zeddy

my nitrates have risen to high and i need to get them down is there something i can use or do

lilsoccakid

the only way is to do a water change

Howeyg

you mean nitrite right

zeddy

no my nitrite level is good along with all the other levels its just my nitrates.

zeddy

what causes high nitrates

Radcliffe

Nitrates are the product of a healthy tank, and are caused by the fish living in the water, basically. The fish poo etc raises the ammonia which is turned into nitrite which is turned into nitrates. Regular water changes, and partial gravel cleanings are the way to keep them down :-)

--R

zeddy

well thats good to know i must be doing something right. but my problem is i do 25-30% water changes every 2 weeks, when i do my changes i vacuume all the gravel i premix my water with ph stuff, salt, plant food, and chlorine eliminator, yet i cant get the readings down. will mitrates hurt my fish my reading is @ 80ppm

sgould

Yes...80 is too high. To bring them down, increase your changes to 50% and do it daily until your levels come down below 20. Once you get them down, maintain them by doing your 25-20% changes weekly instead of every 2 weeks.

zeddy

thanks i'll ive that a try

Jay

this should work but if it doesn't seem to be happening check your test kit. i was using one that showed perfect on all except nitrate levels. Go the API kit and the readings were OK. I binned the other test kit straight away

armadillo

Me too.

Butterfly

yep weekly 25% water changes will help keep the Nitrates in hand.
Carol

Kelley

I disagree they need to test there water. A daily water change is not going to help lower nitRATES. I test my water and I get 20PPM straight out of the tap. There water my test higher like 40ppm. and if that is the case all the water changes in the world won't help.

Butterfly

Yes testing tap water is helpful in determining where the Nitrates are coming from. Lots of live plants will help. If not in the tap water then weekly water changes will help control them.
Carol

armadillo

What a nightmare. 20PPM out of the tap!

Luniyn

Well supposedly this product from Tetra will remove some of the nitrate from your water. I've never used it but have heard others that have had good success with it (they also had 20 ppm from their tap water). One thing to note, however, in it's reduction of nitrate it creates excess CO2 so you MUST have good aeration in your tank or it will end up causing more problems then the nitrate by itself.

Butterfly

Lots of live plants will take care of the excess Nitrates
Carol