Nitrates thru the roof

IceH2O

IceH2O

Bazinga
Nov 26, 2005
1,682
60
51
Rock Hill,South Carolina
Real Name
Ice
I just took my 1st ever water reading,have had this tank for about 5 yrs..

the results...

Ph 7
Ammonia not .25 but not 0 either
Nitrate 160
Nitrite .25

Are water changes the best way to lower the nitrate? How often and how much should I do...There are only 2 new fish in there..the rest have been in there for 2 yrs or more..

I just took my tap water readings..

Ph 6
Ammonia 0
Nitrates 2.5
Nitrites 0

Also...I'm not fully planted but have about 8 of them..Plan on a few more..I have a powerhead running for airation..I figure plants help with Nitrates,maybe I'm not helping the plants help the nitrates.....could the level of surface agitation release to much CO2...I could knock down the bubbling..

I'm much more worried about the Nitrates being 160 then i am the ammo and trites...They will go down with water changes...I wasn't wanting to know the best way to go about my water changes...big and frequent?..small and frequent?...big/twice a week?..

The fish have been in there a long time and i don't want to shock them to quickly..Like I said this is the 1st ever WR in 5 yrs...I have no idea how long they've lived in those conditions..

Someone also mention Kh..what exactly is that?

Am I suffering from OTS?

I have to go to work but throw as many suggestions as possible my way..I'll see whats going on tonight..
 
a tank which has been running for 5 years and exhibits nitrogen waste product such as yours is clearly suffering from inadequate maintainance. since your tap water has low nitrate levels, the only way your tank water nitrates have gotten so high is by insufficient water changes. moreover, having any ammonia and nitrite in your tank indicates an inadequate biofilter.

a goldfish in a tank with tropical species is a poor idea since the latters temperature requirements are about ten degrees higher. too, a fantail GF needs about twenty gallons for itself ... you've got 11 additional fish in there, a certain recipe for your problems.

palmas bichir - grows to nearly a foot. you've got two of these in twenty gallons? oh boy !!!

you say you're not worried about your ammonia or nitrite levels? you should be. but to the specific question at hand ... you need to perform water changes of about 20 percent every 4 days to begin with, and then increase this to about 50 percent weekly until your nistrate level is down to 10 ppm or less.

then ... please do some research on your fish. you're not doing them any favors.
 
Also you didn't mention anything about the conditions of your plants. Are they healthy? What type of lighting do you have? For a low light low tech enviornment it would be best to reduece the surface agitation to minimal. This can be done just by lowering your powerhead into the water columm until you just barely have a ripple on the surface. As far as the airration goes you can and should do away with it completely. You'll notice a nice improvement in your plants, surfuce agitation will disapates co2 to some degree, airation on the other hand eliminates it all together.
As mentioned above start you water changes small and frequent, 20%-30% every couple of days would do and gradually make them larger, 50% and once a wk. You're tap water looks good, I would reccomend one of these http://www.petsolutions.com/Python+No+Spill+Clean+Fill-I-94002514-I-C-37-C-.aspx it'll make your life a whole lot easier.
Kh is your carbonate hardness basically it's your waters ability to maintain a steady pH. I'd say with a pH from the tap of 6.0 that you have soft water with low carbonate hardness.
I agree with the post above in finding another home for the goldfish. I don't have any experiance or knowledge of the eels that you have. So I can't offer any advice there. The clowns loaches will outgrow that tank someday too. Everthing else will do just fine.
 
nice article, RTR (OTS)

think i'm gonna tear up that val stand. been a couple of years.

whats HTH?
 
liv2padl said:
the only way your tank water nitrates have gotten so high is by insufficient water changes.
Click to expand...

I admit I got slack on the water changes...Thats why I'm thinking its not OTS but just lack of water change..

liv2padl said:
a goldfish in a tank with tropical species is a poor idea since the latters temperature requirements are about ten degrees higher.
Click to expand...

Everything I have read puts my fish in the same temp zone...it sits between 76-78..

liv2padl said:
palmas bichir - grows to nearly a foot. you've got two of these in twenty gallons? oh boy !!!
Click to expand...

I'm getting a 75 gallon for them next month..plan on putting the Clown Loaches in with them..


liv2padl said:
you say you're not worried about your ammonia or nitrite levels?
Click to expand...

I'm thinking they are just high because of the water changes..if the Nitrates come down won't everything else?

tre8160 said:
Also you didn't mention anything about the conditions of your plants. Are they healthy? What type of lighting do you have?
Click to expand...

They look good..new growth on all the plants...Its low light,need more I'm sure but its 1 wpg..

tre8160 said:
Kh is your carbonate hardness basically it's your waters ability to maintain a steady pH. I'd say with a pH from the tap of 6.0 that you have soft water with low carbonate hardness.
Click to expand...

I know I need to add hardner to my pool,is there a way to add it to a tank or is it better off just working with what I have?

Thanks for all the input..I did a 25% change today..Will every other day be ok?I was doing 50% before I slacked off,guess I was on the right track.
 
Would it help any to remove all the gravel and rinse it off? My gravel cleaner had broke and I haven't vaccumed in over 6 months...this is probably the biggest reason for the nitrates being so high..
 
I'd say no, since you would release a bunch of detritus all at once, which won't be good for your fish!
 
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