High Nitrates and 0ppm Nitrites How?

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


feetupfreeflier
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 4:04 pm

High Nitrates and 0ppm Nitrites How?

by feetupfreeflier

I have a 125 Gallon fish tank that hes been established for about 8 months i currently have 1 large hang off filter on it that ran the tank on its own for 6 months and now i have added a 2nd filter it is a marineland magnum 350 i also have alot of air injection going into the tank along with a UG filter that i keep very clean it has 3 power heads on it my water is very very clear but my nitrates and ammonia read very high i have been doing a 35 gallon water change a day for 2 weeks trying to get the ammonia and nitrates down with no change i test with an API test kit almost every day i dont have a heavy fish load there are currently only 9 fish in my tank what could possibly be causing this i do also sweep the gravel weekly and it isnt dirty at all if anyone has any suggestions i could use them.


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

first test your tap water, if the tap water tests high, you need Prime...Prime is the only chemical to bring ammonia and nitrite back down to zero (even if the tap water tests very high).

125 gallon, you should be running a 1,250 gph filter system. Always have 10 times the amount of the filter in the tank. There is never enough filtration in a tank. The more the better.

Clear water does not mean anything except there is no algae in the water or you are not overfeeding. Ammonia and nitrite will not hinder the water from being clear.

So test the tap water, add Prime if you need to (you can double the dose it won't hurt), continue your water changes (should be 25% per week), and you should be fine.

Let me know how it goes


feetupfreeflier
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 4:04 pm

by feetupfreeflier

Yasher,

I have tested my tap water several ways first I tested it out of the tap I have city water so I assumed with the pressurized system I may get funny readings they read everything 0ppm and my oh was about 7.4 so then I took the water out of the tap and allowed it to sit out for 24 hours where I got the same exact readings. I've heard and read a lot about prime my question is does it eliminate it or will it still show up on water tests even though its at 0 kind of like how ammo lock works by API? Thanks for the help


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

if you use liquid tests, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate will be completely eliminated or back down to 0 with prime

Anytime I applied Prime, I always doubled the dose, so with the 55 gallon tank I have, I used 2 caps of Prime on every 8 gallons during a water change (twice each week, 8 gallons on Thursday and 8 gallons on Sunday); in your case, 125 gallon, figure use 2 caps on every 8-10 gallons of replacement water, I can assure you, the ammonia and nitrite, after you do the water change with Prime application will be 0. Anytime I had ammonia or nitrite problems, I would test before the water change, apply Prime, then test the water after...until you start to see an even pattern of 0 for ammonia and nitrie, then you can discontinue water testing or not test as much

ammo lock is frown upon. Actually, I frown upon any chemical introduced into the tank (if I could eliminate the charcoal in the filter pads I would...I do alternately rinse the filter pads, and I have found, regardless of expert advice, there is no need to change the pads every 4-6 weeks...the ones I have in the filters now are over 6 months old); because the tap water shows 0 for all chemicals, I no longer apply Prime. I do not add iron supplement for the plants or have a H20 system in the tank either...I allow the nutrients from fish poop take care of that).

I found have the more natural the better.

Breakdown of the 55 gallon freshwater tank I have:

550 gph filtration
400 watt heater (barely used)
1,000 gph water flow
2 stick temperature readers
1/2 inch gravel on one side; 2 inches of gravel on plant side
live plants
naturally growing algae (cladophora)
slate, sandstone, river pebbles, river rock
malaysian wood

I have eliminated all chemicals
no hood with lights (natural sunlight regualted by mini blinds)
no funny looking pinwheels, air pumps, airstones etc
never vacuum (therefore the gravel is a hotbed of good bacteria)

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
ph 7.4
nitrate 25-35
oxygen 8.4
temperature 78-80

All depends on the fishkeepers perspective. Natural to the extreme or semi-natural or cheap plastic thingys in the tank

So tell me how it goes, I'm here to help you as many others are too


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

one other thing with Prime...the nitrates on average never go to 0 - actually it is okay to have nitrates at 25-35 especially if you have live plants; if it gets to 50 ppm, then there's a problem, if it gets to 80, then your fish will literally suffocate to death for nitrate will absorb too much of the oxygen from the water column...so don't be surprised to see 30 ppm or so of nitrates after applying Prime

Ammonia and nitrite will go to 0, this is guaranteed after using Prime...besides you can tell simply by observing the fish...anytime there is too much ammonia or nitrite in the water column, it means the oxygen in the tank is being absorbed too much and the fish will go to the top or to the water surface and gasp for air by opening their mouths, they will literally breathe in the air in order to survive...also my adive is to have in your tank, 125 gallon tank, 1,250 gph filtration, for there is never enough filtration - more the better in this area - therefore, this filtration will also absorb more of the ammonia, nitrite AND nitrate making even more of a good bed of good bacteria in the filter pads or if you have a wet dry system, all over the boi-balls or ceramic glass, dependent on what media is used.

so anyhow, yes, prime (especially if double dosed) will eliminate ammonia and nitrie to 0

High Nitrates and 0ppm Nitrites How?

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