I'd say if the fish are still alive then I wouldn't do anything too drastic. Start the water changes small and frequent and gradually work your way into a steady maitenance routine. The nitrates will go down with the water changes alone, doing too much at once will only stress the fish as well as the bio filter.
Nitrates thru the roof
- Thread starter IceH2O
- Start date
Ok I've been doing 20%-25% changes everyday for the past 4 days..My NitrAtes are still way up there at 160 ppm..
Whats the rule of thumb on checking parameters? Its been about 14 hrs since I did my last water change..Should I wait the 24 hrs to get accurate readings?
I know the time difference won't change my Trates but does it change everything else?
My Trites were close to .25 last time I did a check,this time its closer to 0 but not quite there,Am is at 0,but my Ph has dropped to 6.6..My ph out of the tap is 6 so I figure that has something to do with it dropping..Would I be better off letting my tap water sit for 24 hrs before a water change?
I've read that to help get Trates down you could add something like Nitra-Zorb,some type of filtration material,anyone ever try this? Its not a liquid chemical so I feel safe using it..what do you guys think?
Whats the rule of thumb on checking parameters? Its been about 14 hrs since I did my last water change..Should I wait the 24 hrs to get accurate readings?
I know the time difference won't change my Trates but does it change everything else?
My Trites were close to .25 last time I did a check,this time its closer to 0 but not quite there,Am is at 0,but my Ph has dropped to 6.6..My ph out of the tap is 6 so I figure that has something to do with it dropping..Would I be better off letting my tap water sit for 24 hrs before a water change?
I've read that to help get Trates down you could add something like Nitra-Zorb,some type of filtration material,anyone ever try this? Its not a liquid chemical so I feel safe using it..what do you guys think?
As for lowering your Nitrates, you shouldn't have to use anything other than good clean water changes. Unless you have a high Nitrate reading from your tap water.
If it hasn't been a full 24 hours and your tests are detecting any Ammonia or Nitrites, buy all means do another water change.
If it hasn't been a full 24 hours and your tests are detecting any Ammonia or Nitrites, buy all means do another water change.
I agree that good water changes are all that you need. With your pH dropping off like that I would wait 24 hours between water changes to allow fish a chace to adjust. They have already been living in high nitrate conditions and trying to fix it overnight won't help. So keep up the changes you are already doing, allow those levels to drop slowly and that will help your fish to adjust. This may take awhile.
Once the ammonia nd nitrite levels stay at 0 after a 24 hour period then the cycle is working correctly again with the proper levels of bacteria. At this point the tank will be much more stable and closer to tapwater conditions so you can (if you wish) think about adjusting things like hardness. But I would wait until that point of stablity before worrying too much.
Once the ammonia nd nitrite levels stay at 0 after a 24 hour period then the cycle is working correctly again with the proper levels of bacteria. At this point the tank will be much more stable and closer to tapwater conditions so you can (if you wish) think about adjusting things like hardness. But I would wait until that point of stablity before worrying too much.
I figured it would take more than a few days to get the Trates down but I wanted to make sure I was on the right track..Trites are on the down so thats good..
The funny thing is I haven't noticed any abnormal changes to the fish..They're all very active,no signs of stress,eat well,no sign of disease..
Am I just lucky?
Did I just jinx myself?
They've been under these conditions for a while I would assume..Couple of months..
Would adding more plants help? I understand they eat Trates..I'm looking at java ferns because they are low light.
The funny thing is I haven't noticed any abnormal changes to the fish..They're all very active,no signs of stress,eat well,no sign of disease..
Am I just lucky?
Did I just jinx myself?
They've been under these conditions for a while I would assume..Couple of months..
Would adding more plants help? I understand they eat Trates..I'm looking at java ferns because they are low light.
TKOS said:
The KH and PH levels seem to rise and the GH levels drop after 24 hrs..The CO2 levels are well into the good range even with the drop with water changes so I'm not too concerned with them.
Adding plants couldn't hurt and Java Fern are pretty easy ones. Java Moss is good as well. Both are very undemanding and will consume some nitrates.
The fish have just become used to the conditions over time. That is why it is really important to not shock them with drastic changes. You are going about this the right way with the slow changes to water chemistry. Once the levels get to the accpeted 20-40 ppm nitrates you will be able to return to a more regular schedual of maintanance.
The fish have just become used to the conditions over time. That is why it is really important to not shock them with drastic changes. You are going about this the right way with the slow changes to water chemistry. Once the levels get to the accpeted 20-40 ppm nitrates you will be able to return to a more regular schedual of maintanance.
