Refilled tank with spring water. Nitrates are already down to about 20PPM!

 

[Andy Sager]

Did a 20% water change about two hours ago. Refilled tank with spring water. Nitrates are already down to about 20PPM!

A couple more like that and you should be in a good range. Then you need to see how long it takes for the nitrates to climb.

 

[FishNewbie97]

Awesome. Thanks again!

 

[FishNewbie97]

Probably a stupid question, but for the brine shrimp, do you drop it in the water as a whole cube? Or do you break it up and distribute it that way?

 

[Andy Sager]

Probably a stupid question, but for the brine shrimp, do you drop it in the water as a whole cube? Or do you break it up and distribute it that way?

Not a stupid question. How much you feed is dependent on how much the fish eat. I'd start with 1/2 a cube. If the fish finish it off in under 2- 3 minutes, next time give them a whole cube. If they don't finish that in under 2-3 minutes, remove the excess and for the next feeding, use between 1/2 and a whole cube.
As for how to feed it, you can do either ( break it up or drop it in) OR you can squeeze it against the glass just under the surface and the fish will come and tear it apart.