Help! How to get rid of nitrites/nitrates in my fish tank??

Question

Hi.. I have a 10litre fish tank with guppy fry in it (I don't want to keep them in the main tank for obvious reasons). I test the water for nitrates/nitrites every day and the numbers are just horrible! Some of my fish died already. I have a Hagen-made sachet in the tank which claims to trap phospates/nitrites/nitrates. Doesn't help! 1 sachet/60litre tank. I can't have any bio-filter cause the tank is just too small!!! Do you know any products or just anything which would help me??? Thank you

Answer 1

With our standards that's a 2.5 gallon tank, and even for that you can get a filter
As for your nitrites/nitrates
your tank is still cycling, since you have already nitrate readings, your tank is almost done
As soon as your nitrites and ammonia readings are at "0" your tank is finish cycling
Here is a site that explains cycling with fish in detail
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php
And regualr waterchanges help as well


Hope that helps
Good luck

EB

Answer 2

A ten litre tank is tiny, how many fish have you got in it? Overstocking or overfeeding might be causing the problem.

Nitrates can to some extent be removed by planting the tank and this would help the fry as well. Nitrites, which are much more toxic than nitrates, are normally converted into nitrates by bacterial action but this will only happen if the tank is given time to settle down.

You could use an external biological filter if you've got room but whatever you do try to resist the temptation to continually add things to the water, it will only make things worse.

When you do partial water changes mix tap water conditioner with the fresh water BEFORE adding the water to the tank and let it stand for an hour or so before adding it. That should neutralise the chlorine in the water and stop it killing all the beneficial bacteria it contains. StressZyme is a bacterial preparation used to prime biological filters and a small amount of that added to the tank might help, you could also try adding some of the porous blocks used in a bio filter to the tank itself. They will give the bacteria somewhere to establish themselves.

If you have an excess of Nitrate, particularly if your Phosphate is high as well, and the tank is lit, you are likely to have a lot of trouble with algae.

Just a couple more points, fish fry are inclined to die anyway, that's just nature's way of preventing overcrowding and have you tested the tap water. If you find any appreciable amount of nitrate or nitrite in your tap water, the most likely reason is because there is something wrong with your test kits or with your test methods.

Answer 3

Right, first things first...water change! Use a tap safe chemical (such as nutrafin) to rid the water of chlorine. Do 20% every day for the next few days. then give the gravel a good cleaning with a gravel vacuum which sucks out the muck. Nitrites are caused by rotting organic matter so your tank is dirty, even if you can't see it. Nitrates are OK at a low level (that's what the nitrites are turned into by the good bacteria in your tank).
I would suggest getting either some Amquil or Nutrafin Cycle and put that in weekly to keep levels reasonable....BUT there is no substitute for keeping the tank clean.
Doing it properly is hard work!

Answer 4

If the tank is set up the bacteria in it are converting the nitrates into nitrites, and the only way you can remove the nitrites are to get live plants, or keep doing 10%-25% water changes every week.

Answer 5

water changes.
guppies can live in almost any water.well at least mine do.
I have a bio-wheel type filter on that tank..to keep the fry out wrap the intake with filter padding. I do a 10% - 15% water change once a week.
29 gallns
80 + guppies (3/4 feeder fish)

Answer 6

Water exchanges followed by more water exchanges. In a small tank such as yours you will be working harder to control ammonia and nitrates than say someone who had a twenty gallon tank. There really is no miracle product out there so you have to work at it with the partial water changes.

Answer 7

do small but often water changes using either purified water or one with fish water conditioner added to it (find it at most pet stores, and it kill all bad toxins that r harmful to ur fish from tap water)

Well i was at the pet store yesterday and saw something called, decorative nitrate absorbing crystals, they r supposed to naturally absorb the nitrate in the water.
they look like gravel.

And also try putting in a small sponge filter.
i think there is also some type of product which reduces the nitrate levels in ur fish tank, but im not so sure.
And nitrate comes from fish waste, so make sure ur not overfeeding.

Well i hope i helped ( sorry if i made a couple of mistakes, im a begginer hehe very sorry if i did =] )

Best of luck with ur little fry! =D

Answer 8

What size tank are u running them in ?? 10 litre maybe 10 gallon ?? or a little less ? anyways you can run a reg freshwater filter with just the black hard sponge in them to circulate your tank and a small oxy bubbler.. pretty basic hospital tank.. If all else fails get a portable tank it sits inside a reg tank and houses smaller fish and they are safe from outside preditors... it is a fry tank go to LFS and ask they will know what your talking about..

Answer 9

you can have a bio filter alright, even in a tank so small. check air operated filters out. at the very least you need some current, otherwise you'll have to change the water every day.

also, put at least a couple of elodeas into the tank.

Answer 10

In order to get rid of nitrate, you have to do partial water changes. In order to get rid of nitrite, and nitrate, you can use a water conditioner called Kordon's Amquel Plus. Actually, it doesn't "get ride of nitrate, and nitrite, it just detoxifies it so that it won't be dangerous to your fish. However, the no2, no3 will still show up in your test, which is okay.