what is nitrate and what does it do because i got fish in my tank and its high the nitrate?

Answer 1

Nitrate is the end product of the nitrogen cycle in your aquarium. As fish waste and excess food enter the water they produce ammonia which in turn is converted to nitrite and that is converted to nitrate. The only effective way to remove nitrate is through water changes. In most freshwater tanks, a 25% weekly water change is adequate to keep nitrates under control.

Unlike the other two chemicals in the nitrogen cycle, nitrates are relatively harmless and are only a real concern for your fish when they reach about 100 ppm or more. No mature cycled tank will have or maintain a 0 nitrate reading, that's chemically impossible and you would horribly stress your fish trying to acheive such results.

MM

Answer 2

Nitrification is a biological process during which nitrifying bacteria convert toxic ammonia to less harmful nitrate.

Nitrates are not as toxic as ammonia or nitrite to fish but can kill fish if levels get excessive. What are your nitrate levels?

High Nitrates can be caused by a combination of the following:

1. Overfeeding
2. Dirty filter
3. Overstocking
4. Not cleaning the gravel.
5. Infrequent Water Changes (you should change 25% of the tanks water at least weekly, pulling water out from the bottom of the tank.)
6. Tap water with high nitrates, usually caused by fertilizer runoff. If you have a well, you should test your nitrate level to see what your nitrate level is.

Try to keep your tank nitrate levels below 40 ppm. If they get higher than that you should do a 35%-50% water change, followed by 15%-25% water changes every other day, until your nitrate level is lowered into the recommended range. I would recommend purchasing API's freshwater master test kit if you don't already have it.

Answer 3

Nitrate is the end product of a process that occurs both in nature and in aquariums called the Nitrogen cycle. It begins with ammonia introduced into the water, from several sources, such as fish respiration, fish waste, excess food and plant decay. This ammonia is oxidized by bacteria called Nitrosomma's which convert that ammonia (NH3)into a compound called nitrite (NO2). Nitrate is in order of harmfulness, lesser then ammonia. Still toxic and can cause fish death as ammonia can, usually not quite as fast acting however. Bacteria begins to build up again, a different strain, called Nitrobaciters. This bacteria oxidizes nitrite (NO2) into a compound called Nitrate (NO3).

This process is continual and immedate once there is no ammonia or nitrite present in your water. Any ammonia that comes in the water immediate goes into oxidation and then the subsequent nitrite as well so there is a build up of nitrates in your water. Nitrates are the least harmful of the three compounds and many other sites and sources all support the need for changes in your water once you hit 40 ppm (parts per million) of nitrate.

Prolonged exposure to nitrates damage the overall immune system of fish and leave them extremely susceptible to diseases and pathogens. Your tank can be high on nitrates for several possible reason, the biggest two that come to mind are either A) Not enough water changes or no water changes done frequently or B) your tap water source you are doing changes with already has high nitrate in it. The second reason does occur usually around places that use an outside tap water source such as a well or spring that might be located near a farm or golf course, and nitrate run off occurs. Nitrate is a primary component of most fertilizers and plants in your tank will consume some, but not all of your nitrates.

To combat higher nitrate, do larger and more frequent water changes. If you are not finding a lowering in your readings of that, investigate your tap water source. If you have other questions or issues feel free to email me anytime.

JV

Answer 4

I'm not sure how long you've had your tank, but the tank could be cycling at the moment. The nitrate (NO2) comes from ammonia (NH3). Bacteria in your water, converts ammonia into nitrate. If the nitrate is high in your tank, you should do a 30-50% water change. Check the nitrate level tomorrow, if it's still high. Do another 30-50% water change. You should begin to see the nitrate level decrease to zero. This means bacteria in the water are converting the nitrates (NO2) into nitrates (NO3). Once this happens, your tank has cycled.

Answer 5

Did you test for nitrite (no2) or nitrate (no3)? These two are different. If you have high nitrite, it means that your tank is in the process of cycling, and in this case, you can add a conditioner that "removes" the nitrite. (It doesn't really remove it, it just de-toxifies it.
If your tank is high in nitrate (no3), it means that your tank is cycled. In order to get rid of nitrate, just do a partial water change of 25-30 percent weekly and you should be fine. Or you could also add a water conditioner that "removes" nitrate as well. That doesn't excuse the water change though!
Good luck!

Answer 6

There is a process that the water in your aquarium goes through when living matter is introduced to it, called, the "Nitrogen Cycle." It is a process whereby the elements emitted from the fishes' waste as well as from dead plants and decaying food turns into ammonia. Once beneficial bacteria that usually naturally live in the water begin, in essence, "eating" the ammonia, the ammonia converts into nitrites. Further processing changes the nitrites into nitrates and further processing finally creates a healthy water environment. Any time you get ammonia or nitrite readings that are anything above 0, you have a toxic water quality that is deadly to fish and will kill them if not addressed. While 0 ppm for nitrates is also the preferred reading, you can have about 25 ppm and be okay. So, to bring down your nitrite readings and keep the water healthy while it processes into nitrates, etc., you need to do a 50% water change immediately and then 20% water changes every day or every other day until your readings get back to 0. Good luck!

Answer 7

get rid of it as soon as you can. or your fish will die. try feeding them less or your amonia is gonna start going up which is bad.