High Nitrates
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On an ongoing basis, it's normally recommended to do 30-50% weekly, depending upon how heavily stocked, and how heavily planted, the tank is.
However, before you or he go off and do that now, you need to be aware of Old Tank Syndrome. This is where the fish get used to living in dodgy situations, and if you change too much water too quickly, it can be such a shock to their system, it can kill them.
Can you run a full set of tests, please. I mean ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and KH, and also run the nitrate, pH and KH tests on the tap water that will be used to do the water change. Post the results up here. I would like to compare the current tank water with the new, so that we can check it's not too different.
However, before you or he go off and do that now, you need to be aware of Old Tank Syndrome. This is where the fish get used to living in dodgy situations, and if you change too much water too quickly, it can be such a shock to their system, it can kill them.
Can you run a full set of tests, please. I mean ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and KH, and also run the nitrate, pH and KH tests on the tap water that will be used to do the water change. Post the results up here. I would like to compare the current tank water with the new, so that we can check it's not too different.
NeonBlueLeon
Fishaholic
Do as big a change as you want to. Well not 100%. A 50% water change will bring nitrates down by half. You could test again to see what it's at. If it's still too high, do another. If I were you, I'd start with a 60-70%, but make sure to match water temperature, pH, hardness, etc. Especially if you're doing a big water change.
NeonBlueLeon said:
How do you match pH and hardness, Leon? That's my point about Old Tank Syndrome.
NeonBlueLeon
Fishaholic
Like you said, you need to watch out for pH changes. If you've got a tank that has an established chemical buffer, you don't have to worry too much about tap water changing pH with smaller water changes.
If tank water is less hard than the tap water, the tap water will need to be mixed with RO or DI/distilled water. If the tank water is much harder than tap water, then depending on what kind of hardness is differing, different steps must be taken.
If your tank has an established bicarbonate/carbonate concentration, then your tank has established a buffer. This can be made carefully to match using baking soda. Did I mention to do it carefully? I've done this many times in my lab.
If the tank has high magnesium and calcium, then you can carefully match the tank water using magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt w/o additives) and marine salts. Triple check the Epsom salt to make sure it's pure magnesium sulfate.
It's not easy to match hardness, but it can be done.
1) You have to identify the mismatched hardness. Bicarbonate/carbonate or calcium/magnesium?
2) Get the right stuff to do what you need to. People are put off merely by mentioning "chemicals," but they don't have to be dangerous if you know what you're doing.
3) Practice first, especially when making buffers. This means liberal use of test kits, but hey, it's for our beloved fish.
If tank water is less hard than the tap water, the tap water will need to be mixed with RO or DI/distilled water. If the tank water is much harder than tap water, then depending on what kind of hardness is differing, different steps must be taken.
If your tank has an established bicarbonate/carbonate concentration, then your tank has established a buffer. This can be made carefully to match using baking soda. Did I mention to do it carefully? I've done this many times in my lab.
If the tank has high magnesium and calcium, then you can carefully match the tank water using magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt w/o additives) and marine salts. Triple check the Epsom salt to make sure it's pure magnesium sulfate.
It's not easy to match hardness, but it can be done.
1) You have to identify the mismatched hardness. Bicarbonate/carbonate or calcium/magnesium?
2) Get the right stuff to do what you need to. People are put off merely by mentioning "chemicals," but they don't have to be dangerous if you know what you're doing.
3) Practice first, especially when making buffers. This means liberal use of test kits, but hey, it's for our beloved fish.
Which I don't think is practical for an average hobbyist. So slowly and surely is the way to go.
Thanks for your replies I done all recommended test for him( his test kit out of date ) he bought the tank 2 weeks ago it was set up prior to sale and the owner is a previous owner of lfs so has been fully cycled and well maintained ph was bang on 7 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 but nitrate was pretty much blood red (I use the api master kit) I told hime to 50% today test again tomorrow and repeat if neccersery wasn't sure if he should empty it to the point where the fish can swim upright
TwoTankAmin
Fish Connoisseur
It is the GH that is the bigger concern rather than the KH in terms of TDS. Both do contribute to TDS. Ii may happen, but I can not recall seeing readings where the KH greatly exceeds the GH, normally GH is the bigger number. If i can only see one, it would be GH. best is to see both as the KH is what keeps the pH stable, but it the GH which has the greater effect re TDS.
When testing the tap pH make sure to out/in gas the water first by running an airstone on it in a clean container for an hour or so before you test it.
If the numbers are greatly different, yout dad will need to to a series of smaller water changes over the course of a week or two. I would suggest that you would want to target water change amounts such that they do not alter the GH or pH by more than about 10-15%. You can then do them every other day. However, the change amounts cannot be finalized until you have the actual parameters so you can understand what effect water changes might have.
When testing the tap pH make sure to out/in gas the water first by running an airstone on it in a clean container for an hour or so before you test it.
If the numbers are greatly different, yout dad will need to to a series of smaller water changes over the course of a week or two. I would suggest that you would want to target water change amounts such that they do not alter the GH or pH by more than about 10-15%. You can then do them every other day. However, the change amounts cannot be finalized until you have the actual parameters so you can understand what effect water changes might have.
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