I have a ten gallon tank with just one peacock eel at the moment. there were 4 gouramis with him but they picked on each other and one died, raising my ammonia levels, so i took the three bak to the store to findout walmart sold me the bigger gouramis rather than the dwarfs.. i had my water tested and i waited and tested them again and the pet store said my ammonia is zero but the nitrates were still high. how long shouldi wait before doing any water changes and how much. so i can add some platies? the temp is 78 degrees.
2007-03-03 08:48:48 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
The best way to reduce nitrates in the tank is by water changes. Nitrate is the end product of the nitrogen cycle and will not break down or otherwise disappear fom the tank.
If your ammonia and nitrites are ok, then you will be fine adding a few platys.
MM
2007-03-03 08:54:34 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
When they said the nitrates were high, how high were they? 40-60 ppm is not high. Did they give you a figure?
A 25% water change immediately should help to correct part of this problem.
Remember do not remove more. Test your water again to see the difference the change made. If it made very little change in the nitrate levels it could be something else spiking your nitrates.
Do you have any plant life in the tank? Check to be sure no roots have died off or rotted. Your plants should be removed every so often more so if your nitrates levels spike to check for rotted dead or dieing roots.
2007-03-03 19:08:08 · answer #2 · answered by danielle Z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as your nitrates stay below 40-50 ppm they are not a problem. Tests have shown fish can tolerate nitrates up to 200 ppm. That said, long term health issues and stunting will result.
Water changes and live plants are your best answer (especially hornwort, they are Nitrate sponges). There are other more complicated methods such as Plenums, but these two are the two most simple.
I would suggest reading this article about the Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html
2007-03-03 17:13:23 · answer #3 · answered by Carl Strohmeyer 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
keep doing 25 percent water changes, your tank is cycling
2007-03-03 16:53:58 · answer #4 · answered by Skittles 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
look dat up in da interent
2007-03-07 16:29:25 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋