Need some help here

volitan100

volitan100

Member
I did a water check up and it read:
Nitrates:40
PH: 8.2
Ammonia:0
Nitites:0
HOW ON EARTH DO I BRING MY NITRATES DOWN!!! I do 5 gal water changes every week. I do have a 55gal. Should i do one GIANT water change? I have an agressive set up so i dont know if my nitrates will really harm my fish. And if i had some macro algae into the tank will it help my trates go down alot?
 
gasguzzler

gasguzzler

Active Member
Macros wont make it go down alot, but they will help. Do a large water change every week rather than 5 gallons. I do at least 20 out of my 55. Nitrates that low wont harm any of the fish short-term, but continued exposure to elevated levels will do damage.
 
volitan100

volitan100

Member
what are ways to lower nitrates? Water changes,algaes and what else? How do you do water changes? I fill up milk cartons and add salt in to it. How do you do yours?
 
gasguzzler

gasguzzler

Active Member
I went to HomeDepot and got 7 5 gallon buckets. I mix up salt water in each except for one. I use that to bail the tank out and do it all at once with the filters shut off.
 
volitan100

volitan100

Member
so if buy the 5 gal bucket what do i do with the RO/DI water? It comes from the kitchen and when its done pouring 2gallons it stops. And it takes for ever to make more purified water. If i take water from the faucet it will add posfates to my water so what should i do?
 
moraym

moraym

Active Member
The best way to lower nitrates is to figure out where they are coming from. Doing water changes eliminates nitrates in the short term, but if you do not discover the cause then you're not going to be able to keep the levels down.
Main cause of nitrates is obviously uneaten food and fish waste. Even slight increases/decreases in diet would impact nitrates in a 55g. In my 55, I am ever-mindful of how much I am feeding. I'd advise reducing the amount you feed by a little bit for a couple weeks and see if that impacts the nitrate level (while continuing w/ weekly water changes). This will lead to less uneaten food, and of course less fish waste as well.
Another cause of nitrates is your source water itself. However, since you're using RO/DI, this shouldnt be as much of a problem as if you're using tap/well water.
 
volitan100

volitan100

Member
Alright, ithink i know where they are coming from. My eel loves to dig holes! Under the rocks and stuff, he stired up the sand bed alot last week. So could be from that:thinking:
 
liontamer

liontamer

Member
Protein skimmers, water movement, live rock and a low bioload also helps. Do you have all of these? Do you have a crushed coral sandbed?
 
volitan100

volitan100

Member
my powerhead is aimed at the surface(its a 1200). I have a emperor 400, worken on the skimmer, sand bed, i do have a lowe bioload
 
gasguzzler

gasguzzler

Active Member
I know people love em, but I cant stand Emporers. I think you would have much better luck with a nice size Ehiem canister or a Fluval 304 or 404. Just my 2 cents.
 
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