high nitrates

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predator88

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 22, 2008
81
0
0
Ohio
i have a 36Lx14Hx12W tank. And i do weekly 20% water changes. But recently i have been noticing that my nitrate levels are high. So for the past 2 days i have done 10% WC everyday and the nitrates are not going down and if they are they are going down very little. What should i do? Am i just not waiting long enough for it to go down? Thanks for your help
 
Sounds like you need to bump up your wc schedule to keep up with your bioload. You may need to try 40-50% wc's weekly, or do multiple at 20%. What's your nitrate level currently?
 
i dont remember exactly what the nitrate level was at and im out of test strips so ill run to the store later and test and give an update. thanks for your help
 
Absolutely, as stated above, you should increase your WC schedule. The only way to effectively remove nitrates is through water changes. You may want to do a 75% WC to get on top of the situation.
 
few 50% water changes would be the best bet....
 
Please tell us more about the fish in the tank, feeding schedules, filters and what you consider high nitrate levels. You might consider adding a sump or wet/dry to the tank. Your tank is only like a 30 gallon tank or is 35 gallon? The added water volume can lower the nitrate to levels that you find acceptable and you won't have to change the water everyday.
 
I agree with the waterchange advice. I faced a similar situation and I had to do a 75% water change to get it under control. After that I cut down a little on feeding and did 30% w/c weekly (up from ~40% bi-weekly). That did it for me. I love feeding my fish and I got lazy about w/c's....that's why my nitrates were so high. Oh yeah, gravel vacuuming and filter maintenance is also important to keep the Nitrates down. If there's a lot of crud on the bottom of your tank or in the filtration, that'll contributeto high Nitrates as well.
 
i found out why they were so high. the tank had two 6" oscar in there(have gone to a friend with a 90 gallon). But anyways i was in the hospital for a week and had to rely on my sister to feed and do tank maintence for that week and 2 weeks after getting out because i wasnt able to go up stairs until recently(couldnt put wieght on my feet...2 broken ankles) but now that the oscars are out and all thats in there is a pleco. my sister never did any wc just added water as it evaporated. so i will just do a 75% WC then do a 30% every week until it is back under control...thanks for your help
 
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