Question about Nitrates and my tank?

roadrunner

roadrunner

Member
I have done 2 water changes this week because of my Nitrate levels being so high. Before i did the first water change my Nitrates were somewhere around 80. After the first water change the Nitrates were inbetween 40 and 80ppm (granted that water change was only a 4 gal. change) Yesterday, before i did the water change the nitrates were still inbetween 40-80ppm. After do ing a 9 gal water change yesterday I tested for the nitrates today and got a reading or 20 ppm. Now i know that this is an improvement but, why wont the nitrates fall to zero?
The tank is a 26 gal that has been setup for a year now. The bio load comes from two perc. clowns and a lemonpeel angel. I have a clean up crew that consist of hemmit crads (7), snails (7), and a cleaner shrimp.
I also have a 3" DSB and around 25-30 pounds of live rock. I have a tetre trac filter and a power sweep power head.
SO, can anyone help me out? Is 20ppm of Nitrates really that bad?
Thanks for any and all help.
 
bigarn

bigarn

Active Member
Do a few more water changes and see if it comes down more. Ideally you want nitrates at 0. As long as the inhabitants are healthy I wouldn't worry to much.:D
 
shawnhardy

shawnhardy

Member
Unless something is removing the nitrate (like anaerobic bacteria in a DSB or macro algae in a refugium), you will never be able to get 0 nitrates unless you change all the water. When you have nitrate in your water, it is evenly dispersed. It is like cutting a pie in half and then half again. No matter how many times you cut it in half, there is still something there...but the something keeps getting smaller and smaller.
 
jsofield

jsofield

Member
I am new to this what is aDSB and where do I get one. My Nitrates are high as well. did 3 50 % water changes and cant get below 10-20ppm
 
zman1

zman1

Active Member
Originally Posted by jsofield
I am new to this what is aDSB and where do I get one. My Nitrates are high as well. did 3 50 % water changes and cant get below 10-20ppm

DSB = Deep Sand Bed
Ditto ShawnHardy - That last 20PPM could take a few months even with big water changes... Be sure you are not adding nitrates through the type of food your feeding, to much feeding and you could be adding some level of nitrates from your water. Are you using RO? Test your change water and make sure it's at 0 nitrates.
 
cain420

cain420

Active Member
Originally Posted by shawnhardy
Unless something is removing the nitrate (like anaerobic bacteria in a DSB or macro algae in a refugium), you will never be able to get 0 nitrates unless you change all the water. When you have nitrate in your water, it is evenly dispersed. It is like cutting a pie in half and then half again. No matter how many times you cut it in half, there is still something there...but the something keeps getting smaller and smaller.
after my cycle, the nitrates went down to 0 just from the algae growing in the tank.....
i have a 2" bed, 3" in some spots...
 
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