A Good Nitrate Level

[lopeva]

My 10 gallon tank has been up and running for a little over a month and a half. My ammonia and nitrite levels are -0-; my nitrate level is fluctuating between 0 and 5 ppm. It has 4 neon tetras and 4 glow tetras, which were added to the tank after a month of cycling.

I'm concerned there's not enough nitrate. What is a good nitrate level, or am I worrying needlessly?



Penny

 

[new fish lover]

10 gallon tanks seem to have a problem with Nitrates. At least mine do. Anyway the ideal nitrate would be 0. Just keep up on regular water changes and that should help with the nitrate levels. 5-20 ppm would be still acceptable but not desirable. It sounds like you are doing a great job to eliminate nitrate. Nitrate is at the end of cycle and is the least harmful.

 

[lopeva]

New Fish Lover --

Thanks for the reply; for some reason I thought there should be a good deal of nitrate in the tank. I'll continue with my current regiment.

Thanks again.

Penny

 

[kev_kb]

A Nitrate level of 5ppm is nothing to worry about at all, it is the end product of the cycle and will be present in all tanks. If you have plants they will use some/all of it up but you'll keep the levels safe with weekly water changes as well. I believe a level of 0-20ppm is perfectly normal depending on if you have plants or not.

 

[snowyangel]

Agreed. I think it's better to have some nitrate there to know there's beneficial bacteria present. Some members water sources already have 40ppm of nitrate in it and can't get it down to 0 but there's no problems with their fish.

 

[DeadlyAlliance]

Hey guys i have the same problem. My nitrate in my 10 gallon tank is always about 80. I just can't get it down and i dont know what to do? I do water chages about every 4 to 5 days and i also have added live plants. But still the nitrate level will not go down. This tank has been set up for 2 months right now it has baby fry mollies in it. They seem to be doing very well actually any fish that i have had in that tank does very well but i just dont like that the nitrate level is so high is there anything else that i can do. Any help would be great. Thanx.

 

[gaya]

Hey guys i have the same problem. My nitrate in my 10 gallon tank is always about 80. I just can't get it down and i dont know what to do? I do water chages about every 4 to 5 days and i also have added live plants. But still the nitrate level will not go down. This tank has been set up for 2 months right now it has baby fry mollies in it. They seem to be doing very well actually any fish that i have had in that tank does very well but i just dont like that the nitrate level is so high is there anything else that i can do. Any help would be great. Thanx.

Your tap water may have high nitrates in it. I have used a ion-exchange filter (reverse osmosis?) filter thing. It attaches to your sink and filters the water. It's a slow process though but for a 10g shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[DeadlyAlliance]

Well i dont use water from my house. I go and buy water from the grocery store in those gallons that they sell and then i add the things that gets out the chlorine and i let it sit for about a day. I dont know what i could be doing wrong. Help me!

 

[enchanted]

For all buying bottled water:

Bottled drinking water does not have to be any better than tap water. In fact, some of it is worse.

Distilled Water is equivalent to reverse osmosis water.

 

[DeadlyAlliance]

Well thats what i buy destilled water. I think i seem to be doing everything that i can to lower the nitrate level but it just wont go down.

 

[maestro]

Well thats what i buy destilled water. I think i seem to be doing everything that i can to lower the nitrate level but it just wont go down.

if you put some fast growing plants in there im sure u'll find they will go down, ive found straight vallis works very well, is cheap (i get 5 bunches for £1) and is easy to grow

 

[lopeva]

Well thats what i buy destilled water. I think i seem to be doing everything that i can to lower the nitrate level but it just wont go down.

I prepare my water three gallons at a time. I use tap water, and add a tablespoon of aquarium salt and two drops of Prime per gallon. Then I wait a day or so before I use it during a water change. This seems to work well.

 

[DeadlyAlliance]

Thax guys i will try that.