How to lower Nitrates in your tank

As we all know High nitrate levels in a fish tank could make fish sick or kill them. It can also cause a bad odor or cloud water. If you think your nitrate is high or you test the water and confirm it is, then you should lower the levels before fish begin dying off.
In order to avoid this follow these instructions (not claiming that they are complete...)
1.
Feed your fish the correct amount. The number one reason for high nitrate levels in a tank is overfeeding. Make sure your fish finish their food in 2 minutes or less. You may want to feed your fish twice a day instead of dumping a large amount in once a day.
2.
Decrease the number of fish in your tank. In general, you should have 1 gallon of water for each tropical fish. More fish means more waste, Which leads to nitrate buildup.
3.
Vacuum the substrate. Waste collects in the rocks, so you need to use an aquarium vacuum to clean out the gravel. Also, clean the tank walls and decorations at this time.
4.
Replace filter cartridges, Which may be holding decaying food and waste in your tank, raising the nitrate levels. Increase the overall cleaning filters or aeration by adding additional pumps or hoses. This should lower your nitrate level.
5.
Change the water after a test for high nitrate levels. Replace about half of the water and then retest. In general, you should replace about 20 percent of the water every 2 weeks to keep nitrate levels from building.
6.
Test the water 24 hours after changing the water. If levels are still high, you should replace another 20 percent of the water and then retest the next day.
7.
Continue small water changes each day until nitrate levels drop below 50 ppm. Anything over 60 ppm is considerably too high and may lead to a bloom that causes cloudy water.

The main thing to remember is to constantly check your water parameters. If a fish is acting strange it is usually due to too much ammonia or nitrate.

Hope this helps

 

Buy amquell+

 

im assuming this is for freshwater tanks? at least i hope so... 1 g of water per fish? so hmm i can have 120 fish? you say vacuum rocks so im hoping your referring to fresh

 

Actually nitrate is generally considered non-toxic to fish. The main reason for keeping nitrate levels low in a marine aquarium is to prevent nuisance algae blooms ...

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

 

So I can have 75 fish in my tank? This must be referring to freshwater. Wait, I wouldn't do that to freshwater fish, either.

 

Has to be freshwater and much of it does not apply to saltwater. Even then much of it is either very old and outdated or not very accurate.

 

Its 1" of fish per gallon. Not 1 fish per gallon

And yes most of that applies to Freshwater. Seems like my general Cichlid tank cleaning procedure... siphon the substrate of waste, blast the rocks, take out 10% of the water, and replace with fresh water.

 

My bad... you are right ... but thanks for your contributions!!

 

Since I also have a Freshwater, I accidently posted it on the wrong Forum...
FORGIVE ME PLEASE!!!!

 

This is what I know about Saltwater:

The ultimate quest for the Marine Reef Keeper is keeping water parameters as close to natural sea water as possible. One of the main concerns for hobbyist is keeping Nitrates to a minimum, if not totally eradicating them.

You need to have a reasonable understanding of the nitrate cycle, here is a quick guide.

Fish produce waste very similar to us, this contains ammonia. Ammonia is then converted to nitrite by a bacteria known as Nitrosomonas. The Nitrite is then converted into nitrate by another bacteria called Nitrobacter. The final piece of the cycle where the nitrates are consumed by plants and algae and of cause your regular water changes.


The first and most important thing is regular small water changes. As a guide about 10% change weekly in a aquarium with a high biological load, highly stocked aquarium or high nitrates in the first place. If your aquarium as a small bio load and low nitrates it is recommended to do a 25% change every month to help replace depleted trace elements. This really is common knowledge and should be part of your reef keeping maintenance.
Using the correct amount of live rock is important as this is your natural filtration, and to go with this you need a good amount of flow so that your live rock and it's small filtering inhabitants can filter and work there de-nitrifying effects on your water. Flow should be a minimum of 24 times turn over off the total volume of your aquarium, bear this in mind though when positioning low flow loving corals.
Using the correct amount of sand, many argue too much will create what is known as a "nitrate factory" A Deep sand bed can cause problems if not full of de-nitrifying bacteria, this can take time to mature, it is recommended not to use sand, using a light misting, enough to cover the surface for aesthetic pleasure.
I find that if using sand at any depth, to not disturb it. Using a Siphon and vacuuming the substrate in my opinion shouldn't be done. This removes the de-nitrifying bacteria and releases nitrates. After employing this method, i have found reduced levels of nitrates.
Stocking correctly and slowly, By over stocking you are asking for trouble, i suppose you can keep on top with very regular water changes but what is the point could you live in a 3 by 2 cubicle? Taking it slowly is not only easier on the pocket it also allows the de-nitrifying bacteria time to cope with the biological load. Like a good wine, it matures with time.
Over feeding can contribute to high nitrates especially on newly set up aquariums. If the food is not getting consumed then there will be a bigger biological load on the aquarium.

If you follow this guide you should soon find your problem will rectify itself and stay that way as long as these steps are followed.

Hope this makes up for my mistake .... again sorry guys!!