how bad really are nitrates and nitrites for your fish?? i know it can cause stress but i did a test and it showed a significant amount in my water and i know its supposed to be 0 but my fish seems perfect
just how bad is this really??
- Thread starter rodgerpidactor
- Start date
NitrAte or NitrIte?
If you are measuring nitrate, thats normal. If it gets too high it will affect the fish, but low/medium levels are OK. Just keep the level down with routine water changes.
If you are measuring nitrIte in your water then you have a problem with your filtration. NitrIte IS toxic to fish and will kill them if it builds up to significant levels.
Its not so much what level of nitrite will kill the fish, it's the fact that it should be close to zero if your filters are working properly. If they aren't, then things can turn bad really fast.
Cheers
Ian
If you are measuring nitrate, thats normal. If it gets too high it will affect the fish, but low/medium levels are OK. Just keep the level down with routine water changes.
If you are measuring nitrIte in your water then you have a problem with your filtration. NitrIte IS toxic to fish and will kill them if it builds up to significant levels.
Its not so much what level of nitrite will kill the fish, it's the fact that it should be close to zero if your filters are working properly. If they aren't, then things can turn bad really fast.
Cheers
Ian
rodgerpidactor;1250569; said:
Picture it this way:
HAving a high level of 'trites is like leaving your toilet plugged...Allowing the stew to overflow with diareah and urine on a constant flow....Really nasty, huh, that is why you flush(siphon) the thing everytime you use...Only with an aquarium you siphon once, maybe 2 or three times a week...ALso, having bad biological filtration is a sign of high level 'trites...WIthout an established biological colony for the amount of fish in the tank, levels with rise...
Get a good filter...Pick a day out of the week and do a 30-50% water change on that day every week....For my growout tanks, I do 2 to 4 water changes per week...