Nitrate Level Advice

[Ozzy Ozborne]

My nitrtrate levels are running at an average 40...............based on the last 2 months water test results.
Is this ok or do i need to do something to reduce?

Nb the ammonia and nitrite levels are at nil

thanks

 

[tom_os]

i would say 40 is about the max you want to let it get too

 

[backtotropical]

Hi Ozzy,

Nitrate at 40ppm is fine unless you are keeping species with a particular nitrate intolerance. What fish do you have?

The best thing to do with nitrate is to keep it as close as possible to the level from your tap water. 40ppm is fine (subject to the above) so long as it isn't a massive increase from the level in the tap water (assuming you are using tap water?).

Nitrate levels in tap water varies substantially even within the UK, with some Londoners reporting around 80ppm and then there is me with my soft Scottish water reporting nitrate being virtually undetectable.

There have also been studies suggesting that only the most sensitive of fish would be intolerant of anything below 100ppm on a long-term basis, and some fish have been shown to have no intolerance until levels reach 1000ppm.

Anyway, I digress, for my purposes and yours, keeping it as close as possible to the level in the tap water is the best bet. If you do have particularly sensitive fish, it may be best to employ a De-ioniser or RO unit to purify your water, and remove some of the nitrate.

Cheers

BTT

 

[pippoodle]

what is your nitrate from the tap ?
how often do you do water changes ?
have you added anything new to the tank in the past 2 months that changes anything

 

[Ozzy Ozborne]

The reason i ask is that i have just lost 6 fish in the last week.
2 angels,2 pictus catfish and 2 bristlenose plecs.


I have a general collection of aout 20 left now with mollies,platies,angels and gouramis

i also started dosing with Tetra C02 a week ago and since thyn th fish have died...............im worried that this has caused the deaths together with the nitrate levels

Any thoughts?

thanks

 

[gaz gun man]

my nitrates have run at 40ppm ever since I set my tank up (have nitrates coming from the tank) and I've never lost fish due to nitrates

 

[waterdrop]

wow ozzy, maybe load up the members with lots of stats (stats, tanks size, fish that are left, other water results, other objects in the tank, actions, whatever... sorry if lots of this is in your profile..) Maybe somebody will see something to help you get to the bottom of this!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Hi Ozzy,

Nitrate at 40ppm is fine unless you are keeping species with a particular nitrate intolerance. What fish do you have?

The best thing to do with nitrate is to keep it as close as possible to the level from your tap water. 40ppm is fine (subject to the above) so long as it isn't a massive increase from the level in the tap water (assuming you are using tap water?).

Nitrate levels in tap water varies substantially even within the UK, with some Londoners reporting around 80ppm and then there is me with my soft Scottish water reporting nitrate being virtually undetectable.

There have also been studies suggesting that only the most sensitive of fish would be intolerant of anything below 100ppm on a long-term basis, and some fish have been shown to have no intolerance until levels reach 1000ppm.

Anyway, I digress, for my purposes and yours, keeping it as close as possible to the level in the tap water is the best bet. If you do have particularly sensitive fish, it may be best to employ a De-ioniser or RO unit to purify your water, and remove some of the nitrate.

Cheers

BTT

couldn't have put it better myself

The reason i ask is that i have just lost 6 fish in the last week.
2 angels,2 pictus catfish and 2 bristlenose plecs.


I have a general collection of aout 20 left now with mollies,platies,angels and gouramis

i also started dosing with Tetra C02 a week ago and since thyn th fish have died...............im worried that this has caused the deaths together with the nitrate levels

Any thoughts?

thanks

i strongly doubt 40ppm of nitrate would kill any of those species, they are not particularly delicate so I suspect something like a bacterial infection is more likely.

Can you let us know what size the tank is, exactly what fish you have now, what your stats for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are both from the tank and in your tap water. Also please describe any symptoms in the fish that have died or the ones that are in the tank now.

 

[loachman]

40 ppm Nitrate is perfectly fine. For most fish, I wouldn't really worry about nitrAte unless it topped 100 ppm. Invertebrates and some species are more sensitive, but most are not. With that said, the lower the better.

It is most likely something else. Is the CO2 causing any major pH swings?

 

[Ozzy Ozborne]

I have just been told by a friend that the possible reason for the deaths is due to the Tetra C02 I have been putting in !
I have noticed that the algae has increased tremendously over the last week,both on the side of the tank and on plants.This I am am told will use up oxygen at night that the fish need,and could be the reason for them dying.
All the fish look perfect......apart from being dead !!

Ive been told to put some algae cleaner in,stop using the C02 and hopefully see a big difference.

Does all this make sense and am i in the right direction?

Thanks

 

[aaronnorth]

I have just been told by a friend that the possible reason for the deaths is due to the Tetra C02 I have been putting in !
I have noticed that the algae has increased tremendously over the last week,both on the side of the tank and on plants.This I am am told will use up oxygen at night that the fish need,and could be the reason for them dying.
All the fish look perfect......apart from being dead !!

Ive been told to put some algae cleaner in,stop using the C02 and hopefully see a big difference.

Does all this make sense and am i in the right direction?

Thanks

it is possible that the CO2 killed the fish, however it is unlikely. See you other thread where i give more advice.

algae may have started to grow because if low, or unstable CO2. Again, very common with these types of kits.

All living organisms have to respire, but the amount of Oxygen used in algae and plants is minimal, and far less than the amount of O2 they would of produced during the day.

just because a fish is sold as an algae eater oesnt mean it eats all types of algae's!! address the problem or it will return.