A Bit Of Advise Please?

[sycko]

What are nitrates? are they harmfull? and what level are they suposed to be at? mine has risen to 40 within a week from an average of 20 over a period of months is this bad? and how do i lower it?
also my p,h is now 6.4 in the baby tank after i placed some bog wood in there is this a good reading for platys?

 

[darkwolf29a]

Nitrates are bad, yes. Have you been doing weekly 20% water changes? If not, that's your culprit right there.

Not sure about PH balance for platys.

 

[sycko]

cheers darkwolf29a
now u mension it i havnt done a water change for about 3 weeks is this the cause?

 

[dthoffsett]

Nitrates are the end result of the breakdown of ammonia and nitrite. Yes they are bad, but only in high concentrations (over 100ppm) for a sustained period of time. The only reliable way to remove nitrates is to do partial water changes. Another advantage of water changes is that it will dilute any chemicals or minerals that have built up due to evaporation.

I recommend weekly 20% water changes on an averagely stocked tank. You can put it off for two weeks, but should up your water change to about 30%.


Platys general prefer more alkaline water, but should be okay.

 

[rdd1952]

As menioned, nitrates are the end result of the nitrifying process and can only be removed by water changes. If you have noticed them rising faster than normal, that could be the result of overfeeding or from overstocking. The more you feed and the more fish you have, the faster the nitrates will rise. If you do weekly 20% water changes, you shouldn't have any problems. Nitrate really doesn't become toxic until it is at 100ppm or higher but you still need to keep it lower as algae also feeds on nitrate so high levels can cause algae.

 

[sycko]

thanx alot for the help guys!! i have just done a 30% water change u should have seen the black filth from beneth the gravel!! i will do a test tomorow when it has settled down and hope my nitrates drop

 

[darkwolf29a]

I'm not surprised at "black filth"

I would test the water tomorrow morning, but be prepared...you may have to do another water change in a couple of days.