... on my new tank with 4 platys in - they've been in a week, all's good - this is my first water change since setting up the tank 3 weeks ago. (got the fish a week ago)
The levels before water change were Amm 0, Nitrite 0 Nitrate 25 and pH 7.4 - I then tested a couple of hours after 20% water change (and gravel/filter clean) - results were the same as above.
In fact, every test I have done has shown the above results, nothing has spiked/changed at all...
How do I get my nitrate down a little? I have read this is a bit high...?? My nitrate has been reading 25 at every test, and the fish look fine and quite happy... Do I need to try and lower the nitrate, or just keep checking and see if it goes down after my next water change next week?I done a 20% water change yesterday...?as long as your ammonia and nitrite are 0 and ur nitrate is below 50 then that is fine. have you tried testing yor tap water as you might find that your tap water will have a nitrate reading and this is why you cant get it down. one way of lowering your nitrate level is to add live plants as they use up nitrate as food
hope this helpsI done a 20% water change yesterday...?Why dont you check your tester. The tester might be faulty and will not give you accurate results. Then again, you could always retest the water every week after water changes and hope the nitrate lowers. If not, you can always use activated carbon for your filter. Carefull though, they take out all trackable elements in the water, including iodine. Other than that, its fine.I done a 20% water change yesterday...?More Plants... Not plasticI done a 20% water change yesterday...?As long as your ammonia and NITRITES are at 0 you are fine. 25 ppm nitrates is not dangerous for your fish.I done a 20% water change yesterday...?Nitrates are OK at 25ppm - if the level gets much above 100 then you need to try this solution outlined here: http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/nitrate
NiTRITEs are more dangerous - but to be honest, if you have had only 4 fish in your tank for a week it isn't surprising that water quality has not changed much.
Keep up the 20% water changes ideally every 2 weeks, tend to any live plants and you shouldn't have any problems.I done a 20% water change yesterday...?Nitrates mean nothing - don't waste your time on even checking the levels. Nitrite and Ammonia are the toxic ones and if the fish have only been in there a little over a week then it's not surprising that you haven't started your 'nitrite cycle' yet. After another 2/3 weeks you should start seeing the levels rise (which is normal) but you don't have to do anything extra, just continue your weekly water change and maintenance on your filter. You may experience bad readings for 3,4 maybe even 5 weeks until the filter is fully up and running but your fish will be absolutely fine.I done a 20% water change yesterday...?Some people have nitrates in their water, so doing water changes only brings it down to 25 ppm. Also it sounds like the tank hasn't started to cycle yet.I done a 20% water change yesterday...?try doing a 25% water change weekly and see if that brings it down -- if you never had ammonia or nitrite spikes i highly suspect your kit is old and faulty.I done a 20% water change yesterday...?I find that the best nitrate remover is plenty of live plants. They just love the stuff!
