Nitrates!!!!!

[Somuchflo99]

How to lower nitrates safely without shocking anything into dieing

 

[Somuchflo99]

 

[CoralReefer1019]

more partial water changes

 

[Somuchflo99]

How many Can I safely do in one day and I’ve been doing ten percent to 15 percent weekely idk what happened

 

[Somuchflo99]

In the past three days I’ve replaced approx 6 gal out of 20

 

[Somuchflo99]

Do I need to do like 25 or even 50 percent water change to lower it to a safe level

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

Fish only tank you can do 50% every other day to bring it down to lower level, for more sensitive live stock I would do 10%~25% 3 times a week until it back to safe level, also reduce feeding since you don't have enough BB to process the bio load, you having 0.25 ppm ammonia in your tank while it's not a big deal but should not happen in a cycled tank.

 

[Somuchflo99]

This tank has been up for 9 months now it is only a 20 gal tank tho this is the first time I’ve seen a major change in nitrate and ammonia

 

[Somuchflo99]

 

[Shaddow_wolf169]

Grab a pinch of sugar and thrown in the tank.

 

[40B Knasty]

One thing before you start with your reduction of nitrates. Go get your water tested elsewhere. Make sure it is not your test kit. I had an API kit reeding 80ppm when it was only 2ppm. The nitrate test kit for API is okay ONLY if you really shake the bottles correctly everytime. The more you use the kit with a bottle improperly shaken the worse it gets.
If your test results show up as high still. Pull out you mechanical media(sponge, filter floss, filter sock) and rinse it with water.
Are you using bioballs? Over time they end up being a nitrate factory

 

[Somuchflo99]

right the number trade read good until I found out I needed to shake the bottle not the tube and to my surprise nitrates were through the roof I’m going to clean everything in my sump filter Sox and I’m not running flow of any sort

 

[40B Knasty]

Sounds like your test kit is now garbage. The reagents in the bottle sticks to the walls of it. Honest mistake, it happens. Shake the bottles next time and when the reagents are in the test tube with your tank water. Shake that also.
One other thing that is very important to get is a 5ml syringe. The laser etching on the vials for the "5ml fill to line" are sometimes way off. I had 1 vial that was 1ml off. So if I had trusted the line it would have been only 4ml of tank water being tested.

 

[Somuchflo99]

Dang

 

[Somuchflo99]

I just bought this kit like a month ago

 

[40B Knasty]

I just bought this kit like a month ago

I recommend a ELOS Nitrate test kit.

 

[Newb73]

Elos or Nyos.

Also get your source water tested.

 

[Somuchflo99]

 

[Flippers4pups]

What's the expiration date on the bottles?

 

[Somuchflo99]

I’ll check ASAP I just did that test but am now shopping for thanksgiving supplies lol good idea everything in the tank looks happy as ever ammonia is zero ppm the only thing is nitrates but it does seem lower than first test looks more like 400 ppm not the initial 80million lol