High Nitrates Will More Plants Help?

I have a newly cycled 10 gallon tank. I noticed my nitrates were almost doubling daily. I reduced feeding and do 50% water changes daily and still find my nitrates creeping into the 40-80ppm range on a daily basis. I bought plants to absorb some nitrates. The plants are still new and not fully established but I was wondering if they will eventually start absorbing significant amounts of nitrates.
I also think it could be the filter. I haven't changed it yet and I'm apprehensive about doing so because I lightly clean the surface of the sand daily and I don't want to throw off the newly established cycle. Are my worries warranted? Should I just change it? Aside from this problem what would any seasoned hobbyists expect from a set up like mine?
1 betta
5 neon tetras
3 marimo balls
1 Anubias nana
1 Aponogeton
Java moss
dwarf hairgrass
dwarf water lettuce
hob filter with bio media added
Air stone on at night
Low - medium lighting (more on low side)

 

Most of those plants are slow growers (anubias, java moss). The Aponogeton sounds like it is a very fast grower and should help absorb some nitrates as it starts to really get going. You may want to use some root tabs for the Aponogeton\DHG. Also, you could just rinse the filter pad in some water you take out at a water change to remove some of the gunk and keep doing water changes.

 

Any suggestions for fast growing plants? I was thinking rotala.

 

Any suggestions for fast growing plants? I was thinking rotala.

Bacopa Caroliniana, Ancharis, Amazon swords to name a few.

 

If your nitrates are shooting up that fast, it may be that you have nitrates or ammonium in your tap. Have you tested your tap for these before? And I'd recommend trying to upgrade your light if possible, but in terms of fast and lowish light plants: Amazon swords. Their only downside is how big they get but they grow like nothing I've ever seen. Also cabomba is a step up from swords but it needs moderate to high light to thrive. With some extra ferts and decent light, cabomba will literally grow up to an inch a day.

 

Duckweed really helps with nitrates, and it grows really really fast. Like crazy fast. You’ll have too much in a month or so. But it really helps.

 

I hate duckweed personally, it blocks light from getting in the tank and it's near impossible to remove from the tank entirely. Not to mention every time you do maintanence it sticks you your arm and gets everywhere. If you want a floating plant that isn't a complete pain, water lettuce is much bigger and attractive and it too grows quickly but it's easy to remove and it way less sticky when you do maintanence.

 

Duckweed and java moss.

 

If your nitrates are shooting up that fast, it may be that you have nitrates or ammonium in your tap. Have you tested your tap for these before? And I'd recommend trying to upgrade your light if possible, but in terms of fast and lowish light plants: Amazon swords. Their only downside is how big they get but they grow like nothing I've ever seen. Also cabomba is a step up from swords but it needs moderate to high light to thrive. With some extra ferts and decent light, cabomba will literally grow up to an inch a day.

I do show some ammonium but no nitrates in tap water. I also found a dead onion in the tank; removed it and nitrate slowed way down.
Thank you everyone for the responses. I have java moss now and water lettuce.

 

I do show some ammonium but no nitrates in tap water. I also found a dead onion in the tank; removed it and nitrate slowed way down.
Thank you everyone for the responses. I have java moss now and water lettuce.

Dead onion? The food or is that a species of fish I’m unfamiliar with?

 

Dead onion? The food or is that a species of fish I’m unfamiliar with?

Water onion bulb from those packages from pet smart. I must have put it in when I was cycling the tank and forgot about it. I moved a decoration and thought it was a dead neon at first but then I saw it was the bulb, very dead.

 

HI there. What sort of substrate do you have? Are you adding any fertilizers for the plants? Some plant substrates do release ammonia, for the first few weeks, which will increase your nitrates too.

The extra ammonia in your tap water will increase your nitrates, but it shouldn’t be by that much. The rotting plant bulb definitely could have been the main issue. Since the tank isn’t very big.

I would do a large water change of 90% to drop those nitrates down to 10 and do the best cleaning job you have ever done. Also I would clean your filter. Rinse the media off, and clean the actual filter with dechlorinated water. To get any build up out of there also. It can be an overlooked source of nitrates.

As a side note, the neon tetras should be kept in a larger tank. They need more room to swim around. Usually a 20 gallon long is better for them, than a 10g.

Good luck.

 

AllieSten The neons were for my cycling and I didn't really plan on them surviving this long. I just wanted 1 betta and shrimp. When they didn't have ich the neons didn't group up as much, which I understand to be characteristic of a "relaxed" state. I have a mixture of sand and plant substrate that did release ammonia. Part of the reason my initial cycle took so long to establish. The plants have been in there since before the fish so they take some of those nutrients. That onion bulb seems to have done the trick. Nitrates are not rising as fast anymore.

 

I am happy that you found your problem but am curious as to why you just run your air stone at night. I personally never turn mine off so it caught my attention.

 

Water onion bulb from those packages from pet smart. I must have put it in when I was cycling the tank and forgot about it. I moved a decoration and thought it was a dead neon at first but then I saw it was the bulb, very dead.

Oooooohhhh like the Water Lilly bulbs! I hate those. I’ve only ever had one actually grow. They always just rot.

I am happy that you found your problem but am curious as to why you just run your air stone at night. I personally never turn mine off so it caught my attention.

I do the same in my planted tanks. Plants take up carbon dioxide and release oxygen during the day as a byproduct of photosynthesis. During the night, plants consume oxygen but they don't release any. All plants and animals on earth engage in a process called respiration. Respiration combines oxygen and the food created during photosynthesis to produce usable energy. One of the byproducts of respiration is carbon dioxide. So by running an aerator at night in moderate to heavily planted tanks, you allow more oxygen to be dissolved into the water so the fish and other inhabitants have enough oxygen during the night. It helps maintain stable levels and this can help with some algae control. BBA for example, a persistent black algae, thrives in fluctuating Co2 levels, running an aerator can some times help keep it under control. It’s more common to do this in high tech, Co2 injected tanks but it can make a difference either way. I have my pump turn on 30min after the lights go off and off 30min before the lights come on.

Edit: I do this because I have no other surface agitation in my tank. If you have an HOB filter it doesn’t make much difference whether or not you have an air stone. I run mine at night to provide enough agitation to promote oxygen exchange.

Awesome tank BTW OP! If that dwarf hair grass fills in, which unfortunately likely won’t without Co2 injection, it’ll look even better!

 

I am happy that you found your problem but am curious as to why you just run your air stone at night. I personally never turn mine off so it caught my attention.

From some of the research I've done, plants release CO2 at night. A group of scientists from HohaI University in China did an experiment on how much co2 is used in the rice paddy fields during the day vs at night. They found co2 was present in the paddies at night and absent during the day.

"The values of [net co2] were negative during the daytime and positive at night, and the minimum value appeared around noon." (Yang, Xu, Liu, Zhang, & Wang, 2016, Results and discussion, para 3.1)

I don't feel I have enough shrimp and fish to warrant the extra O2 at night but since everything in the tank decides to breath O2 at night I leave the air stone during the dark hours. If anything just to ease the inhabitants.

Yang, Shihong., Xu, Junzeng., Liu, Xiaoyin., Zhang, Jiangang., Wang, Yijiang., (March 1, 2016). Variations of carbon dioxide exchange in paddy field ecosystem under water-saving irrigation in Southeast China. Agricultural Water Management. http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=

Aquarium Info. (2015) Carbon Dioxide CO2. Retrieved from:

John.(September 8, 2016). CO2 carbon dioxide in the aquarium.

Huang, Christopher. (April 18, 2012). Do plants emit carbon dioxide at night? Retrieved from:

Byron. (July 15, 2010). Fish suffocating at night, without air-stone. Retrieved from: Fish suffocating at night, without air-stone.

live4wetsleeves You mentioned CO2 injection. I have API CO2 booster. I can't find where I found the info, but, I was under the impression shrimp don't appreciate it in the tank so I stopped using it once I got them. I did have rotala in my hospital tank and I noticed huge growth and even slight reddening of leaves under very low light. I stressed out the plant from replanting and they died though. Does CO2 booster apply the same effect as CO2 injection?

 

I hate duckweed personally, it blocks light from getting in the tank and it's near impossible to remove from the tank entirely. Not to mention every time you do maintanence it sticks you your arm and gets everywhere. If you want a floating plant that isn't a complete pain, water lettuce is much bigger and attractive and it too grows quickly but it's easy to remove and it way less sticky when you do maintanence.

But those are the fun things about duckweed!

 

Forgive me for being a little slow but I am still baffled by the air stone at night. I understand why but is there a reason that I missed as to why it's not run 24/7?

 

Forgive me for being a little slow but I am still baffled by the air stone at night. I understand why but is there a reason that I missed as to why it's not run 24/7?

If you have a heavily planted tank, the plants will take in co2 and release oxygen during photosynthesis. An aerator doesn’t directly dissolve oxygen into the water, it causes co2 to leave the water and this lets oxygen dissolve into the water. So when you run an aerator it can deprive the plants of necessary co2 for photosynthesis during the day. So essentially, during the day, the concept is that the plants act as your source of oxygen. Running the aerator at night makes up for the plants’ uptake of oxygen.

I’m no expert on the subject, but from the research I’ve done, this is the best of my understanding. So basically, running the aerator only at night can help maintain stable levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide. It’s not a huge difference and it’s not exactly “necessary” but I’ve noticed a difference in my tanks with and without nightly aeration. My plants grow faster and the algae grows slower. And my fish are consistently happy so there’s not a significant difference in them.

 

Very interesting. Thank you for taking the time to explain it in simple terms. Another lesson learned today.

 

Yes, fast growing plants will absorb nitrates. Plants like anacharis (elodea densa), jungle val and java fern. I recommend you to do some water changes and check the parameters of your tap water.

 

Very interesting. Thank you for taking the time to explain it in simple terms. Another lesson learned today.

This is a lesson I will remember if I ever decide to change out my artificial plants for living ones. Gotta love this place

 

This is a lesson I will remember if I ever decide to change out my artificial plants for living ones. Gotta love this place

After having plants I’m never going back to artificial ones, the difference they make is night and day.

 

Artificial plants have so many cons, they may hurt the fish or release bad ingredients to your fish, they are mostly expensive comparing to the real ones which they grow. By buying one plant after trimming it (or rooting) you can easily get another 2-3 plants.
Not only that they affect the water by a good prospective, the only con is to buy some fert and a decent light.

 

Artificial plants have so many cons, they may hurt the fish or release bad ingredients to your fish, they are mostly expensive comparing to the real ones which they grow. By buying one plant after trimming it (or rooting) you can easily get another 2-3 plants.
Not only that they affect the water by a good prospective, the only con is to buy some fert and a decent light.

Agreed, the pros far outweigh the cons. Why would you want pieces of plastic when you can have growing, living, beneficial plants. You just have to have the appropriate accommodations in order to let them prosper. Fertilizers aren’t even very expensive and one of the biggest pros is plants’ ability to utilize nitrates! I know a guy who set up his 190gallon tank with enough soil and plants that he literally doesn’t even do water changes. All he does is top off the tank and feed the fish once a week. He does maybe one PWC every couple months. There’s also a large enough population of shrimp that the fish live off of them in perfect harmony.