ManicLamb

Hello all,

Over the weekend I decided that both my tanks were due a small water change. One of my tanks has only been up and running with fish in it for 2-3 weeks (it was fully cycled beforehand). Anyway I decided to test the Nitrates today, and despite the water changes, both gave a reading of around 40 PPM - 80 ppm of Nitrates... I've been giving my new tank weekly water changes since I got fish in it, so I was surprised that the readings were that high.

Anyway out of interest I decided to test my tap water to see what its nitrate levels were. I was shocked to see that the nitrates level were again around the 40 ppm mark. This obviously makes me wonder the point of the water changes!

My question is, has anybody else had experience of this? What are my options in getting water into the tank without so many nitrates, or put another way is there a way of getting rid of the nitrates in my tank (some sort of additive etc...)?

I'm using a API test-tube nitrate test kit, so pretty confident the results are accurate.

Cheers,
Simon

Shawnie

if your tanks are fully cycled, the bacteria should eat that up within a few hours or overnight...I do have a few questions..did you really bang that number 2 bottle for nitrates on a hard surface? the crystals are awful hard to mix up and sometimes give a false reading if not done hard..also, whats their feeding schedule? and also, how did you cycle it in 2-3 weeks? answering some of those might give us some more suggestions ...40 in a tap is high and if you are drinking it, id be worried ...but again, if you are drinking it , and it tastes fine, you might be getting a false reading

ManicLamb

My ammonia and nitrite levels are 0ppm. Its just my nitrate levels that are high, which obviously don't get processed by any bacteria. My tank took well over a month to cycle. Only after it cycled I added fish (which has been over 2 weeks).

I shuck bottle no 2 hard for 30 seconds, but I didn't whack it on a hard surface. Would this make a significant difference to the test results?

Shawnie

yes it would because its crystals are hard as heck to shake up and mix...so unless you are grossly overstocked, or over feeding, or not changing out your water enough, your cycled tank should be able to process the nitrates a little better...so maybe its a false reading from not being mixed up enough?

ManicLamb

My main tank is 180 litres, at present it has 3 Corys, 2 Platies and 2 Dwarf gourami's. So I don't think overstocking is an issue. Feeding only once a day at the moment.

I'll give the tank another test tomorrow and bang the bottle hard to see if it makes a difference. If my tap water tests the same, I may have to call the local water company!

Thanks for the suggestions!
Simon

ManicLamb

Ok so I thought I'd do a bit research over my lunchbreak at work. It looks like my Nitrate test readings could be accurate! I've just looked at my local water boards (Yorkshire water in UK) website for 'whats in your water', and guess what nitrates are in there... Here's the read out..

Nitrate 43.2 50 mg NO3/l
Nitrite 0.0 50 mg NO2/l
Sodium 25.1 200 mg Na/l
Turbidity 0.1 4 NTU

So if this is correct.. What are my options? Lots of plants? Or some sort of chemical additive to get rid of the nitrates?

Cheers

Shawnie

chemicals IMO are a last resort always...fish dont like them very much nor does the bacteria to keep the cycle alive...plants will help alot and www.plantgeek.com has tons of different varieties as well as what type of lighting is best..goodluck!

Butterfly

Floating plants and fast growing plants like Hornwort will suck up the Nitrates really fast.
Carol

ManicLamb

Thanks for the ideas Butterfly. Might take a drive back home via the LFS and get some tonight.

Regarding the nitrate levels, once I get a decent amount of plants in the tank, will it get to stage where doing a water changes actually increases the nitrates due to my local water supply?

Butterfly

Probably only slightly but the plants will take care of it. They will love it
Carol

ManicLamb

Excellent, all I want is a safe nitrate level for my fish! Also the plants will give them plenty of hiding spaces (currently only have 2 live, and three fake plants!).