Lowering Nitrate levels..

[paulsa67]

Over the last 2-3 weeks the Nitrate levels in my tank have rocketed up from 0.5 to 80.The fish seem to be stressed a little as they seem to be hiding and not swimming about as much as they did.
Am I m I correct in thinking my water changes should be more frequent. I currently do this 2-3 times a week but in the last week or so I have not done so due to being on holiday and work.

Any help would be appreciated


Paul.....

[DR.V]

You should do it more often, like daily water change about 25%. That should reduce the nitrate level greatly.

Good luck.

[Merrilyn]

Hello Paul, and welcome to the forum. Hope you enjoy your time here with us.

As you probably know, nitrate is the end product of the nitrogen cycle, where the waste produced by your fish, and rotting left over food produce ammonia, this is turned into nitrite by your filter and then into nitrate, which is the least harmful of the three.

We remove nitrate by doing water changes. Is it possible you may have been over feeding the tank? That, along with the less frequent water changes will allow your nitrate levels to build to an unaceptable level in the tank.

For the next few days, do daily water changes of about 25% just as Dr. V suggested, and cut back a bit on the feeding.

If you have gravel in the tank, do a thorough gravel vac, and make sure there are no pockets of uneaten food anywhere in the tank.

You should have your levels back to around 10 by the end of a week.

[paulsa67]

Cheers for the quick response and advice

I will follow the advice and continue to do water changes daily for the next few days.Ive already done 2 water changes today i was thinking of doing 2 a day for the next few days anyway

Can you give me some advice, what is the best way to clean the gravel as you correctly stated. Should I buy some sort of gravel cleaner or could you recommend something better.My tank is 4ft with quite a few plants .I have 4 Discus fish and several cardinals.

Cheers

[DR.V]

The best way to clean the gravel is to get a vac cleaner from your local fish shop.

Another way , you can get some bottom feeder fish that will eat uneaten food that left on the gravel. Such as bristlenose, corys , etc.

[Bill T.]

I've just come back from 2 weeks snorkelling (etc) in Fiji. My nitrate levels were up a bit - about 40ppm - but came down to 20ppm with a 20% wc. I will do another wc in a day or two, which should bring it down further.
I reckon some healthy plants help, but don't replace the need for regular wc.
In my experience, an occassional spike in Nitrate won't do too much damage provided the fish are otherwise health (no worms, flukes, bacterial infection, etc) and you don't leave it that way for too long.

I have two pairs & both of them have laid eggs, one lot with wrigglers already, despite the nitrate reading.

I have four "flying foxes" plus a couple of corydoras & a couple of bristle nose. The foxes especially keep the gravel clean & I think they help control that ugly black hairy algae.

I have been doing weekly 20% water changes with an occassional booster 20% - fish seem happy & healthy & I'm not too stressed trying to keep up with a demanding wc schedule.

Hope your fish are well.

[Merrilyn]

Hi Bill, two weeks snorkelling in Fiji huh????

Gee some people have all the luck. Glad to have you back Bill.

Paul, I think Dr.V's suggestion of a gravel vac from the local aquarium shop is the way to go. I't simply a long plastic tube with a syphon hose attached to the end. The gentle suction removes the dirt and debris from the gravel while allowing the heavier gravel to fall back down the tube to the floor of the tank.