Help Determine Nitrate Test Kit Reading

Hi,

I have just purchased an API Master test kit (I usually go to my LFS and have my water tested). Can you please help me work out what my nitrates are?

I have just completed my usual weekly clean/water change. (it has been a bit closer to two weeks as I had to dose my tank with Pimafix).

I have a couple of pics for you all (cos who doesn't love pics)

Thanks for your help







EDIT: Forgot to mention PH 7.4 temp 23

 

Looks like 40-50, probably closest to 40.

 

Thank Eienna, that is what I guessed but I wanted to check.

Is that too high?

 

It's not optimal but it isn't at a dangerous level yet either.
My water comes that high straight from the tap and my fish still seem to be quite happy, eating like pigs and showing great color and a healthy activity level. I checked that out with some of the other forum members when I found out it was that high. Most people say under 20 is best, but again, 40 isn't yet at a troubling level. Just be careful it doesn't get a great deal higher than that.

 

Thanks,

What do you do to keep your level at or below 40?

 

Hi, welcome to Fishlore
Generally water changes will bring nitrates down, assuming of course your water source contains no nitrates.

I'm kinda surprised to see nitrates at 40/50ish in a planted tank. I would have thought the plants would help keep levels down.

This points to possibly either stocking too heavily or possibly over-feeding. I know you didn't ask for advice about the high(ish) levels, but in case you were wondering, that's where I'd start looking

Great looking tank BTW

 

Water changes are the best way to reduce nitrates. Unless you already have nitrates in your tap water. It might be best to test your regular tap water (without water conditioner) and see if it has any nitrates present.

How much of a water change did you just do? Also what water conditioner do you use?

I just got my test kit 2 days ago, it is a fun new novelty isn't it? Lol

 

Water changes are the best way to reduce nitrates. Unless you already have nitrates in your tap water. It might be best to test your regular tap water (without water conditioner) and see if it has any nitrates present.

How much of a water change did you just do? Also what water conditioner do you use?

I just got my test kit 2 days ago, it is a fun new novelty isn't it? Lol

I love mine...those test strips are . I'm still cycling and testing so much I think I'll blow through the nitrate test solutions and the ammonia solutions before I get my first fish!

 

The size of your water change (and frequency) is based on your nitrate levels. First, you need to test your tap water and see if there are any nitrates in it. Assuming your tap has 0ppm nitrates, then a 50% water change would drop your nitrates 50%. So you basically need to figure out how much your nitrates rise in a week and do a large enough water change to ensure your nitrate level isn't above 20ppm at the end of the week. (This assumes 0ppm in your tap).

If your tap water does contain nitrates, you may not be able to keep your nitrates under 20ppm. But since nitrates aren't real toxic, you can get away with higher levels. But you really don't want large nitrate swings, since that can shock the fish. So if your nitrates are never below 20ppm, but never above 40ppm, that would be fine.

Since I have nitrates in my tap water, I use Amquel+ along with NovAqua (they need to be used together). Amquel+ removes nitrates (I think something like 13-15ppm it removes, but don't remember exactly). If you do not have nitrates in your tap, any water conditioner will do.

 

Also, when you are doing your water changes be sure to vacuum down into your substrate. When I first switched from gravel to sand all I was doing was hovering over the sand and removing anything that laid on top (like most youtube videos said to vac sand) I could not figure out why my nitrates would not go down even after 50% water changes. Once I was informed that sand needed to be vacuumed like gravel or stirred my nitrates dropped immediately.

I know a lot of people with smaller tanks will just use a cup or something to remove some water and then replace with new but you really need to suck the "junk" out of the substrate (if you arn't already)

 

I found that if I keep the water for my change in a bucket overnight with some Seachem Purigen the nitrate level is halved by the morning.

 

To me the looks like you have 80ppm nitrates, as it is more pink than 40 is. I really wish the colors were a bit more different to determine the proper ppm.

I do agree with the others in checking what your tap water reads. For me I have no nitrates but I'm stuck with 0.5ppm ammonia.

Ryan - I had 40ppm nitrates in my tank which just had snails. I had not been feeding them, or anything. Plants were in the tank too. Of course, now they have dropped to around 10ppm which makes me happy.

 

Hi, welcome to Fishlore
Generally water changes will bring nitrates down, assuming of course your water source contains no nitrates.

I'm kinda surprised to see nitrates at 40/50ish in a planted tank. I would have thought the plants would help keep levels down.

This points to possibly either stocking too heavily or possibly over-feeding. I know you didn't ask for advice about the high(ish) levels, but in case you were wondering, that's where I'd start looking

Great looking tank BTW

Thank you and yes I do want advice.. I have been wondering about my current stocking levels. I have a 51 L tank (not sure what that is in G's) and my fish are in my profile. How much food should I feed them? I currently give them a small pinch of vegetable based flakes in the morning and about double at night of a mixture of two foods. I feed once a week frozen blood worms (and no flake food), occasionally live black worms and once a week an algae wafer for the corys and shirmps.

Water changes are the best way to reduce nitrates. Unless you already have nitrates in your tap water. It might be best to test your regular tap water (without water conditioner) and see if it has any nitrates present.

How much of a water change did you just do? Also what water conditioner do you use?

I just got my test kit 2 days ago, it is a fun new novelty isn't it? Lol

I just did a 25% water change (usual weekly amount) and I have just started using Prime (this was the first time) and yes it sure is a fun novelty. I am going to test again this afternoon and I will let you know the new params. (it is 24hrs after using water conditioner that I can test again..?)

 

The size of your water change (and frequency) is based on your nitrate levels. First, you need to test your tap water and see if there are any nitrates in it. Assuming your tap has 0ppm nitrates, then a 50% water change would drop your nitrates 50%. So you basically need to figure out how much your nitrates rise in a week and do a large enough water change to ensure your nitrate level isn't above 20ppm at the end of the week. (This assumes 0ppm in your tap).

If your tap water does contain nitrates, you may not be able to keep your nitrates under 20ppm. But since nitrates aren't real toxic, you can get away with higher levels. But you really don't want large nitrate swings, since that can shock the fish. So if your nitrates are never below 20ppm, but never above 40ppm, that would be fine.

Since I have nitrates in my tap water, I use Amquel+ along with NovAqua (they need to be used together). Amquel+ removes nitrates (I think something like 13-15ppm it removes, but don't remember exactly). If you do not have nitrates in your tap, any water conditioner will do.

I have just tested my tap water, no conditioner straight out of the tap (not sure if I should leave it in a bucket like ph? The reading is 0. YAY! Should I do multiple water changes a week? If I am changing 50% of the water will the change in Nitrates shock the fish?

Also, when you are doing your water changes be sure to vacuum down into your substrate. When I first switched from gravel to sand all I was doing was hovering over the sand and removing anything that laid on top (like most youtube videos said to vac sand) I could not figure out why my nitrates would not go down even after 50% water changes. Once I was informed that sand needed to be vacuumed like gravel or stirred my nitrates dropped immediately.

I know a lot of people with smaller tanks will just use a cup or something to remove some water and then replace with new but you really need to suck the "junk" out of the substrate (if you arn't already)

Definitely vacuum the way to the bottom. The only place I can't get to easily is around the back near the plant roots. I do stick the tube in and around the plants as much as I can with out disturbing the plants too much.

To me the looks like you have 80ppm nitrates, as it is more pink than 40 is. I really wish the colors were a bit more different to determine the proper ppm.

I do agree with the others in checking what your tap water reads. For me I have no nitrates but I'm stuck with 0.5ppm ammonia.

Ryan - I had 40ppm nitrates in my tank which just had snails. I had not been feeding them, or anything. Plants were in the tank too. Of course, now they have dropped to around 10ppm which makes me happy.

I know, I really could not tell! Same with the ph, so I ended up using the high ph test kit which gave me a clear 7.4.

 

I just did a 25% water change (usual weekly amount) and I have just started using Prime (this was the first time) and yes it sure is a fun novelty. I am going to test again this afternoon and I will let you know the new params. (it is 24hrs after using water conditioner that I can test again..?)

Your tank would be around 14g. I use this forum so much I now think in gallons and every time I look at a tank in litres I have to convert it into gallons to get an idea how big it is -.-

Since your tank seems to be stocked on the heavy side (actually it might even be a little overstocked?) if at all possible I would probably recommend 20-25% water changes twice a week. If it's not possible then perhaps you should do a larger water change once a week. When doing water changes you should base it on how much nitrates are in your tank. If you have 40ppm nitrates then doing a 50% w/c will hopefully lower it to 20ppm. Unless you have nitrates in your tap water.

And yes I've read that you should wait around 24 hours after using prime to test since it can effect the results. I'm currently waiting for that now myself and I do feel a little impatient lol, 5 more hours to go ...

 

Your tank would be around 14g. I use this forum so much I now think in gallons and every time I look at a tank in litres I have to convert it into gallons to get an idea how big it is -.-

Since your tank seems to be stocked on the heavy side (actually it might even be a little overstocked?) if at all possible I would probably recommend 20-25% water changes twice a week. If it's not possible then perhaps you should do a larger water change once a week. When doing water changes you should base it on how much nitrates are in your tank. If you have 40ppm nitrates then doing a 50% w/c will hopefully lower it to 20ppm. Unless you have nitrates in your tap water.

And yes I've read that you should wait around 24 hours after using prime to test since it can effect the results. I'm currently waiting for that now myself and I do feel a little impatient lol, 5 more hours to go ...

Ahh good ole LFS telling me I have room for atleast 6-10 more fish if I get the same size I currently have! Bummer, I wanted to get my Corys some new friends

No Nitrates in my tap water, I tested them earlier.
I am quite happy to do 2x weekly water changes.

Haha 7 hours for me!! Guess I should do the housework while I wait.... (but really I am going to waste hours reading threads here..LOL)

 

Hi, we do have a forum calculator/convertor at the bottom of the page

There is little chance that any Australian capital city has nitrate in the tap water.

On feeding, you don't need to feed twice a day, once a day should be fine. There's many views on how much is enough, a search of fishlore will reveal many discussions on the topic.

Agreed, changing 50% should theoretically bring nitrates down by 50%.

Also worth mentioning is filter maintanence. The more detritus that may be trapped in the filter can lead to higher nitrates as a result of decomposition. Regularly rinsing all the filter media to remove the trapped detritus can also help reduce nitrates. [note; only rinse filter media in old aquarium water]

 

Hi, we do have a forum calculator/convertor at the bottom of the page

There is little chance that any Australian capital city has nitrate in the tap water.

On feeding, you don't need to feed twice a day, once a day should be fine. There's many views on how much is enough, a search of fishlore will reveal many discussions on the topic.

Agreed, changing 50% should theoretically bring nitrates down by 50%.

Also worth mentioning is filter maintanence. The more detritus that may be trapped in the filter can lead to higher nitrates as a result of decomposition. Regularly rinsing all the filter media to remove the trapped detritus can also help reduce nitrates. [note; only rinse filter media in old aquarium water]

Thank you for the calculator.

I will have a look for the feeding threads - thanks for the suggeston.

I rinse the filter media in the bucket of siphoned water every week, just a quick dunk and squeeze, pick off any big chucks like leaves etc and pop it back in straight away. I don't touch the white rings (I can't remember what they are called). I did notice yesterday when I had my tank turned around that there is a fair bit of ?detritus in the bottom of the filter (there is a section underneath that is currently housing a wayward shrimp an a couple of baby endlers which have somehow gotten in there.) Should I attempt to vacuum this section out? I didn't think to take a pic yesterday.

 

Hi,
I would definitely attempt to get all detritus out of the filters. It adds to the organic waste

Also, the white rings, probably ceramic rings, it doesn't hurt to rinse them either. A few minutes of exposure to air won't hurt the bacteria

 

Ahh good ole LFS telling me I have room for atleast 6-10 more fish if I get the same size I currently have! Bummer, I wanted to get my Corys some new friends

No Nitrates in my tap water, I tested them earlier.
I am quite happy to do 2x weekly water changes.

Haha 7 hours for me!! Guess I should do the housework while I wait.... (but really I am going to waste hours reading threads here..LOL)

Yeah, some of the LFS I've been to have given horrible advice. I'm not sure if it is because they simply do not know any better or that they don't care what happens to the fish after you get it as long as you pay for it! I'm not sure which option would scare me worse >.< so I now no longer listen to what my LFS says.

Perhaps you could start a post in the stocking section to see what others would recommend? I'm pretty new and not too sure about stocking myself and I don't want to give you bad advice. Perhaps if you were willing to get rid of a few fish it would make room for some more cories, I really don't know. What sort of cories do you have by the way? Some grow bigger than others and therefor require more room.

I also know what you mean by wasting time on this forum lol. But you could look at it in a different way, you are bettering your understanding of fish keeping for the good of your fish so it's not really counted as a waste of time hehe.

 

I also know what you mean by wasting time on this forum lol. But you could look at it in a different way, you are bettering your understanding of fish keeping for the good of your fish so it's not really counted as a waste of time hehe.

HAHA I am going to tell my hubby that one!!

 

Yeah, I would have to concur you're stocked a little heavy. Riiiight on the edge of over, if not over.
They're right, get that gravel vacuumed really good each change