How to lower nitate levels in a ten gallon aquarium (I need help)

[Finthusiast]

Thanks for that advice I am about to do a water change and as stated above my nitrates are pretty high maybe near 80ppm not sure but how can I do a large water change is it as simple as just removing water and adding? How much % should I take out maximum cause I want to get rid of them nitrates.

Edit: I have about 8 gallons of dechlor water available to me

 

[Schniz]

Yep, just remove and add the dechlor water. I personally have never done larger than a 50% but others on here say they do 80% to 90% multiple times a week. All depends on how much the water change drops the level of nitrates.

 

[Finthusiast]

Alright so I am doing about 50% water change today and another one in two days and repeat till nitrate is low around 10-20 would be acceptable and then I can start doing less % correct? I am only going to add 1 gallon every half hour to help it adjust to the temp before just adding all back at once just to be safe.
Here is a picture of how much I removed


and here is a picture of how much I added back so far will wait about a half hour or so to let temp go back up then add the rest

 

[twentyleagues]

Alot of us in the poly section do what we call fin level water changes. So you basically are taking the water down to a level of just above the fish sitting on the substrate. Most of the time no issuse doing this. People not properly preparing the in coming fresh water for temp chlorine and other stuff have had issuse but for the most part you can change 100% of the water of you want to and prepare to.

You can use alot of plants for nitrate removal that live outside the tank. Pothos is the most common and imo easiest most forgiving one to start with. There is a thread (sorry wasnt prepared to link it) that is all about plant filtration in the filtration and set up section, check it out. Schniz is correct plants actually have a much easier time pulling co2 from air then water. So for plant filtration alot of plants need to be out of the tank to work the most efficient. Ie without the added ferts and minerals needed for a lush growth of aquatic plants. Other things to think about but are really way over complicated for a ten gallon are algae scrubber and anaerobic type denitrators. Really just do more larger water changes maybe get a chunk of pothos and call it good.
One thing on pothos and some other plants they tend to be toxic to dogs and cats mammals in general to varing degrees. So if you have critters like that that are prone to eating weird stuff beware.

 

[twentyleagues]

As for how much how often id say 50 to 75% weekly or based on nitrates. Its not going to hurt as long as you prepare for it.
Doing less than your nitrate grows is only going to put you back where you are now.

 

[Finthusiast]

Thank you guys for all the help I appreciate the wisdom, this site is full of knowledgable and helpful people. I am learning from you guys and once I get everything down I hope to share the knowledge in the future! I think I got all the info I need for now but will post another thread on progress or “when” anything else comes up lol. Thanks again everyone for taking time to help me out with this stuff!

 

[Jexnell]

A big part that helps with water changes that has not been mentioned is how we do it. Us with bigger tank don't want to lug buckets all day so we either hard plumb the tanks or use a Python water changer. Or use some system of pumps what have you DIY you can get creative.

A Python is a God send to the aquarium hobby in my eyes. What it does is it connects right to your water faucet (I use the one in my kitchen) and allows you to drain your tank then refill it with temp matched water.



Super easy to use. Just hook it up to your faucet, has a valve on the body, one way for draining one to refill. When you refill you add your Prime to your tank water where the fresh water is flowing in.
Always treat for total water volume not amount of water changed. Add in 1/2 the Prime when you start refilling. The other half when about 2/3 refilled.

--I have a 125gal tank with 2 FX4 canister filters so total water volume is 130gallons. Thats what I treat for.--



Been doing it this way for years with no issues.

 

[Finthusiast]

Thanks for that I will look into this later tonight!

 

[duanes]

The tank waters surface (air water interface) is a collection point for a lot of nasty stuff you may want to remove, although you might not notice it because of surface agitation from hang of back filters or air stones. Without surface agitation this stuff (lipids, and other surfactants) often shows up as a white film, which hinders gas exchange.
Kind of like the way petroleum products float on puddles in the road.
So it is sometimes a good idea to take water off the surface (skimmers do this automatically) and with a tiny tank like a 10 gal, removing water with a few gallon jugs is quick and easy.
Where I live, water is at times scarce, so I conserve whenever possible.
If I need to flush a toilet, I remove 2 to 4 gallon jugs of old tank water per flush.
If my garden needs watering, a number of gallons of old water change water are great for adding needing water, and nutrients like nitrate for plants.
During the night cane toads drop feces all over the patio, a few gallons of old fish water to wash it onto the grass works well.
Along with the leaks in the tank caused by local earth quakes, my daily water changes are a breeze, and have multiple uses.

 

[Schniz]

I don't need it for my toilet or cleaning up after toads but I do keep my Japanese Maple tree and house plants watered with my old tank water