High Nitrates - Again

[russkev]

Hi

I've recently done a water test on my Juwel rio 125 ltr tank and amazed at the reading for Nitrates

Ph - 7.8
Ammonia - 0
Nitriate - 0
Nitrate 40 or above

Now what is surprsing here is that I added a Nitrazorb a couple of weeks ago and have performed about 3 weekly 10% water changes using RO water. Previously I had been using my treated tap water which showed Nitrates of around 20ppm even after adding AmQuel+. So initially after adding the Nitrazorb the Nitrates went down to around 20 but now they're back to around 40 or even higher

What can I be doing wrong ? I feed once a day and use alternate days of Aquariam flake food and also frozen mosquito larvae !

Thanks in advance

Kevin

 

[bogwood]

do a larger % water change?...

 

[WILDER]

I wouldn't worry to much about that nitrate reading, acceptable nitrate readings are really nothing above 050, then it only dangerous when it get over 100, all you can do is water changes, or invest in a nitrate sponge by juwel, but don't no if they work.

 

[tttnjfttt]

When looking at your situation, I think there are two possible places wehre the nitrates came from. The first is the nitrogen cycle, the second is the nitrizol no longer working. In general, you don't need to use any chemicals to alter your water. It is usually best to minimize what you are adding to the tank. The only thing I add to my water is dechlorinator.

Here is what I see, your nitrates have jumped 20 in the course of 3 weeks. What that means is you will eventually have an issue with high nitrates. Think of it this way, right now it is at 40. In three weeks it will be at 60, in six weeks it will be at 80.

I think you need to do larer water changes (i do 25%) , and look at your stocking levels. How big is your tank and what fish do you have in it? Your filter is obviously keeping up with it, but you may be a little over stocked, causing the rapid nitrate build up.

 

[nmonks]

If you feed frozen bloodworms, for example, so food goes into the fish, but a lot of the "cloudiness" you see come off the cube of food is particulate matter that quickly decays into nitrate. So even if you aren't overfeeding the fish, there can still be a lot of protein getting into the system that the fish don't eat. This is one reason why non-clouding foods, such as pellets and flake, are preferable to frozen foods.

Nitrazorb (or any other chemical medium) can only absorb a certain amount of nitrate before they become saturated, after which point, they have no effect. Moreover, the manufacturers don't make it entirely clear how low this level is. In a well-stocked community tank, don't be at all surprised if the Nitrazorb is saturated within a week or two.

Another complicating factor is that like any chemical medium, the more mature the aquarium, the more quickly the medium becomes clogged with bacteria. Once the bacteria form a coating over the medium, it is effectively isolated from the ambient water and therefore useless. Ideally, such chemical media need to be cleaned on a weekly basis.

Finally, where you place the medium is important, too. If the medium gets covered in detritus, this will further reduce its efficiency. It should therefore be placed after the finest mechanical filtration stage (e.g., after the filter wool).

To be honest, I've always considered chemical media to be more trouble than they are worth.

There's no real reason to be paranoid about nitrates except with certain types of fish. While high nitrates can cause algae problems, there isn't a one-to-one correlation, and a lot depends on other factors including the vitality of higher plants in the aquarium. If you have lots of things like Vallisneria and Hygrophila that grow quickly and use up nitrate at a brisk pace, algae problems will be minimal. Though it seems counter-inutuitive, one of the best ways to prevent algae problems is to increase lighting, so that higher plants will prosper!

Cheers,

Neale

 

[russkev]

Guys

Thanks for the responses !

At present this is what I have stocked

6 x Neon Tetra's
2 x Red Tailed Guppies
2 x Cichlids (NOT sure yet what they are)
3 x Clown Loach
1 x Female Dwarf Gourami
1 x Albino Pleco

Yes the Nitrazoeb hasn't been refreshed but did think that it would last a little longer before refresh ! Will do a further water change then and as I said will do it with RO water as the water from the tap is around 20ppm ! I'm also investigating a water softener device as the water here is hard ! I guess this may have some impact ?

Cheers

Kevin

 

[nmonks]

Hi Kevin,

Well, if you add water from the tap and that contains 20 mg/l nitrate, then you're never going to get it below that level. Moreover, at least 3 of the fish you have are high waste output fish -- the cichlids, the plec, and the clown loach.

Realistically, zero-nitrate tanks are only easily achieved in tanks with very low stocking levels, and that means things like small tetras, guppies, etc. Once you start adding big fish, like plecs or cichlids, things become much more difficult. I'd simply accept that the nitrates are going to be at a moderate level, and work around it. Unless you're keeping nitrate sensitive fish (e.g., dwarf gouramis, some puffers) then it is simply not an issue.

You might check what your RO unit is producing in terms of nitrate. I'd imagine it would be zero, but I have no personal experience of these. I use rainwater for my softwater tanks... much cheaper and far more environmentally friendly!

Cheers,

Neale

 

[tttnjfttt]

Guys

Thanks for the responses !

At present this is what I have stocked

6 x Neon Tetra's
2 x Red Tailed Guppies
2 x Cichlids (NOT sure yet what they are)
3 x Clown Loach
1 x Female Dwarf Gourami
1 x Albino Pleco

Part of your problem is your stocking levels. Your tank is 33 galons (125 ltrs). First of all, plecos are poop machines. Clown loaches grow to be 10-12 inches, so your tank is way too small for that. you also need to find out what type of cichlids you have. If you bought them out of a "mixed african cichlid" tank, not only can they grow to be 8" (on the conservavtive side) but they can also be very viscious, and will likely kill/bully the tetras. If i were you, i would re-home the cichlids, and begin shoping around for a new tank (this way you have some time to find a good deal on a tank). Until then, keep up with the regular water changes. Good Luck