I just finished my fishless cycle yesterday and my nitAtes are reading 160ppm. I already did two 75% water changes and my nitrAtes are still high. Is there anything more I can do? I have a 75G and it takes alot of time for water changes!
Nitrate won't drop!
- Thread starter purblind
- Start date
check your nitrate levels from the tap, and do as complete of a water change as you can (90% +) once levels jump to a high mark then it's really hard to test accurately. the level could very well have been astronomical (it often is at the end of a fishless) when you started with the water changes.
Dave
Dave
I know you mention fishless, but is there any chance something in the tank is rotting?
Plant or animal matter?
Plant or animal matter?
That's a pretty durn high nitrate reading... have you had a crosscheck done (different test or taken a sample to LFS to confirm)? After water changes, it should not be so high...
Jim
Jim
Ongoing plants are a really good way of controlling nitrates - they actually use them as fertiliser. Apparently (and I'm frankly sceptical) there are also types of filter medium that are supposed to absorb it too.
Being an old cynic I've never really believed that a green sponge rather than a blue sponge is going to manage that for me - but there we go!
R
Being an old cynic I've never really believed that a green sponge rather than a blue sponge is going to manage that for me - but there we go!
R
Did you use ammolock or any other "ammonia detoxifying product" by chance? I've seen ammonia/nitrite/natrate readings all measure off the scale when those products were used. Not sure the exact chemical reactions involved however.
At least you know your cycle is working good!! The only thing I know of to reduce nitrates is water changes. What kind of fish do you plan on getting? Some are more sensitive to it than others. You may want to try getting some fast growinglive plants, they seem to work really well along with water changes.
How are you doing your water changes? I do mine using two 5 gallon buckets and a 5 foot length of half inch pond tubing with a piece of painty hose secured around the end I insert into my aquarium so it doesnt suck up fish. This cut my time by half. While I am dumping one bucket the other is filling. If only I could find a way to replace the water that fast.
How are you doing your water changes? I do mine using two 5 gallon buckets and a 5 foot length of half inch pond tubing with a piece of painty hose secured around the end I insert into my aquarium so it doesnt suck up fish. This cut my time by half. While I am dumping one bucket the other is filling. If only I could find a way to replace the water that fast.
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Do you have many plants in the tank? If not, add more, lots more, especially floating plants. Plants use the nitrates in the water and this will bring the reading down, as well as looking decorative and benefiting the fish (when you add them) too. Also, there are various products on the market by way of filter media that claim to absorb nitrates, but I don't know how effective they are. If your tap water contains a lot of nitrates, this could explain the high reading.