High Nitrate

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

What exactly are your nitrate levels?

HarleyK

 

[hydro4892]

40

 

[Bderick67]

More/larger water changes will definetly lower your nitrate levels. You may want to look into using this product, I have read a few good things about it but have yet to try it myself.

If you do try please let use know how it works.



EasyBalance® with Nitraban™

Easy Balance® – An Overview
EasyBalance® provides an invaluable safety net for the time challenged hobbyist. Nitraban™ adds further stability to aquariums by helping natural bacteria complete the nitrogen cycle. These white, biodegradable granules settle into the gravel where they nourish beneficial de-nitrification bacteria that convert nitrate to harmless nitrogen gas. When used on a weekly basis, EasyBalance® will help keep your fish healthy while making your job easier. The water is kept biologically healthy for up to 6 months, extending time between water changes. It’s a comprehensive benefits package for both you and your fish alike.


Easy Balance® – Detailed Description of Individual Product Features

• Carbonate Hardness Additive – The appropriate amount of carbonate hardness is added to the aquarium water compensating for KH losses, which occur as a result of nitrification.
• pH Stabilization – Stabilizes the pH value on a sufficiently high level, preventing a drop to biologically harmful levels (pH crash) and produces a certain amount of CO2 preventing excessive pH values.
• Phosphate Removing Effect – In a standard aquarium (30gal) the phosphate concentration is reduced to zero during most of the 6-month period.
• New Feature: Nitrate Reduction with Nitraban™ – Serves as a nutrient for denitrifying bacteria that consume the oxygen releasing nitrogen from the aquarium. On average the nitrate concentration will drop below 40mg/l.
• Other Features Include – Production of Carbon Dioxide, the addition of trace elements and a replenishment of vitamin B

Easy Balance® – Directions for use

• Shake well before using
• Add 1 teaspoon of EasyBalance® for every 5 gallons of aquarium water. Repeat dosage weekly.
• Change 50-75% of your aquarium water at least once every 6 months, provided Easy Balance® has been added as recommended and the aquarium is other wise properly maintained.
• Note: EasyBalance® is not a tap water conditioner and will not neutralize harmful chlorine or chloramines. When adding tap water to the aquarium it is recommended you always use Tetra AquaSafe® according to its directions. EasyBalance® should not be used in aquariums with low oxygen conditions; proper aeration using an airstone is strongly recommended.

 

[jclyde13]

10% a week is rediculous.... If you have high nitrates why wouldn't you just do more water changes?

My 180g with my old jags got a 50% a week.... nitrates where below 10ppm all the time..



You should be doing 10% waterchange a day or 50% a week. Why the hell do you only do 10%

^^^ I agree.

i would treat the tank with prime for a full week every day, that should help alot, why dont u try to feed ur fish a bit less to for a bit

Prime is only a temporary fix and should only be used after a water change.

And to the OP, if you think filling up a little 55 gallon takes too long, try filling up a 225 gallon all by yourself with nothing but a few 5 gallon buckets and a kitchen sink (which is what I do once a week, and I change about 80-100 gallons of water per week). I'd love to have it only take 15 minutes to fill up my tank, for me it takes about an hour.

 

[12 Volt Man]

this is a long thread for a simple fix.

begin to change at least 1/3d of your water each week (as mentioned, many of us do 50% though), don't worry about 'fixes in a bottle' just use normal dechlorinator

and your problem should be corrected.

re "Easy Balance":

I was working at a LFS when this product first came out in the early 2000's and we had many customers try it (even though we never recommended it)

All responses we got from customers were bad.

we had many customers come in with water samples from their dying tanks.

when asked how often they changed their water they would reply "not in a few months. I use that new Easy Balance stuff.."

needless to say, I have yet to hear any good things about it for established (fully cycled) tanks..

 

[Bderick67]

I believe tetra only been putting the nitraban in for less then a couple years. Instant ocean (a sister company) has the same product in their nitrate reducer, which there are claims that it does work. Eventually I will set up a samller tank to test this myself, don't care to do it on any of my large tanks.

 

[Imaginary.Fish]

If you need to get rid of high nitrates in a hurry, SeaChem Purigen is a miracle worker. Of course, it is no substitute for regular water changes, but it's a great product to mitigate a potentially lethal problem quickly. http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Purigen.html

 

[12 Volt Man]

I believe tetra only been putting the nitraban in for less then a couple years. Instant ocean (a sister company) has the same product in their nitrate reducer, which there are claims that it does work. Eventually I will set up a samller tank to test this myself, don't care to do it on any of my large tanks.

but Easy Balance has been around since 2001 or so.

I see they now have 'nitraban' on the bottle too..

perhaps they upgraded the product? it never used to say this on it, just 'easy balance'. ??

 

[Bderick67]

but Easy Balance has been around since 2001 or so.

I see they now have 'nitraban' on the bottle too..

perhaps they upgraded the product? it never used to say this on it, just 'easy balance'. ??

Yeah you can still even find the old without nitraban on some websites like petsolutions.com



Still doing research as to which would be better to test the Terta brand or maybe the Instant oocean brand since it may have a higher content per bottle.

 

[TheCanuck]

don't use chemicals.... Don't waste your money, just change the water... God what are you sales people now? wtf