How can i reduce nitrate in my tropical fish aquarium?
by Aquaboy on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 | 11 Comments
I have had this aquarium for several years now. The nitrite level is 0 but the nitrate level is almost of the scale, at least 140 ppm! Currently, there are 4 guppies in this 10 gallon tank.
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Re-read your statement and it doesn’t make sense…but to answer your question…there are drops you can buy at tropical fish stores to help with this.
They have chemicals out on the market that usually gets rid of ammonia and nitrates.
With my filters I can add extra carbon pellets, so I do that as well.
Now if you do use a chemical, it will give false readings on your test strips.
You should try and do water changes which would take out the nitrates. You can also provide plants which use the nitrates as fertilizers so , that would be best.
The only way to reduce nitrates is by performing water changes. Start by replacing 4 or 5 gallons of your tank water. It would be best to use bottled distilled water for this change, but you can use tap water as long as you treat it with conditioner to neutralize chlorine and chloramine. After this change, continue partial water changes every week, but only replace about 2 gallons of water.
You should also vacuum the gravel in your tank about once every other week. Your nitrates should be around 20ppm. Dilution with water changes is the only way to rid your tank of the excessive nitrate.
The only way to lower nitrAte levels is to do weekly water changes. Do a 40% water change today and 15% every week after. You should also take apart your filter and clean everything out. This includes the filtration media as well as the mechanical parts. There is a lot of gunk that builds up inside the motor, which slows the flow rate while adding un-necessary nitrate levels.
Carbon will do nothing for you nitrate levels and Chemicals will only make things worse. Water changes are the only way to go.
what no one else has failed to mention is have you checked your tap water my tap water is high in nitrates and i cant do anything about it,my nitrite and ammonia is at 0 and my nitrate is off the scale but its my tap water that’s the problem.
check the nitrate in your tap water first,chemicals or doing water changes if its high in your tap water wont make any difference your just adding to the problem.
Doing water changes is the best method. The quickest way to reduce the Nitrates is to do several large water changes. (two or three) I’m talking taking your water level down to just a few inches in the tank and then refilling it. You must make sure that the water temp matches or is slightly warmer then that of the tank as well as the PH level being the same. Do not distube the gravel at this time. They are many bugs that you want in that gravel so it is best to leave them in place for the time being. Doing water changes will pull out the nitrates from the gravel anyway. It will not get rid of all nitrates but thats ok because you want to build up the bugs that will take care of that. Adding plants is also a good idea but can be a pain to take care of.
When your finished treat the tank with stress coat or sea salt. Check the tank every few days for awhile to see if the Nitrates build up again. Also distilled water if exposted to air will develope large amounts of nitrates all by itself. Its ok to dilute your tap water if you need to make the PH more controlable but done use more then a 50% mix.
If the nitrates return in a few days follow with another water change. You should only need to do a 25 -50 % change to keep the levels reasonable. In time the bugs will build and take care of your nitrate problem. Check your water source for nitrates just to make sure your not adding them. It might take several weeks for it to clear up. But so long as you keep the levels down the fish will do ok.
Gook luck.
don’t wast your money on chem do a water change. and get some live plants
you need to do water changes on the aquarium to reduce the nitrates. Ammonia breaks down into nitrites and nitrites into nitrates. Live plants will absorb some of the nitrates but you have to do water changes to get them lower.
Water changes. Test your tap water for nitrates, to be certain that the source of your problem isn’t your replacement water. If it is, you will need to use bottled water – but NOT distilled. Regular old spring or drinking water.
If your tap water isn’t the problem, begin doing daily water changes of 10-15%. This should bring down the nitrates slowly enough not to shock your fish, yet quickly enough that you should be back to normal in a week or two.
Adding plants is a very good idea as well as thoroughly cleaning out your filter. Unbelievable gunk can build up inside.
Good luck!
Water changes are important as many here have mentioned.
However based on the age of your aquarium and your nitrate levels water changes alone will only address the symptoms.
You most likely have high levels of DOC (dissolved organic compounds), this organic mulm is often present under decor, in filters (especially canister filters that are not properly maintained and in UG filters).
You need to look for these sources of organic mulm so as to better control your nitrates.
Another way to control nitrates (this should not be used as the only way though) is through live plants. Many live plants, Hornwort in particular remove large amounts of nitrates from the water and many such as Java Ferns and Java Moss grow well in low light conditions.
I would highly recommend reading this article for much more information about the nitrogen cycle including nitrate control:
http://americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html
:~) C