Nitrate Problems

[GoldfishLove919]

Hi everyone,
 
Lately, I've been having trouble with nitrate in my tank.  I own two fancy goldfish, a 6 inch long and a 5 inch long, and keep them together in a 25 gallon tank.  I change out the water regularly, replace filter cartridges monthly, dose with natural remedies (like stress coat X and aquarium salt) when ill and use chemical solutions to mend water issues.  I test with Quick Dip strips.
 
For the past 3 testings, the nitrate has been in the "danger" zone.  I've been doing water changes, changing the filter, and adding anti-nitrate solutions (Easy-Balance by Tetra Aqua), but nothing has helped.  What would you recommend to fix this issue?
 
GoldfishLove919

 

[fluttermoth]

Bigger water changes.
 
And stop changing the filter! Every time you do, you're losing a good proportion (or all, if you change the whole filter insides) of the good bacteria you need, which will lead to raised ammonia levels.

 

[lalo99]

Yep I agree with the above poster. Larger and more frequent water changes is really the only way.

 

[Mamashack]

Try using a liquid test such as API rather than dip strips as the latter are not very accurate. Might also be worth testing your tap water - if it is high to start with (mine is 20ppm)  and you aren't able to do frequent or big water changes, you might want to consider using a nitrate-reducing product such as API Aqua Detox which reduced mine very quickly from 40-80ppm to 5ppm in 24 hours after which time I removed it as I didn't want the nitrifying bacteria to be compromised (it also reduces ammonia) wish I'd checked the levels after 12 hours because the level is now a bit low for the live plants in mine, but I'm keeping an eye on them and so far so good.

 

[goldfinger]

If high Nitrate in the tank there is a good source of food for plants! Maybe sticking in a bunch of live plants with some feed tablets will help otherwise keep sticking with water changes until its low enough.
I found high nitrates cause massive algae growth if left untreated.