need some help how to keep the nitrates down in the fish tank.?

Question

im a beginer to tropical fish i have two fish in my tank at the moment, i have two male platy's i started off with six fish and now have only two left i get regular water safety checks and get told that the nitrates are a bit high and got told to use nitrates minus to take the nitrates level down im doing that but it does not seem to work any sugestions.

Answer 1

Do you have any ammonia or nitrite readins? Or ONLY your nitrates are a bit high? And how high is a "bit" high? You should probably invest the 30$ in your own testing kit so you can know the exact numbers. It's definitely worth the expense.

Anyway, chemicals rarely work. They are just wasted money; you need to pinpoint the cause of the problem. Nitrites and Ammonia are broken down by bacteria in the tank into nitrAtes. Nitrates are not broken down and must be manually removed. This is done by water changes - if you aren't already, replace 30% of the water every week using a gravel vac (syphon tube) and replace with new dechlorinated water. This will remove some of the ntirates and dillute the rest.
If you ARE doing water changes, then you may have what is known as "old tank syndrome" - those bacteria I mentionned, well, they're working TOO hard. These bacteria live in the filter cartridge and gravel. You want to replace one or the other (not both - you still need some of those bacterial colonies). Other than that, you can add some live plants if you have fluorescent lights, and make sure not to overfeed your fish (only feed what they can eat in 30-40 seconds, twice per day)

However, nitrates would have to be REALLY high to kill your fish, like over 80ppm. Normally you would want it to be around 20ppm, but your fish can tolerate more. Unless your nitrates are that high, something else might be the problem. Get a testing kit :)

Answer 2

If this is a newly set up tank, its part of the cycling and should be left alone. New being less then 6 weeks. If it is NOT new, you need to boost your biological filtration, Hagan's Cycle or any other brand of biological enhancers will do. Its not a quick fix. If you really need something right now to work, there are two things I can tell you that actually work for this. The first is Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, nitra-sorb and SeaChem De*Nitrite, both eliminate nitrate, nitrite and ammonia. I've never seen just a liquid chemical that you add that works.

There is an answer above that might lead you astray. Now there are MANY different philosophies in the hobby, and you can follow any one you like, however, I'd cycle a tank with live-bearers, they're pretty easy to keep, and sorry to say cheap because any fish in the beginning will likely die. Neon Tetras on a scale of 1-4 for difficultly hit a 2-3 according to Aquarium Atlas vol 1, which MUCH fish keeping info is based on. Neons are very delicate and not very tolerant. As for an undergravel filter, I don't know one serious fish keeper that will use them for any thing else other then to add better flow and prevent dead zones in the water. They pretty much fell to the side along with box filters about 20 years ago. For a smaller tank a hang on is MUCH better. Its up to you, however, I feel this info that was given to you will make it harder for you.

In general, be sure the filter is adequate for your tank, be sure to clean it and change it on a regular bases, don't over feed your fish and remove debris (dead leaves, old food) promptly.

Good Luck

Answer 3

number one...platy's are the wrong fish to start a tank with...all live-bearers...(fish who don't lay eggs but bear the young live) will die in a new tank..
remember..you are basically starting a new lake...and there has to be some junk on the bottom just like in a pond or lake.
NOW...if the platy's LIVE....which I doubt...you can keep some of the same water..but change out at least 2/3 of it. in fact..do a 1/2 change NOW...and don't forget to use the chemical to get rid of the chlorine...AND make the water the same temp as in the tank...keep it at about 76 to 80
it will lower the nitrates.
get yourself 6 neon tetras...they are a very hardy fish..and will for the most part tolerate the nitrate cycle.
nitrates have to go UP..then level off...it takes about 3 weeks...and you will need to do smaller water changes...then leave it alone.
Are you using an "under gravel" filter?...if not...consider changing to that..it is WAYYYY less work....since the gravel is the actual filter..and you won't need to clean an exterior filter...EVER..
fish are a bugger to get going sometimes..and the smaller the tank..the more trouble it is...
at least a 23 gal tank is good to start with..and i wil warn you now..you will want more and more...as you get going..
I ended up with a 150 gal tank and various others..
lots of fish..lots of fun...and no work..cuz of the under-gravel system.
go back to your pet store and get those neon tetras,,,,AFTEr you do a 1/2 water change..
then every four days or so..do a 1/3 water change..it will slow down the process..but make it tolerable for the neons.
good luck !!!

Answer 4

Nitrates and Nitrites can jump and dive quickly depending on the size of your tank. Also if you have not had your tank set up for very long these are unstable. If you have a good tropical fish dealer, not a mixed pet store, they have all sorts of things for it. If you havn't done so already, find one that you trust, built a relationship with the dealer and take some time to look around at all of the products they have for your tank. Also make sure you are using the right amount for the size of your tank. I had an underground filter system and as soon as I switched to different kind and vacummed my gravel my nitrates straightened out.

Answer 5

Live plants feed on nitrates, so putting some live plants in the tank can help. Make sure you give them enough light, though, and make sure you don't have any fish that are known to uproot plants (many loaches are notorious for this).

Other than that, make sure you're not overfeeding your fish, make sure you don't have more than an inch of fish per gallon of water, don't get any more fish until your nitrates are down, and when you do get more fish... don't buy a bunch at once.

Also, change 25-35% of your water once a week using a gravel siphon, and change your filter cartridges every few weeks. Make sure your filter has a bio-wheel, too.

Answer 6

Providing your Ammonia & Nitrite levels are ok & you just have high Nitrate, then the best solution to keep it in check is to perform 20% water changes each week.

Answer 7

Already lots of good answers. I would add:

+ Get a protein skimmer to remove excess organics before they get converted by bacteria into nitrates.

+ You can deepen your sand bed to act as a natural nitrate reducing (NNR) substrate.

+ Add more live rock. The rock is going to increase the system's ability to absorb nitrates. Stop when you get to two pounds rock per gallon.

Otherwise, follow the advice of all the excellent responses so far: water changes, macroalgae (plants) that absorb nitrates, avoid overfeeding, avoid overstocking.

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Ignore this if you are talking fresh. Thought you had a marine tank.

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Answer 8

Change water by 50% and add a few plants.Keep water temp at around 70 to 75.buy a book on fish keeping from your pet shop.Good luck.

Answer 9

Get a book about starting a new aquarium.

flyboss1107 had some great advise. It sounds like you have added fish before the tank cycled. I used feeder goldfish to cycle mine, but the fish he suggested will work too. The store bought back my live feeder fish when I was done.

Answer 10

fish are stressed with high nitrates,do water change or buy plants to take levels down.