How do i bring NitrAtes down ?

[Daetarek]

Hi All,

quick question how do i bring down the NitrAtes in my tank ?

temp 32C
pH varies but around 5.5
NitrItes 0ppm
Ammonia 1ppm
NitrAtes >40ppm :!: :!: :!:

[Proteus]

Water changes, Plants or a de-nitrate filter

[Daetarek]

ok i did a 50% change yesterday, and do at least 3 a week ... i have heaps of plants in the tank .... so what can i use in my filter ? i have a 2213 and 2217 ... so what can i put in there to bring it down ?

[nicholas76]

How many fish do you have in that tank?

[Daetarek]

6 juvenile discus 2" or less
4 adult discus
10 blue rams <1"
2 Bolivian Rams <3"
4 Cories <1.5"
1 Peppermint Bristlenose <4"

tank is just about 240 litres

i am confused cos my nitrItes is non existant and my ammonia is basically non existant .... its usually around 1 to 0.5 if that much

everything else is absolutely fine ... i may add some more plants but i am a little worried

[sharn]

your ammonia and nitrite should always be 0. if theyre not theres a problem you need to sort. you do have quite alot of fish in that tank IMO, i dont think you could keep all those discus in there long term (40L rule).

plants absorb nitrates, are you adding any plant fertilisers cause they often contain nitrates. water changes are what you need to keep things down and your doing good with them.

[Daetarek]

Yeah I am doing the water changes, and i have lots of plants no fertilisers i don't think i need them really i added some wisteria, what other plants do you suggest that will eat up nitrate ?

I have ambulia, blue stricta, lizards tongue, wisteria, anubias on drift and swords on drift.

i am trying to get a good deal on a 6x2x2 hopefully in the next month or two, the fish seem very happy and don't seem afected by the nitrate, at the moment anyways.

i was also thinking of getting some sea-chem de-nitrate is it worth it ? how long does it last ?

also what does IMO mean ?

[Daetarek]

The Filter tubes got a bit bent and the flow rate was off, i have fixed it now, maybe that will work a bit better

[Merrilyn]

Fast growing plants like wisteria will eat up the nitrate. Yes, 40 is a bit too high, so keep up those water changes.

As you know, nitrates are the end product of the nitrogen cycle, so it just means that you have a fairly heavy fish load in that tank, and you are probably feeding a bit too much. Now that your filter is back to working at capacity, you should notice a drop in the ammonia.

Cut back a little on the feeding, and increase the water changes. It should all sort itself out.

P.S. IMO means 'in my opinion'. :wink:

[Daetarek]

I will reduce feedings from three times a day to once a day in the morning for a few days, although i don't tend to give them much each feed anyways ...

any thoughts on NitrAte removal filter additions ?

[Daetarek]

Well Today the water is visibly clearer which is a good start :)

[nicholas76]

nice work :wink:

Would really like to see a picture of your tank, it sounds really nice!

[Merrilyn]

You could use something like NitraZorb in your filter, and that will help with the nitrate reading.

Main thing is, we need to find out why your nitrate reading is so high, and correct that.

[Daetarek]

Well i am pretty much in agreeance about the volume versus bio load issue, i have reduced feeding today to just once ... they are not impressed i might add, the filter is running well, and i guess it will take a few days for the Nitrates to come down, scheduled water change and plant trimming is tommorow :)

I will let you know the results :)

nic i have posted pics in the photo album somewhere but here is another, where you can see all ten discus :D

[Daetarek]

Woohoo

after a 75% water change i got NitrAtes down to 10mg/l, not perfect but a vast improvement :)

I am not sure of the cause but i did find some dead plant leaves which had gone all soft and slimy, maybe a contributing factor ?

[Daetarek]

Also as an extra note there did not seem to be much crud in the gravel !!! i thought that was a bit wierd :?

I do have a question though, does anyone know anything about some sort of bio ball that converts nitrAte to nitrogen ? i was at my local LFS and they said they could get something like that in ...

any ideas ?

[Daetarek]

as an additional note i looked into the seachem de*nitrat, as i tend to prefer their range of products and was rather dismayed to find you had to run it in a filter with a flow rate less than 200l/h :shock:

so are there any other suggestions ? where can i get something, i think i have it under control but feel i want an emergency product, just in case this happens again