Help High NitrAtes!

I tested my water levels in my 15 gallon today:-

NitrIte - 0.5
NitAte - 20!
PH - 7.0
Ammonia - 0

My nitrAte levels are usually around 5.0. Why has it gotten so high all of a sudden? What should I do? Should I do a Water Change? ???

The temperature has been very hot here the last week could this be something to do with it?

Thanks in advance.

Gwenz

 

When was your last water change? Yes, I suppose you could (or even SHOULD) do a water change as we always remove nitrates (as well as nitrite and ammonia) with water changes. I assume the tank has fish and has finished cycling long ago. Who knows, maybe nitrate and nitrite increase has something to do with the high temperature. I know that at higher temperatures fish's metabolism is much faster. So perhaps all the organic compounds in the water are breaking down faster too and that's why you have sudden increase in nitrates. And if not that, increased metabolism of fish at higher temperatures may be causing them to produce more wastes than normal, and thus increased nitrate.

 

Definitely do a good water change. Something has thrown your cycle out of whack, and it looks like you are experiencing a minI cycle. You may want to use amquel plus as your water conditioner for now so the nitrites are neutralized and the stress is reduced for your fish.

 

I'll do a water change today and I'll see if it helps. I have tried looking for amquel plus before, but can't find it anywhere. Maybe we don't have it here in UK. :-\ I have Tetra Aqua EasyBalance that is supposed to reduce nitrAtes. Should I try using this to see if it helps? ???

Isabella - I got my tank around 3-4 months back and it finished cycling a while back.
Gunnie - What should I do if I am experiencing a minI cycle? :-\

Thanks

Gwenz

 

you need to do an immediate water change if you haven't already. I hope you manage to sort it out!

 

Ok, I've done a water change and will test later to see if it made a difference. If it hasn't should I keep doing water changes until it has?

Thanks

Gwenz

 

The NitrAtes have gone down to 10.0, so I'll do another water change to get it lower again. The weird thing is though that my PH has gone up from 7.0 to 7.6. The PH of my tank has always been 7.0 since I got it back in April. Does anyone know or have any idea why it has risen? What should I do? Should I just leave it and let the fish get used to it?

Thanks

Gwenz

 

Something is going out of whack but I have no idea what it could be. Could it be something they are doing with the city water? I wouldn't be too worried about the Nitrates, 20 is safe and 10 is even better. It's the Nitrites I'd be worried about. That's weird you're getting those in a cycled tank...

 

I'm planing on doing another water change later, hope it helps. :-\

Gwenz :-\