Nitrates

[cichlidfish]

In spite of what some of the older references may show, carbon does not on its own cause HITH. What CAN occur, though, is carbon may release many of the toxins and organics it has previously absorbed over time back into the system. It's those waste byproducts, not the carbon, that is causing environmentally caused HITH.

So, Alex is right. Try removing carbon from your tank, especially if it is old or if it faces a heavy waste load.

Carbon that is replaced regularly is perfectly safe. However, it is also perfectly unnecessary unless you need to remove medication, color, etc.

I agree.

My oscar got HITH even w/ water params of 0-0-10 and ph of 7. I stopped using carbon and used aquarium salt and that cured him.

Also water to waste ratios are important. It is better to have a greater water volume and do once a week water change then a lower water volume and daily water changes IMO. An example of this is oscar in a 75g will be healthier then one in a 55g. Doing daily water changes aren't good for fish. It causes stress and that causes the immune system to weaken, so they are more likely to get HITH. The reason is that the bacteria that eat the waste don't populate that fast, so they don't break down the waste as needed in the nitrogen cycle. Plus the PH and water temps may fluctuate and that causes stress on the fish.

 

[siebertn]

Mine is under 10ppm sometimes it barely shows up when i do tests and i only do 40% water changes on my 150 once a week.
Only thing i do is i try not to over feed and i remove any uneaten food.

 

[kdrun76]

The alge scrubber is expensive and doubt I need a RO. I am thinking of get big amazon swords like 20" and a java moss wall.

Try emergent plants.

I have the spiders from spider plants sticking out the tops of all my HOB's. When the plant gets to be too big I just toss it in the compost pile or pot it and give it away.

I have an oscar, a large common pleco and two pacu in a 210 that get about a 65% water change once a week, their nitrates are never over 15ppm. EVER.

They are getting a bigger tank soon, but that is just because of the size of the pacu's not water quality.

 

[knicks791]

Thank you all for your comments. I will clean my canister, up the water changes and cut back on feeding.

Fyi... i just found out my aqueon heater seal is broken since i can see water trapped in the glass and might be causing stray voltage in my tank. Second time this has happend to the aqueon heater.

Time for a Jager heater.

The fun never stops.

 

[knifegill]

Knifegill, has your oscar eatten any of its friends due to hunger?

My Oscar has only a green sunfish and they get along. I did feed him a tiny sunfish and he ate that one, but he leaves the cohabber alone.

 

[Sarah88]

yeah how often do you clean your mech media? if you have Fx5 and only 1 O in a 75g and do weekly 40-50%wc then nitrates really shouldnt be a problem, 10ppm would be great but as long as you keep it under 20ppm then the HITH should get better, i do 50% wc on my tank every week (though lately its been every two weeks) and i have about 14 growouts in my 5ft 120g (not all cichlids and range from 2-7in) and my nitrates never go above 10ppm, I also clean the sponges in my filter about every 2 weeks (whenever the flow starts to slow) and never clean my bio media and feed twice daily but all the food is eaten within 30sec

with Os especially, you have to be very careful with overfeeding as they always act like they are starving lol

 

[knicks791]

I haven't had my canister for that long, but pple say as long as your levels are low, which they have been, but Nitrates in the tank are between 10-15ppm. Yesterday, I cleaned the canister, 50% WC and the nitrates are at 10ppm. I have cut down on feeding and the oscar does not like that one bit.

However, I found my heater might have been giving off stray voltage. (saw water in the glass tube)

You will find my rant about aqueon heaters if you search for it.

I noticed my oscar getting better when I put on the replace me aqueon heater a couple months ago since the old aqueon one had the same problem.

But now it’s getting bad again since iv noticed the heater issue.

I have a jager heater on the way but noticed the Oscar had 3 new holes last night and ran out and got a rena heater until the new one comes in the mail.

Aqueon's response with out an apology to my email is that they will be sending me a new heater like last time.

I will be selling that heater on ebay and will not be buying any aqueon products in the future.

I would still like to get my nitrates below 10ppm if possible.

 

[kdrun76]

Weekly 50%-65% water changes.

 

[Babyguppy]

Hi, I know some people frown on chemical filtration but due to 60ppm no3 in tap water here I use these products:

http://www.magnavore.co.uk/pura_nitratelock.php

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Purigen.html

They work great just like it says on the tub, still change 10% of the water once a week, no3 went from 120 ppm to 0 in 1 day.

 

[kdrun76]

Hi, I know some people frown on chemical filtration but due to 60ppm no3 in tap water here I use these products:

http://www.magnavore.co.uk/pura_nitratelock.php

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Purigen.html

They work great just like it says on the tub, still change 10% of the water once a week, no3 went from 120 ppm to 0 in 1 day.

What country are you in? If your tap water is that high its not safe for human consumption. The U.S. has VERY strict guidelines that make nitrates that high VERY against the law from any municipality. The limit is 10ppm of Nitrogen. Private wells are not governed.