I have been trying to lower my nitrates through water changes of 20 % maybe more every couple of days it will lower from 160 to 80 maybe 40 then back up to 160.Been doing that for over a couple of weeks. I was thinking of trying NITRA ZORB to get a jump on it. It is a bag of media that supposedly absorbs nitrates/nitrites and ammonia and can be recharged with aquarium salts. I know copper salts for ich are very harmful for inverts but I havent found anything about aquariums salts. I am guessing the amount of aquarium salt need to recharge would be low but dont want to take any chances. So what do you guys think or do you have any other suggestions for lowering the nitrates. ammonia 0 nitrites low. Thanks
aquarium salts and mystery snails
- Thread starter jswhite
- Start date
not sure but I've been adding aquarium salts at times to my tank with brown snails and it's never put a dent in them. I also add aquarium salt to my hospital tank which is home for my two mystery snails and it doesn't phase them. Kyle
If your nitrate is that high you are overstocked or overfeeding or both. Nitrate is a useful indicator of general pollution buildup in the tank water, it is the thing we can test for cheaply and easily, where we cannot easily test for phenols, DOC, etc. in general. If you artificially reduce the nitrates, that particular pollutant is gone, but the others are untouched and now invisible to you.
Start with testing your tap water for nitrate. The EPA limit for potable water is ~44ppm nitrate or 10ppm nitrate-nitrogen. In agricultural areas, having something near that figure is not rare. That would be the baseline of how low you can get the nitrate.
Is your gravel deep in an unplanted tank? Substrates without heavy planting can build up into nitrate reservoirs. Full-depth vacuuming is needed routinely and regularly.
Then re-evaluate your stocking and feeding. Going from 40ppm to 160ppm in two weeks requires massive nitrogen addition to the tank.
Salt exchange resins will increase the salt levels in tank markedly in the process of removing that much nitrate. It is not a solution, it is a bandaid. Water changes are cheaper and better.
Start with testing your tap water for nitrate. The EPA limit for potable water is ~44ppm nitrate or 10ppm nitrate-nitrogen. In agricultural areas, having something near that figure is not rare. That would be the baseline of how low you can get the nitrate.
Is your gravel deep in an unplanted tank? Substrates without heavy planting can build up into nitrate reservoirs. Full-depth vacuuming is needed routinely and regularly.
Then re-evaluate your stocking and feeding. Going from 40ppm to 160ppm in two weeks requires massive nitrogen addition to the tank.
Salt exchange resins will increase the salt levels in tank markedly in the process of removing that much nitrate. It is not a solution, it is a bandaid. Water changes are cheaper and better.
I have about 10 inches of fish in a 30 gal.
The tap water is 0 nitrates. I forgot to put that in my thread.
Its not planted (I am assuming live plants). I must be getting behind on my gravel cleaning and possibly over feeding. They usually finish in about 3 minutes though. I guess I will cut back a little on the feed and get on the gravel cleaning and see what happens.
The tap water is 0 nitrates. I forgot to put that in my thread.
Its not planted (I am assuming live plants). I must be getting behind on my gravel cleaning and possibly over feeding. They usually finish in about 3 minutes though. I guess I will cut back a little on the feed and get on the gravel cleaning and see what happens.
I overfed my 55 gallon community tank trying to make sure all the timid tetras were getting their share of food. I had been feeding twice a day and overfeeding at the same time. My nitrates shot to around 80ppm and I went to an LFS for advice. They suggested doing a good vacuum and water change, discontinue feeding for 5 days and then pick back up feeding once a day and not feed as much. This has worked well as I am around 5-10ppm nitrate levels on my 55, my 36 and both my 10's. I do weekly 25% water changes also. Kyle