mars

hi .. i have a 4 foot standard tank and the nitrate levels are high according to my test kit its about 10 PPM . water hardness and carbonate hardness and pH is OK. and i lost some fish a couple of weeks ago .i am trying to bring the nitrate to 0 or close to .i have been feeding them everyday flake food and brine shrimp live once a week but i think IL cut down. the aquarium shop sold me some ammo lock which says it instantly detoxifies ammonia, but it seems to increase it slightly if anything there are no dead fish any where and i change about 10 - 15 % every 7 to 10 days and when i change the water i mix the conditioner and the blue hardening crystall before i put it in the tank at the same temperature 24-25 degrees and i have the hood\light on about 5 hours a day.. my fish include 5 barbs 4 silver sharks 5 Molly's and 5 suckers and a couple of rose barbs.. and the barbs colors are blotchy ..i have a large piece if driftwood in the tank and plastic plants and undergravel filter. the tank has been set up for a year now and i think i have adequate aeration in the uplift tubes .i tested the water for nitrate straight from the tap and its zero..please help as one of my barbs isn't looking to flash ..

Butterfly

I would stop all chemicals except dechlorinator. Do you have any live plants? 10ppm Nitrate isn't a high reading. Could we have your Ammonia and nitrite readings also please?
How often do you do water changes? What kind of "suckers" do you have and what are you feeding them. Sorry for so many questions
Welcome to FishLore!
Carol

mars

I don't have any live plants just plastic . and the suckers are called Chinese algae eaters i think ..I use 3 test kits pH , GH/kh and nitrate .. The ph i try to keep it at 6.8 - 7.0 . g/h and k/h 4 drops=71.6 ppm and nitrate is showing 10ppm im going by what is the recommended levels provided by the test kits.. .I haven't been advised to use an ammonia test kit .I took a sample to the local pet shop last week and she said your nitrate is abit high but the Ph and hardness was OK . And i figured that the slightly high nitrate was the cause of the fish that died and the discoloration of the barbs and the sick barb i have now.. Do you think leaving the light on longer would reduce the nitrate?.. i also bought one of those green ammofree balls and put it in. I'm changing water 10 - 15 % every 7 to 10 days. im not using any earation besides the undergravel filter air lift tubes would that help do you think?. i have pics if needed .. thx

Butterfly

We love pictures. Chemicals tend to confuse the test kits and at times give incorrect readings. Aquarium pharmaceuticals has an excellent water test kit with all you'll need in it. Dechlorinator is just about the only one that doesn't mess with testing.
Fish will readily acclimate to just about any Ph as long as its steady. Ph adjusters tend to make it fluctuate and that can make your fish very sick. If your concerned about the 10ppm Nitrates a better way of bringing it down is with a floating plant even tho 10ppm isn't high, water changes are also a great way to lower Nitrates. You just can't do too many water changes
Your fish would appreciate a 12hr on/12hr off night cycle. This is more in rhytm with their bodies.
The recommended amount of water to change is 25% once a week.
While the underground filters are not my favorite I have used them in the past and had plants and fish do well. What I did find when I took it out was all kinds of gunk that had been pulled underneath. Just be sure and do thorough gravel vacuums to pull as much as possible out of your gravel and you can put the vacuum tube down the air lift tubes and get lots of stuff out that way also. I also recommend adding a hang on the back (HOB) filter.
Hope I haven't confused you and have answered your questions
Carol