Plants And Nitrates

[adpgt]

So I just put in two plants to reduce nitrates. Do the plants instantly start reducing nitrates? How long will it take for the nitrates to go down?

 

[Ps3Steveo]

2 plants a long time.

 

[CezzaXV]

In fact, depending on how many fish you have, you might not see any reduction in nitrates at all. If you're lucky you might see it rising more slowly, but with only two plants you're not likely to see any noticeable improvement.

 

[fluttermoth]

adpgt, all your problems will be solved, if you just do more water changes/gravel cleans. do 25% a day for a week and see how things look then.

Two plants are really not going to make a difference, in a tank your size, with the nitrate level you have.

 

[adpgt]

My fish and tank are in my sig. The sharks are about 6 inches each. How many plants should I get?

Also, I have been doing water changes and cleaning the gravel. I even took some of the gravel out of the tank and cleaned it in tap water and then put it back in the tank. After that, I again changed 50% of the water. The nitrates are still at 160. I have no idea why.

 

[JenCliBee]

My fish and tank are in my sig. The sharks are about 6 inches each. How many plants should I get?

Also, I have been doing water changes and cleaning the gravel. I even took some of the gravel out of the tank and cleaned it in tap water and then put it back in the tank. After that, I again changed 50% of the water. The nitrates are still at 160. I have no idea why.

What test kit are you using?... liquid or strips.... nitrate test are renown to be very inaccurate.... best way to do it is test your tap water.... the levels should be much lower than what your getting from the tank... this will ensure your test kit is working or not.

 

[fluttermoth]

I think your problem is, is that your nitrate is actually so high, it's off the scale. If they were, say 350ppm, which as you have a lot of large fish, in a (I'm not blaming, you, I know you didn't know any better) neglected tank isn't impossible, a 50% change would bring you down only to 175ppm,; they'd both read the same on the test.

Do 25% water changes/gravel clean every day for a week and see how things look then. You don't want to reduce it too quickly, or you'll shock the fish.

 

[JenCliBee]

I think your problem is, is that your nitrate is actually so high, it's off the scale. If they were, say 350ppm, which as you have a lot of large fish, in a (I'm not blaming, you, I know you didn't know any better) neglected tank isn't impossible, a 50% change would bring you down only to 175ppm,; they'd both read the same on the test.

Do 25% water changes/gravel clean every day for a week and see how things look then. You don't want to reduce it too quickly, or you'll shock the fish.

Flutter..... is the shock due to lowering to quick a personal opinion or is there any documentation to back this up?.... ive personally never herd of these potential issues... so it would be nice to get some background info on it

 

[CezzaXV]

I think your problem is, is that your nitrate is actually so high, it's off the scale. If they were, say 350ppm, which as you have a lot of large fish, in a (I'm not blaming, you, I know you didn't know any better) neglected tank isn't impossible, a 50% change would bring you down only to 175ppm,; they'd both read the same on the test.

Do 25% water changes/gravel clean every day for a week and see how things look then. You don't want to reduce it too quickly, or you'll shock the fish.

Flutter..... is the shock due to lowering to quick a personal opinion or is there any documentation to back this up?.... ive personally never herd of these potential issues... so it would be nice to get some background info on it

It's called Old Tank Syndrome, have a google. Basically it's when fish in a neglected tank become so accustomed to the poor conditions they're kept in, it shocks them when they're in a suddenly clean tank. That's not to say that they should be kept in the poor water conditions because it will shorten their lifespan, but any changes need to be done gradually.

I agree with Fluttermoth, do 25% daily changes until everything is right again.

 

[Chad]

Flutter..... is the shock due to lowering to quick a personal opinion or is there any documentation to back this up?.... ive personally never herd of these potential issues... so it would be nice to get some background info on it

I think the shock isn't from the reduction in nitrates but the reduction in pH and temp that often accompany large water changes. pH shock is something I am always concerned about in my reef tank and why I do frequent small water changes rather than larger ones. Corals, sea stars, and other marine reef life is very sensitive to changes in pH. While this isn't as much the case in a freshwater environment it does happen.

 

[JenCliBee]

It's called Old Tank Syndrome, have a google. Basically it's when fish in a neglected tank become so accustomed to the poor conditions they're kept in, it shocks them when they're in a suddenly clean tank. That's not to say that they should be kept in the poor water conditions because it will shorten their lifespan, but any changes need to be done gradually.

I agree with Fluttermoth, do 25% daily changes until everything is right again.

LOL, thanks but i aware of old tank syndrome

.... the confusion came from the comment from flutter that directly linked the nitrate only causing the shock .... where as, old tank syndrome has a number of reasons and not just big nitrate swings

.


Sorry for the confusion flutter

Flutter..... is the shock due to lowering to quick a personal opinion or is there any documentation to back this up?.... ive personally never herd of these potential issues... so it would be nice to get some background info on it

I think the shock isn't from the reduction in nitrates but the reduction in pH and temp that often accompany large water changes. pH shock is something I am always concerned about in my reef tank and why I do frequent small water changes rather than larger ones. Corals, sea stars, and other marine reef life is very sensitive to changes in pH. While this isn't as much the case in a freshwater environment it does happen.

Cheers mate, i got what flutter was trying to say a little twisted lol... i am silly pmsl

..... i don't know the story behind the tank so was answering purely based on this thread?.


The only thing i see with your comment though mate.... is, the OP has already done various water changes (doing a quick read of the other threads)... so doing 100% water changes now isn't going to cause issues... nor will, doing them daily..... i agree though if the tank hadn't had water changes for months and then he done a complete strip down and cleaned everything...the 'old tank syndrome' scenario could come into play.

 

[Chad]

True. Under certain circumstances what I consider best practice goes out the window. For example I think fishless cycling is best, but if someone already has a fish in the tank it's too late so time to manage it. I think the same is true here if they are already doing water changes at deep levels. Of course that would mean the pH is already down accordingly and so shock wouldn't be an issue.

 

[JenCliBee]

True. Under certain circumstances what I consider best practice goes out the window. For example I think fishless cycling is best, but if someone already has a fish in the tank it's too late so time to manage it. I think the same is true here if they are already doing water changes at deep levels. Of course that would mean the pH is already down accordingly and so shock wouldn't be an issue.

Very true mate.... i agree on the fishless cycle scenario but with so many people being misinformed by lfs... the best we can do is advise really and help them maintain the best environment for the fish as possible.

 

[adpgt]

Update:

Stuff still comes out of the gravel when I clean it. However, some parts of the gravel are so clean that "crushed" up little bits of gravel can be seen floating around in the gravel vac.

I am using test strips.

So at this point, I think i'll clean the gravel for another week every day and see how it goes. Then, I am going to buy some A LOT of plants and just shove them in there.

 

[sadguppy]

Be careful what type of plants you get. Some are very hard to grow and require a high tech set up with co2 and some that are commonly sold aren't even truly aquatic! Either will rot and add to your bioload therefore doing the exact opposite of what you intend.

Anubias is a good low tech plant, and you can't go wrong with vallis. Java fern is ok, I also had some success with bacopa and amazon sword before adding co2. Stay away from anything which requires very high light levels, anything red or purple, anything that looks like bamboo or spider plant and anything marked as difficult.