Nitrate Blues

[Cisco]

I have been out of the loop for awhile working 2 jobs my seasonal job at the Wa State Fair besides my regular job, but now I that my extra check has arived I have a little spending cussion.

Last weak, I cleaned out my cansiter filter for my 65g aquarium and my nitrate are out of wack again. what  Co-op products should I order to get things back in order again. I have a decent amount of plants, but I would like to get some that target nitrates more. Currently I have several anubias plants which are slow growing, about a month ago I added 2 African Sword plants and they are starting to get some nice new growth, and some Java ferns, Wisteria and I am developing a moss wall with Java moss and an other variety of moss.

I'm usually pretty good with plants, but I managed to kill my dwarf Chain sword and my Pearl Weed from the Co-op. In a video from the Co-op I saw you could leave the plants in their pots and they would spread from there, latter i saw they cut the bottom off the planter pots don't know if that would of helped. The sword didn't like being left in the pot at all and fadded away. The Pearl Weed was doing very well, but I tried getting it to  root in the substrate by putting some gavel over it...bad idea. I finally pulled that pot out and there were a cupple of tiny green leaves still there. I'm trying to revive it in a sperate container.

Does anyone have trouble with a few zebras, dandios and penguin tetras getting along with guppies? The guppies are gone now, but the other 3 are doing great together.

Well that is my aqua adventures for this post,

have a good week,

Cisco

 

C

[Lennie]

Hi Cisco

 

I would highly recommend fast growing plants that mainly feeds from water column. My tap reads 40 nitrate, and during my water changes with decently stocked tanks, I see these numbers drop to the levels of 10! 

 

My suggestion would be using plants like amazon frogbit, salvinia, water lettuce, elodea, hornwort and if that's your thingy plants like pothos where you keep only the roots inside the tank.

[Guppysnail]

Have you considered emergent plants to help with nitrates?  My tap has high nitrate so it’s a constant struggle for me. I found growing lots of emergents very enjoyable. Here is a thread with great info.  
 

 

[JettsPapa]

On 10/17/2023 at 2:56 AM, Cisco said:

. . . my nitrate are out of wack again. what  Co-op products should I order to get things back in order again. I have a decent amount of plants, but I would like to get some that target nitrates more. Currently I have several anubias plants which are slow growing, about a month ago I added 2 African Sword plants and they are starting to get some nice new growth, and some Java ferns, Wisteria and I am developing a moss wall with Java moss and an other variety of moss.

I'm not aware of any products to reduce nitrates, other than live plants.  Water changes will help, of course, assuming your source water doesn't have high nitrates.

You said your nitrates are "out of whack," but didn't give a number.  What is the level?

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

NitraZorb works wonderfully but it will remove ALL nitrates, and your plants need nitrates.  I am with @JettsPapa and @Guppysnail that more plants are the answer, including emergent plants such as pothos, are the answer.  I only use NitraZorb if I have super high nitrates that I haven't been able to reduce with water changes.

[Galabar]

Could you describe the procedure you used to clean your filter?

[Cisco]

On 10/17/2023 at 5:36 AM, JettsPapa said:

I'm not aware of any products to reduce nitrates, other than live plants.  Water changes will help, of course, assuming your source water doesn't have high nitrates.

You said your nitrates are "out of whack," but didn't give a number.  What is the level?

Hi thanks for your reply. The water test chart I have from PetSmart reads 160 unsafe level as of a weekago. 0 - 20 is considered safe. I have done two water changes this week and have tried over dosing with SeaChem Prime.  Last Saturday I used a cap full to help detox the nitrates. The instructions suggessed a cap full for 150g tank I have 165 so that seemed a safe first step. After the 2 water changes I had the water tested again Wed, there was some improvement probably around 100 -120. My tank tend to average 60 for the nitrates.

Alkalinity is low near zero the store attendent said that should rise as I bring the Nitrates down. Also, ammonia and nitrite is zero or near there. PH is 6.8 or .9 in that area. 

[Cisco]

On 10/17/2023 at 2:00 AM, Lennie said:

Hi Cisco

 

I would highly recommend fast growing plants that mainly feeds from water column. My tap reads 40 nitrate, and during my water changes with decently stocked tanks, I see these numbers drop to the levels of 10! 

 

My suggestion would be using plants like amazon frogbit, salvinia, water lettuce, elodea, hornwort and if that's your thingy plants like pothos where you keep only the roots inside the tank.

Galabar, thanks for your suggestions. I hope to add a pothos to the top of the tank. I have an open gravel area in the front middle of my tank that I want to have a  plant carpet area...do the dwarf grasses require a C02 drip?

I planning on trying Scarlet Temple Alternanthera Reineckii again, hopefully the Co-op has them in stock. 

[Cisco]

On 10/17/2023 at 5:23 AM, Guppysnail said:

Have you considered emergent plants to help with nitrates?  My tap has high nitrate so it’s a constant struggle for me. I found growing lots of emergents very enjoyable. Here is a thread with great info.  
 

 

Hi Guppysnail, Your aquarium looks great! Currently, I have a small variety of Split Leaf philodendron with its roots in the water, though it has gotten new growth it's not that impressed with the aquarium arrangement probably would like more light, where as the phothos can deal with lower light better I think.

[Cisco]

On 10/17/2023 at 5:40 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

NitraZorb works wonderfully but it will remove ALL nitrates, and your plants need nitrates.  I am with @JettsPapa and @Guppysnail that more plants are the answer, including emergent plants such as pothos, are the answer.  I only use NitraZorb if I have super high nitrates that I haven't been able to reduce with water changes.

Thanks, where do you get NitraZorb from? Haven't heard of it before. Can it be used in smaller doses to avoid harming plants?

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 10/21/2023 at 3:55 AM, Cisco said:

Thanks, where do you get NitraZorb from? Haven't heard of it before. Can it be used in smaller doses to avoid harming plants?

I just get it at Petsmart. It’s a pouch that is added to the HOB. If you try it, buy some aquarium salt with it. That is how you “recharge it” when it stops working. 

It’s not a product that is meant to be measured out, so I am not sure about your dose question.

Edited October 21, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[JettsPapa]

On 10/21/2023 at 2:06 AM, Cisco said:

Hi thanks for your reply. The water test chart I have from PetSmart reads 160 unsafe level as of a weekago. 0 - 20 is considered safe. I have done two water changes this week and have tried over dosing with SeaChem Prime.  Last Saturday I used a cap full to help detox the nitrates. The instructions suggessed a cap full for 150g tank I have 165 so that seemed a safe first step. After the 2 water changes I had the water tested again Wed, there was some improvement probably around 100 -120. My tank tend to average 60 for the nitrates.

Alkalinity is low near zero the store attendent said that should rise as I bring the Nitrates down. Also, ammonia and nitrite is zero or near there. PH is 6.8 or .9 in that area. 

160 ppm is pretty high, though I think that 20 ppm safe level is overly cautious.  You said you did two water changes.  How large were they, and how much did they reduce the nitrate levels?

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Have you tried  bunch of water changes to reduce nitrates? Do you get any nitrate reading from your tap water?

[Cisco]

On 10/23/2023 at 6:09 AM, JettsPapa said:

160 ppm is pretty high, though I think that 20 ppm safe level is overly cautious.  You said you did two water changes.  How large were they, and how much did they reduce the nitrate levels?

My water changes were about 6 gallons each. I plan on getting the water tested tomorrow. Getting ready to place an order to the Co-op, will be getting Test Strips amoung other things.

On 10/23/2023 at 3:45 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Have you tried  bunch of water changes to reduce nitrates? Do you get any nitrate reading from your tap water?

Last time I tested the tap it didn't get much of a reading except the water was slightly on the hard side.

[JettsPapa]

On 10/25/2023 at 11:35 PM, Cisco said:

My water changes were about 6 gallons each. I plan on getting the water tested tomorrow. Getting ready to place an order to the Co-op, will be getting Test Strips amoung other things.

Changing six gallons in a 65 gallon tank won't have much effect.  If you want to get nitrates down I'd recommend considerably more.  The math is pretty easy.  If you want to reduce nitrates by half you need to change half of the water.  A 25% water change will reduce the nitrates by 25%.

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/17/2023 at 12:56 AM, Cisco said:

The Pearl Weed was doing very well, but I tried getting it to  root in the substrate by putting some gavel over it...bad idea. I finally pulled that pot out and there were a cupple of tiny green leaves still there. I'm trying to revive it in a sperate container.

If you can photos would help. A lot of time we never plant stems deep enough and so maybe just trust them to grow and be ok. It should be very accepting of being planted and then grow out of the substrate accordingly!

[Cisco]

On 10/26/2023 at 5:36 AM, JettsPapa said:

Changing six gallons in a 65 gallon tank won't have much effect.  If you want to get nitrates down I'd recommend considerably more.  The math is pretty easy.  If you want to reduce nitrates by half you need to change half of the water.  A 25% water change will reduce the nitrates by 25%.

Thats good to know. Isn't half the water too large of a change?

Currently nitrates are a little down between 80 and 165.

Nitrites was near zerro

Hardness 150

Ph was between 6.2 - 6.8

And my tap water was basically neutral water hardness was 75 on the soft side.

[Cisco]

On 10/17/2023 at 9:38 AM, Galabar said:

Could you describe the procedure you used to clean your filter?

In the past, I used chlorinated water to clean and then to refill the canister. The last 2 changes I rinsed out the canister trays with tank water and refilled the canister with tank water. Hoping to not disturb the bacteria too badly. Guess it didn't work to good this time. 

[Cisco]

On 10/30/2023 at 8:49 PM, Cisco said:

In the past, I used de-chlorinated water to clean and then to refill the canister. The last 2 changes I rinsed out the canister trays with tank water and refilled the canister with tank water. Hoping to not disturb the bacteria too badly. Guess it didn't work to good this time. 

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/30/2023 at 8:18 PM, Cisco said:

Thats good to know. Isn't half the water too large of a change?

Currently nitrates are a little down between 80 and 165.

Nitrites was near zerro

Nitrate being that high has proven to do harm to fish long term. That just means for "emergency situations" you can do as much as a 90% water change if you really need to.

I do normal 50% water changes on my tank and it's ok to do so. Professional aquascapers will do 2-3 large water changes per week! The normal I think would be weekly 30-50% water changes for most planted tanks, but I'm not absolutely certain about that.

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/21/2023 at 12:06 AM, Cisco said:

The water test chart I have from PetSmart reads 160 unsafe level as of a weekago. 0 - 20 is considered safe.

~20-50 is about the norm for a planted tank. If you're running something fish only, overstocked, it can be pretty easy to get close to 100 without significant water changes.

Studies have show that being above 40-50 ppm can do some damage to the fish and so I have tried in my own tanks to be mindful of that.

For anything over 80, I would do a pretty significant one time water change of 80-90% to get things back to normal. If you have something rotting or leeching ammonia it would keep climbing high, quickly.

Edited October 31, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[JettsPapa]

On 10/30/2023 at 10:18 PM, Cisco said:

Thats good to know. Isn't half the water too large of a change?

No, it's not.  Some fish keepers who have fish that are particularly sensitive to water quality routinely change more than that.  As long as there isn't a big temperature difference, and you're treating the new water to neutralize chlorine (or whatever your water system is using), it's fine.  The only other time a large water change can be problematic is if a tank hasn't had a water change in a very long time.  The fish will have adjusted to the gradual changes in the water parameters and may not handle the large change.

Edited November 3, 2023 by JettsPapa

[Matt B]

Hey guys, I just came across this filter material the other day at our little local pet store. I have never heard of this before. Has anyone ever tried something like this? My plan is to test it out when I get a chance and see if it works.

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/12/2023 at 2:11 PM, Matt B said:

Hey guys, I just came across this filter material the other day at our little local pet store. I have never heard of this before. Has anyone ever tried something like this? My plan is to test it out when I get a chance and see if it works.

Yes I've used them.  They have phosphate (green) and carbon (black) ones as well.