# Ridiculous Nitrate Levels - How to lower?



## KendyLeigh (Aug 1, 2013)

Ok... Here's the deal... For the last couple weeks I've been dealing with a nitrate issue. I've done water changes every other day and have been doing water tests daily. Here's the test results (unchanging for about a week): 

PH 6.6
Ammonia 0.25 ppm
Nitrites 0.0 ppm
Nitrates 40-80 ppm 

I have no idea what is going on with my tank or how my nitrate levels got to be so high. I've had multiple fish deaths and would like to curb the nitrate levels to start replenshing the ranks a little. This tank is a lightly planted 55 gal and has been established for about a year, so I know it's not a cycling issue unless for some reason my tank decided it should go through the cycle again. 

My current fish stock is listed below:

2 Angelfish (silver dollar body size)
1 Black Molly 
2 Cories
7 Neon Tetras
3 Dalmatian Platys (2 more in 5 gal QT)
3 Glass Catfish 

In the last week I have had the following fish die:

1 Yellow Dwarf Pleco
2 Nerite Snails
1 Mystery Snail
3 Forktail Rainbowfish 
1 Neon Tetra

Please help! Water changes do not seem to be lowering the nitrates at all. My fish are slowly being poisoned to death... they're hanging out at the top of the tank all the time. Any suggestions?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

How much water do you change at a time?
And have you checked the expiration dates on your test?
The dead snails may be responsible for your .25 ammonia ,but besides that you really should have 0.
Could you be overfeeding or doing something different lately?


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## slaw82 (Dec 15, 2010)

What is your substrate? Any wood in the tank that could be rotting? I keep a ton of eleoda and hornwort in my Oscar tank. I think it helps, but I still have to average about 10% changed out a day .Oscar tanks are a nitrate battleground so I feel for ya. I also have used seachem denitrate with mixed results ( its hard to get the water flow low enough for it). How does your black molly get along with the angels? I think my mollys would be too overenthusiastic for angels.


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## KendyLeigh (Aug 1, 2013)

Coralbandit - I change about 20-30% at a time. The test is brand new... it's an API Master Test Kit. As for feeding, I've kind of backed off a little and I'm careful not to overfeed. I haven't changed anything that I can think of, in fact, the tank was going fine until a little bout with ammonia a couple months ago as a result of overstocking. 

Slaw82 - My substrate is medium/small gravel. I do have a few pieces of driftwood in the tank, but I don't see any signs of rot. I do have quite a bit of flow in my tank, with a bubbler and a corner filter plus the hang-on filter. My molly and angels get along really well... the Molly is really active. I purchased them around the same time and the angels have grown immensely from their original size so I've think they're just become good "tank mates."

In spite of the fish issues, I have to say my plants are thriving... I pulled out the only one that wasn't surviving weeks ago, so I don't think that is part of the issue. I did do a complete clean out of the hang-on filter in an attempt to remove some excess nitrates. A few days ago, the water was not cloudy like a cycle, but not extremely clear either, but since the filter clean it has cleared up a bit.

Any suggestions?


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## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

I would up it to 50 percent until the ammonia clears and the tank balances


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## KendyLeigh (Aug 1, 2013)

I just posted pictures of my tank in the Members' Galleries... please check them out and see if there is anything noticeable about the tank.

Thanks!


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

When you say a complete clean what do you mean exactly?
The amount of water you change is directly corresponding to nitrate level drops, so if you were at 80 and do a 20% change you are still at 64ppm. you need to do back to back 50% water change to get your levels to 20ppm.


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## vreugy (May 1, 2013)

If it were my tank, from what I have read on this forum, I would increase the water changes to 50% at least every other day. You need to get the nitrate level down asap, but not so fast it stresses your beautiful fish.

have a blessed day


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

Have you checked the water BEFORE you put it into the tank ?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Nitrates will go down at the same rate as your water changes. So a 20% water change generally equals a 20% reduction in nitrates/ammonia, etc. But for nitrates if the water change is that low and you increase at your normal rate (whatever that may be), you never really get anywhere. Your weekly water changes have to equal 35% or higher to make any headway in nitrate reduction, assuming your weekly increase is constant. If you want to make substantial changes then water changes have to hit 50% or higher to do that.

I don't think you have a nitrate issue. Yes, they are a little elevated, but not enough to cause any issues in my opinion. I dose nitrates in my tanks have had them substantially higher. Plants consume nitrates, but to make any real dent you needs lots of them and there has to be a good mix of fast and medium growers. Your light level will drive how quickly they consume nitrates and so if your light level is generally low, they will not do very much in that area. Great to have though.

Is your ph a constant 6.6? I think your snails probably died because your water lacks the hardness they need, which is the reason I ask about your ph...there could possibly be something going on there. Snails generally need a certain level of gh in your tank to ensure their shells regenerate at the proper level. If they don't get that, they can die very easily. Do you have a gh/kh test kit?


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## KendyLeigh (Aug 1, 2013)

Ok. Per suggestions... I did a 50% water change and my nitrates did drop significantly. I gave it a day and then did another water test... to my disappointment the nitrate levels were back up to almost 80ppm. My ammonia level stayed at .25ppm, nitrites were 0ppm and the PH was up to 7.4. Some of my fish are hanging out at the top of the tank apparently having difficulty breathing and others are kind of laying on the gravel. 

Could my driftwood be the cause? And if so... how can you tell if it's rotting?


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

could it be possible that there is a dead fish somewhere in tank? If not you may have to do another big water change with a full gravel vac.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

1^ with dalfed about looking hard for somothing dead.If there is nothing dead there is the chance(not large) that the fish are going through shock if your pH went from 6.6 to 7.4 quickly.Now that your pH is back up, you should change water again(50%).It is not uncommon for some to need multiple 50% waterchanges which is why most who are aware change 50% or more every week(better safe than sorry).
You should also do as raymond suggested and test your source water and set some aside for 24 hours and then test that again.Often water will"adjust" after exposure to air ,light and the chemicals that fight bacterias(chlorine) are weakened or removed.


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## KendyLeigh (Aug 1, 2013)

I did check the water source thinking that might be an issue, but it turned up 0 nitrates. I understand the PH level jumping can shock the fish, but I really want to figure out what the underlying cause is for the nitrates. When I did the water change I made sure to move things around and found nothing dead. It's the first thing I do when I notice a fish missing.

I always thought a 50% change all the time was unnecessary, especially since my tank is definitely not overstocked at the moment. I have never had these issues before and I'm at a loss as to where its possibly coming from.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Nitrates are the end result of the nitrogen cycle and can only be removed by water changes.so they constantly grow in tanks .You may not need to do 50% a week forever ,but until you get them under 40 and can watch how fast they climb again it is hard to say how much water you should change weekly/bi weekly.You do have to keep changing water till you get the reading you want.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You need to figure out what is going on with the ph. It should not be moving like that. Can you get a gh/kh test kit? I think you may have marginal kh levels in your tank and you may need to beef them up, but I would test first. API makes the test kit. Ample kh levels are crucial to maintaining a stable ph and if it is fluctuating your fish will stress and eventually end up dead or with some type of ailment. They can live through elevated levels of nitrates.

This could be related to the snail deaths as I said before. High nitrates can kill them also, but if there is not enough hardness in the water they cannot survive.


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## KendyLeigh (Aug 1, 2013)

Ok... I got the test kit and you're right. I have really low levels of KH, but my GH levels were around 214 ppm... is that too high? Also, how do I up the levels of KH since it's temporary?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

How low is the level and how are you testing?


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## KendyLeigh (Aug 1, 2013)

I used the API liquid test kit... and it only took 1-2 drops for the KH. I'm not sure what it converts to in ppm.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Degrees are multiplied by 17.9(aprox) to get ppm, so 2 degrees would be aprox 35-36 ppm.I believe this is the same for GH also.
PPM are divided by the same (17.9) to get degrees;214=11.95ppm


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## KendyLeigh (Aug 1, 2013)

Degrees are multiplied by 17.9(aprox) to get ppm, so 2 degrees would be aprox 35-36 ppm.I believe this is the same for GH also.
PPM are divided by the same (17.9) to get degrees;214=11.95ppm


So does that mean my water is too hard? The conversion for the GH was 217 ppm or right around there. The KH was somewhere between 0 and 36 ppm. Why is the KH so low and the GH so high? Or is the KH ok for freshwater?


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