Nitrate Problem

[Black_Stalion]

Hi i just done a test and nitrite level is 0 but nitrate's r at 80.... what can i do to sort the problem out? ive done a 50% water change but its still reading 80

thanks for any1 who replies, tried to look for posts about nitrates and nitrites but couldnt find any quick enough.. mayb we should have an article pinned somewhere? (probably is already)

 

[Darkehorse]

Hi i just done a test and nitrite level is 0 but nitrate's r at 80.... what can i do to sort the problem out? ive done a 50% water change but its still reading 80

thanks for any1 who replies, tried to look for posts about nitrates and nitrites but couldnt find any quick enough.. mayb we should have an article pinned somewhere? (probably is already)

Just curious, how high does your test kit go? In my nitrate test, it goes 80, then the next reading is 160. If yours is like mine, then there may be a chance that you *did* drastically reduce your nitrate levels, but your test is not sensitive enough to read the difference. I would continue with the water changes daily. You should notice a drop in another day or two.

-Darke

 

[Black_Stalion]

ye they drop like that, ive just bought the master kit now so will be doing that in abit

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Does the tank have any healthy live plants in it? Are you using any fertilisers on the tank at all? What is the nitrate reading in the water straight out of the tap? How many water changes are you doing on average and how much are you taking out?

 

[Black_Stalion]

i usually do a 25% change every saturday, but recently from having diseases i have been doing a upto 50% every 2 days... my tank has plastic plants i changed to plastic about 2 months ago as my real plants were all dieing (due to the fact that i have an UGF i suppose) nitrate levels out of the tap are 0 maybe i have 2 many fish for my tank... i dont know, they all seem healthy and i havent had any die for ages now, atleast a month

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Having live plants will help reduce the levels of nitrates in the water, otherwise you'll need to resort to doing regular small water changes. I don't think there is much else you can do to remove nitrates from the water other than having healthy live plants to absorb them- i think there are some chemicals you can use though that can lower nitrate levels. Check out the plant section of the forum though, they may be able to advise some tough and sturdy plants which will thrive in your tank setup . If you can't get plants to grow well in the substrate, you can always try to get to grow over things like driftwood .

 

[Darkehorse]

Also read this thread to make sure you get a correct Nitrate reading.

-Darke