Nitrate problem

gregarlington

gregarlington

Member
I was wondering of effective ways that you all have found to reduce the nitrate level. I am doing large water changes, in excess of 25% biweekly and it seems like the nitrate levels just will not drop. I just tested today, one week after a water change, and the nitrate level is at 40 ppm. My bubble tip looks really bad and I dont know if it is the nitrate level that is killing it, it has been very healthy until the last week or so. All other tests are fine. I think that this bbt is a goner now, but in the future, what is the best way of reducing nitrate levels aside from water changes?? Doesnt coralline algae play a major role in reducing nitrates???
 
aarone

aarone

Active Member
deep sand bed. Lots of anaerobic bacteria that convert nitrate to nitrite. About 4" generally of Live sand.
 
kev

kev

Member
How big is your tank? How many fish are in there? Doing that many water changes will just make problems worse. You need to just sit it out and wait for the nitrates to go to 0. If your tank alrdy has a DSB then that alone should take care of your nitrates if your not overstocked. If I were you, I would use a product called Cycle. All it is, is benificial bacteria in a bottle. I had a nitrate problem after adding my trigger and Cycle cleared that up in one day. And yes, nitrates is the final stage in the nitrogen cycle. :D
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
I agree with the refugium. Actually it is the plant life that will limit nitrates. The weekly water changes may be what is stressing the bubble. Add macro algae or marine plants to get the nitrates down and reduce or eliminate the water changes. that way the nitrates and all other water parameters will be more constant instead of changing each week.
And yes coraline does help. But you may need a little more and faster growing algae plants for mor help.
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
IMO, you need to find the sourse of the Nitrates before you'll be able to get rid of them all.
"And i thought that Nitrate was the final stage of the nitrogen cycle??????" yes, but they can still rise after cycle is complete
Is the tank overstocked? not just how many, but what fish are in there? do you have a clean up crew? are you overfeeding? how long has this been a problem? have you ever had zero nitrates? is there anything dead in the tank? have you added anything new lately?
what filters are you using? how much lr? again, are you using tap?
lots of questions I know, but all this can lead to high Nitrates...
find the problem, then fix the problem.
good luck
 
dreeves

dreeves

Active Member
Consumed Nitrate is the final stage of the Nitrogen cycle...Free Nitrogen...which is harmless.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top