nitrate level help??

salteedog

salteedog

New Member
im a newbie, my 55g tank has a nitrate level of 15 ppm, i have a clownfish, yellow tang, copperband butterfly, and a spotted sweetlips. the nitrate level has been perfect for the last 4 months until this week end. Should i be alarmed?
 
usc932000

usc932000

Member
What are your other params (ammonia,nitrite, ph?)...when was your last water change? If you haven't done a WC (water change) yet, then its probably due.
 
salteedog

salteedog

New Member
ammonia = 0 - .25ppm
nitrite = 0ppm
ph level 8.2
i just did a water change immediately after the test and changed about 35% of the water.
 
salteedog

salteedog

New Member
thanks i wasnt sure, i heard some people saying 30 - 40 nitrates is high so i was looking for the correct info.
 
swfishfan

swfishfan

Member
from the looks of your livestock and what you have posted, it seems that your tank is not able to keep up with the bio-load, not to nagg, but the yellow tang needs a min. of 100 gallons to thrive, and im not sure how many gallons your butterfly needs but i know for a fact that a 55 is to small for it, i have a 60 and butterflys are a no-go for that size.
i would no be worried about your 'trates, i would try to do a water change to fix that ammonia level, with those fish in your 55 gallon you need to get those down, how long has your tank been running?
 
farslayer

farslayer

Active Member
Your nitrates are alright for fish only, but you really shouldn't have that tang and butterfly in there, the tank is really too small for them. The fact that you are registering any ammonia at all is a bad sign, so you need to cut back on your bioload.
 
J

jrthomas40

Guest
try a little vodka...i have read on other forums that because of the chemical components of the alcohol helps to increase your nitrosomonas to break down the nitrates....but you should google it or try --
 
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