jguitarm15

I just did a test and i found out that the nitrates where a little high can anyone tell me whts going on in my tank i want to know how can i lower the nitrates. thanks!!!
nitrates 40
nitrite .25
ammonia 0
ph 8.2

Iluvatar

Shawnie

usually water changes fix that...but figureing out why could be over feeding , over stocked, and sometimes theres nitrates in your tap water...
also, if your using the api liquid test kit, really bang that #2 bottle on a counter or something....those crystals gotta be mixed up good

im worried you are still cycleing or in a mini cycle as you have nitrites also..that should be 0...so 50% water changes and make sure you condition your tap water

Iluvatar

For more help go to the aquarium nitrogen cycle.http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

sirdarksol

There are a few things you can do.
First of all, do you have a skimmer? If you do, make sure you clean out the collection cup. If you don't, you might want to consider getting one. They pull extra protein out of the water. This protein would normally become extra nitrogen.
Second, water changes, cleaning the sides of the tank, gravel vacuum, as Jonathon said, will help.
Third, what do you have for filters/filter media? There are certain types of filters and filter media that are known as "nitrate factories."
There is one final way to lower nitrates. Set up a refugium and put some fast-growing plants in. This takes extra work, but it can help, so I'm throwing it out there.

Edit: This doesn't really look like a nitrogen cycle problem, although the tank isn't quite cycled yet (or there wouldn't be nitrites). It's just an excess of nitrates.

agsansoo

My standard answer to this question:

Water changes isn't a good way to lower nitrates long term. Besides, huge water changes may be quite uncomfortable to your critters.
Here's what I've picked up on lowering nitrates:
- 1-2 lbs of LR per gallon.
- good water flow
- heavy protein skimming
- not overfeeding
- growing macro algae
- DSB or RDSB
- Just go Bare Bottom !

I'm a proud member of the "I'm too dumb to run a DSB" club. LOL

Shawnie

ooooops...I didnt realize it was a sw tank...I APPOLOGIZE!

agsansoo

No apology needed Shawnie. I would give the same advise to FW. I'm not a big fan of water changes for reducing nitrates. Weekly water changes are great for many other things.

Shawnie

for nitrates in fw, what do you advise? because isnt it usually too much food, poo, overstocked, or bad water?

sirdarksol

I'm a part of the "you can minimize nitrates by changing things regarding your tanks, but the only two ways of actually removing them from the system are a)water changes and b)nitrate-absorbing media" camp.
I entirely agree that the stuff you posted will help lower nitrates but even doing all of those, if you fail to do water changes, your nitrates will rise.
Extra water changes are a good temporary fix to get your fish through a nitrate, nitrite, or ammonia crisis (although they are more difficult with SW, since you've got to perfectly match water parameters), but you definitely want to find the source of the problem (the amount of food you're putting in the tank is often a good place to start).

In short, my opinion is that the only really good way of lowering nitrates are the above listed techniques combined with regular water changes. Doing only one or the other will catch up with you in the long run, leaving you with a nitrate-laden tank.

agsansoo

Yes, your right. The key is not to get your tank to a place where you need to do a 50% + water changes because of bad water parameters. Yes nitrates build up in time if you do everything on my list ( except skimming - FW) . The key ingredient is bacteria.

ammonia into nitrites, the nitrites into nitrates and nitrates into nitrogen. Aerobic bacteria is the stuff on any filter material (bioballs, filter pads, biowheels, ect. ect.) that takes ammonia and converts it into nitrites and then into nitrates. The only bacteria that will remove the nitrates is the anerobic bacteria, which only colonizes in under-oxygenated areas in aquariums.

So I'm I saying not to do water changes ? No I'm not ! Unless you want to dose bacteria every couple of weeks, your going to get nitrates. Over feeding and overstocking a tank will get you high nitrates. Proper tank maintenance and feeding along with 5-10% weekly water changes keeps nitrates low.

Shawnie

TY!!!!

agsansoo

Ty ?

susitna-flower

TY....Thank You....

You guys are awesome....really other forums can learn something from Fishlore....helpful, non judgmental, and kind to one another....

jguitarm15

well i also have a wet/dry filter would that also contribute to the rise of nitrates?? if so how could i clean that which i think i shouldnt clean it so much since i think thats where the bacteria will grow too.

jguitarm15

I almost forgot!!!

can anyone tell me how can i clean this?? it looks like a purple algea but im not really sure, it keeps coming back every 2-3 days after i clean. thanks

Attached Images

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angelfish220

Isnt purple algae in saltwater good? its like something people try to get growing isnt it? are you sure it isnt coralline algae?

Tumbleweed

That looks like cyano. Is is kinda powdery when you try to clean it or is it slimey?