High nitrate levels will not cease

[bugg1223]

OK... my boyfriend and I started our 29g aquarium adventure approx. 3-4 months ago. Everything was fine until about 6 wks ago when we tested the water and noticed freakishly high (off-the-charts) nitrate/nitrite levels - nitrites were far higher as our test strips' highest reading is 10.0 ppm at a light pink color and our tests showed bright bright pink.

We immediately went and purchased a new filter (AquaClear 20-50g). Now, I know that changing filters totally messes with the bacteria culture but we did it. About 2 weeks later the levels were still frighteningly high so I let my bf do a full water change. 2 days later the readings were once again ridiculous. We are using AmQuel+ on a regular basis as well as StressZyme.

We thought it might be that the tank is overstocked (I admit this) but I really didn't think we had THAT many too many fish. We have as follows:

3 Red Wag Platys (2" x 3=6")
4 Gold Barbs (2.5" x 4=10")
3 Neon Tetras (1.5" x 3=4.5")
4 Cardinal Tetras (1.5" x 6")
1 Dwarf Gourami (2.5")
1 Pleco (12" max- currently around 4-5")
1 Peppered Cory Catfish (3")

So the rule of thumb would tell us 29in of fish and we currently have around 37in. Muy mal???

We really did have all of the above listed fish (excluding the Cory) before the levels got out of hand. Any suggestions..? We do regular 25% water changes (once every 1-3wks) and are worried about our fishes.

 

[punkrockfish]

welcome to the tank! first off, you shouldn't have switched the filter because the filter wasn't the problem. second, the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule is not a good rule to go by. proper research on the fish you want to get is what needs to be done when stocking a tank. it is possible that the bacteria can't keep up with the fish in the tank. also, you need to do water changes once a week, not every 1-3 weeks. keep up with water changes, and make sure you are cleaning out any dead food/decaying stuff from the tank. If you are going to be overstocked, then you need to be really on top of water changes. also, test strips are not the most accurate or easy to read. liquid testing kits are a good investment to make.

 

[Lotus]

I think you may have a problem with the test strips. If the nitrites were at 10ppm, you'd have a tank full of dead fish. Are you sure that's not the nitrAte level? You can have your LFS test your water for you, usually. You can calll to check before going over with a water sample.

 

[bugg1223]

Unfortunately I don't think it's the strips. We actually did take a water sample (twice) to PetsMart and they used the exact same test kit and had the same results. I just doublechecked the bottle and 10ppm is the highest reading for Nitrites being 'toxic.' The highest reading for Nitrates is 200ppm... Anywho, we just did another 4gal water change and we plan to continue that regimen over about a week then we will start weekly 25% changes. Argh, keeping fish is hard.

 

[Lotus]

Have you tested your tapwater to see what the readings are?

 

[bugg1223]

Yep. Tap is fine. Fortunately we tested last night and things are looking up.

 

[echoofformless]

What was the other filter you had? Any reason why you aren't running both filters? With a somewhat overstocked tank like that, running as much filtration as possible is certainly to your benefit.

Most of us veterans run two or more filters on our tanks larger than 20g regardless of stocking load. There are many good reasons to do so. Increased mechanical filtration, increased surface area for biological filtration, a failsafe system in case one filter stops running, easier maintenance rotations, etc.

 

[FroggyFox]

When you have fish in the tank and your nitrates get over about 1 ppm you need to do water changes to get them down. Nitrates you want to get down under about 20ppm and the only way to get them down is water changes. I'd do about 50% a day until things were under control.

 

[echoofformless]

Froggy I think you're forgetting something - plants will happily consume nitrate. Probably slipped your mind.

In my very heavily planted tank, I never have nitrate readings even if I go several weeks without a serious water change.

 

[FroggyFox]

Yes, healthy growing plants will take up a considerable amount of nitrates, however I dont usually mention that to new folks because they most likely dont have that...most new people and a fair amount of more seasoned people don't really go into plants.

 

[echoofformless]

Hooray for plants! I loves my plants!

 

[Big Jay]

I was having some nitrate probs. Then I added plants.*SUNSMILE*