Nitrate High After Water Change. Help

[StandbySetting]

I'd recommend getting a new test kit then, you are testing directly after the water change?

 

[fluttermoth]

ok done 4 x 30% water changes no change ???
weard i know but tap water ok.
got a large rock thats not moved for years could it be that or whats under it??

Less but larger changes are better.
For example, say your nitrate is 100ppm; a 30% change brings it down to only 70ppm; another 30% still only gets it down to around 50, whereas if you'd done one 90% change, you would have brought it down to only 10ppm, with just one change.

Have I explained that ok?

 

[clivealive]

yes thanks but i have 2 test kits surely that will do.

ok done 4 x 30% water changes no change ???
weard i know but tap water ok.
got a large rock thats not moved for years could it be that or whats under it??

Less but larger changes are better.
For example, say your nitrate is 100ppm; a 30% change brings it down to only 70ppm; another 30% still only gets it down to around 50, whereas if you'd done one 90% change, you would have brought it down to only 10ppm, with just one change.

Have I explained that ok?

 

[StandbySetting]

Are they both liquid test kits? Perform a test with each kit twice and then post the results.

 

[clivealive]

actually i have 3 , 2 are test strips ( one was out of date so got another , but both show same result as does the liquid test.
all show fairly dark pink and all show 110-120.
i am testing before and after water changes now.

any thoughts on the rock.
i have an old plastic plant that has brown fur like stuff on the edges (no other plastic or real plants have this fur?? could it be that.
*just take out old plastic plant, put in bowl of tap water, virtually no nitrate etc, will test in couple of hours to see if stats rise *
also moved 2 peices of slate that hadnt moved for a while.

just trying to think of all possible reasons.
doesnt seem to matter what water changes i do, the nitrate remains high. (as preciously stated ammonia and nitrite are zero)
doing my head in just want it lower for this fishes warefare.


if this fails it the big rock next. gulp

 

[Stephan]

How thoroughly do u vacuum? I think that can raise it. It always seems that a good vacuum with water change helps when my nitrates get high. Water change without vacuum doesn't seem to help as much. I too have one of my tanks thT gets high so fast compared with my other tanks.

 

[clivealive]

yes i vac like a looney

 

[Petitefish]

Hi, stumbled across this forum whilst googling

Just wanted to add something - if you are doing water changes with tap water and your tap water contains nitrates, then no matter how many water changes you do the nitrate level in the tank will only ever come down to the nitrate level of the tap water. The easiest way to control excessive nutrients (nitrate/phosphate/silicate) is to use RO water or, even better, deionised water for your water changes. Make sure it's buffered/re-mineralised first Test your tap water and see.

If you can't get hold of RO water, then BioNitratEX is brilliant, lasts around a year and brings nitrates really low - I use it in all my externals and have done for the last few years. It can take a little while to get going but it is fab. It's not a chemical product - it has a special feed in to attract and sustain denitrifying bacteria, so you won't be adding anything bad in to the tank. If you want a fast solution then use JBL's other nitrate product, NitratEX, which is a resin that absorbs nitrates extremely quickly - I've had it bring nitrates down from 120 to 30 in 24 hours in a 120L tank. It's an absorption product, so once it's 'full' then you need to recharge it with aquarium salt, which I think you can do around 3 times. I haven't used the other products you mentioned so I can't comment on them.

Test kit wise, liquid tests are always far superior to test strips - just use strips as an overall quick guide. JBL (liquid tests)/Salifert are generally considered the leaders on accuracy in terms of hobbyist tests. The thing to look for when buying a test kit is how sensitive it is - for instance if the first measurable value on a Nitrite (No2) test is 2, then it is useless to you in practice, as a reading of 0.1 is in the warning zone of 'you're just about to have big problems', 2 would be too late for a lot of fish to survive. I think it's wise to always have a sensitive test kit as I know it would cost me more to replace all my fish and shrimps than the cost of a good test kit!

Hope this helps - good luck!

 

[clivealive]

Thats a cool post thanks mate , will look up BioNitratEX, sounds idea though, although i would like to lower without if i can or at least lower a bit.
i tested tap water and its almost zero nitrate.
NitratEX looks ok for a quick fix too.
I has lowered very slightly so will keep at water changes and heavy cleaning then resort to above.


oh other question is where do i put it in the filter and how much media is it , can it go with my 3 media types.
Eheim Substrat Pro (round )
Eheim bioMech Mechanical (flat stone like)
Eheim Mech Pro Mechanical Filter Media with Spiral Shapes.
not sure what is start or end of filtering as unsure how it works.

 

[clivealive]

still need help .
i have done 4 weeks of water changes around 50% , last one was 60% still no change. even if i test after change nitrate is the same ???
cleaned all gravel etc vigorously too. even checked decloninator i put in out of desperation. to confirm tape water shows almost zero nitrate.

so logic says change water and change more water but it does not dilute the problem , any other ideas.

 

[fluttermoth]

Do two 80/90% xchanges in a row and it will come down; you're just not being bold enough with your changes.

 

[clivealive]

ordered a salifert Profi Test Kit : Nitrate too told get a better reading.

 

[clivealive]

some success.

I took the plung and moved my 1 ft rock and cleared with gravel cleaner. problem was the whole tank went cloudy and nitrate stayed the same.
added filter aid and it cleared in a day ,, not good.
How ever after another water change nitrate was down from a constandf 100 to aboyt 60.
so hoping with water changes it wil come right down.

fish seem ok thankfully.

 

[clivealive]

Thank you all so much for your help on this.
I will post how it goes.
be interesting how it comes down.
60% ish populated tank , water change once a week normally (20%). ammonia 0% and Nitrite 0%.
what you think is the best i can do.

is it true contant high nitrate stunts growth?

 

[clivealive]

update:
after more water changes nitrate now down to 45.