Brand new tank, fishless, Nitrate levels 40.

[DIZ]

Hello there. So my wife had the sporadic idea of getting a fish tank this past weekend. Despite neither of us knowing absolutely anything about fish and the process involved to take in and care for fish, I abided - quickly realizing just what we had got ourselves into. We strolled into PetSmart and picked up a 75G tank, Fluval filter, Tetra air pump, gravel, and an assortment of fake plant decorations. The fish genius on site claimed that we can simply fill the tank up with our garden hose, apply the proper amount of Quick Start & Stress Relief - and within two days we should be fish ready. Nearly a week later and we are not fish ready. All levels are in great range, except an unusually high Nitrate level. I have no logical understanding as to what could be causing such immediate high Nitrate levels with absolutely no bacteria existing in the tank. I did a 50% water change last night and it did not change that level number of 40 one bit. I’m becoming quite frustrated as I feel like I’m chasing my non existent tail. I would much appreciate any help that can be provided to hopefully tackle this issue and allow us to be fish ready. Thanks in advance.

 

[Essjay]

The most likely source of the nitrate is your tap water - if you haven't already done so, I suggest you test that for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH - and with pH, test a freshly run sample, and some that has been allowed to stand for 24 hours, they'll probably be different.

However, I need to warn you that shops give terrible advice. Saying your tank will be ready for fish within 2 days is not true. Even the most reliable of bacterial starters do not work instantly, and API Quick Start is not one of the most reliable - the best two are Dr Tim's One & Only and Tetra Safe Start.
I am unsure what Stress Relief is - is it a dechlorinator?


Since you have fake plants, this is the best way of preparing a tank for fish, and it can be used with bacterial starters to speed up the cycle
https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/



On the subject of shop advice, never believe what they say until you have researched it for yourself!

 

[DIZ]

Nitrate: 40
Nitrite: 0
Hardness: 150
Alkalinity: 180
pH: 8

These were my readings prior to the water change last night (4 days sat), after the water change, and just now straight off of the tap.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Welcome to our forum! We hope you find a home here as there are some very knowledgeable members. Essjay has given you excellent advice. Go by the info she provided and you will have a successfully cycled tank. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. We’re here to help! Best wishes.

 

[Essjay]

Those results suggest you are using test strips because you don't give a reading for ammonia. You need to be able to test for ammonia, whether you do a fishless cycle or a fish-in cycle, so can I recommend you get a tester for ammonia as soon as possible.

 

[DIZ]

Ammonia: 0

 

[DIZ]

https://ibb.co/dtY941Y

Photo of my results, Ammonia included.

 

[Essjay]

I see those results are from test done by Petsmart. It would be more helpful for you if you bought your own test kit rather than have to go the a shop every time you need to test. Liquid testers are more accurate than strips. Testing the water is something we should do when starting a new tank, and whenever fish start to behave oddly.
You can also check their GH and KH results by looking on your water provider's website. They should have the hardness of your water somewhere - that's GH. If they give the KH, they'll call it alkalinity.

 

[DIZ]

I understand. I did read that liquid testers are much more accurate than test strips. But for the sake of getting this going, I figured the test strips would be adequate enough for a baseline idea of where my levels are at. After multiple tests done myself with my own test strips, and PetSmart testing essentially matching exactly what I’m seeing on my own strips - it’s clear that we have a Nitrate issue. I fear that, due to the extremely high clean off the tap nitrate levels at my home, this completely prevents me from being able to have a fish tank - period.

 

[Essjay]

Not necessarily. There are ways of removing nitrate from pre-filtering with nitrate removing filters to using a source of pure water to dilute the level of nitrate. By pure water I mean such things as reverse osmosis water, distilled water or even rainwater if there is no airborne pollution such as factory output or crop spraying. We have several members that do one or other of these things and keep fish successfully.

 

[DIZ]

I’m just not seeing how this is going to be realistically feasible. Reverse osmosis is thousands of dollars, also, I’m renting the house I’m currently in. I live in Arizona, rain is not much of a thing out here. Buying a 48 pack of distilled water every week at Costco to do my weekly water change is just not realistic. Frustrated

 

[seangee]

Not necessarily. There are ways of removing nitrate from pre-filtering with nitrate removing filters to using a source of pure water to dilute the level of nitrate. By pure water I mean such things as reverse osmosis water, distilled water or even rainwater if there is no airborne pollution such as factory output or crop spraying. We have several members that do one or other of these things and keep fish successfully.

I am one of those. I used to filter my water but have subsequently switched to reverse osmosis. Its just a question of convenience vs economics .

Your water is fairly hard. All fish have a preferred hardness (it varies by species). So have a look at the fish you would like to keep and check their requirements. Seriouslyfish.com is a good place to check on this. If they fit your tap water, filtration may be the way to go. If you prefer soft water fish (as I do) reverse osmosis is probably the better choice.

The good news is the link @essjay posted about fishless cycling still works if you have nitrate in your tap water. So you can start this process while you do your research and prepare your filter. Then when the time comes you can change the water for clean water using your preferred approach without affecting the filter.

 

[Metalhead88]

Idk..... someone else said it, but I'm not convinced that the results that you have received from petmsart are accurate.

Pick up a liquid test kit, and try again. Test your tank water and tap.

If you have nitrates that high in your tap, you'll have your hands full for sure.

Those quick start additives are total bs. Other than using an established filter, I see no way to cycle a tank in 2 days with all brand new gear. Stay away from all chemicals except a water conditioner.

 

[DoraCory]

Petsmart might be using the same test strips as you are, so their results might not be that reliable either. So I'm going to jump on board with everyone else and suggest a liquid test kit.

 

[DIZ]

Update: A little over a week now and my fish seem to be doing great. There was an ammonia jump earlier in the week, did a water change, fed less, and ammonia hasn’t remained traceless since.

Has anybody used one of those those foam filter blocks? I feared that some of the small fish may get caught into suction of the filter openings, so I bought some foam caps that go over the tip of the filter pipe - I’m still getting great water flow. Is there any reason to remove these? I’m not sure if they block off any beneficial bacteria that should be going through the filter or not.