nitrates high. before and after

[pescado209]

just did a WC on my 75g Goldie tank. roughly 80-90% percent as usual on Saturdays .

measure nitrates before and after .
looks pretty much the same to me. should I invest in a Reverse osmosis water filter, for those of you that have made the switch how do you like it?

fish look happy big and healthy gonna have a 4th tank running by the end of the week for my Oscar . no noticable effects on my fishies to complain about .

 

[pescado209]

forgot pic

 

[jeaninel]

The tube on the left looks slightly lighter orange to me. Do another large water change and test again.

 

[tarheel96]

I'd test the water strait from the tap to see if your tap/well water contains nitrate and how high the level might be.

 

[kno4te]

Make sure kit isn't expired. But yea test the tap water. Did u treat with any conditioners?

 

[pescado209]

test kit expires on 2021.

I use tetra safestart plus.

left is after WC. center is before WC. right is out of the tap without conditioner.

and yes I shook the **** out of the bottles all 3 times .

 

[tarheel96]

Someone who uses a reverse osmosis filter should answer ... I've never used one. It will eliminate nitrate but you have to add carbonates/bicarbonates and mineral/salts to the ro water before using it with fish.

There are also nitrate selective ion exchange units but I don't know how the costs compare to reverse osmosis.

 

[jeaninel]

Ooh yeah, lot's of nitrates straight out of the tap. You could maybe do a mix of RO and tap. You'll need some minerals added to RO.

 

[DN328]

test kit expires on 2021.

I use tetra safestart plus.

left is after WC. center is before WC. right is out of the tap without conditioner.

and yes I shook the **** out of the bottles all 3 times .

View attachment 1268075

The after WC on the left looks to be lighter than before WC and from tap.

 

[dan518]

At my old house I had the same problem, I used to put tap water into a old tank and turned it into a giant algea scrubber then pump it into the main tank on water change day then refill it for the week. Worked well with a noticeable drop in nitrates as long as you have the room.