# HUGE Nitrate Problem



## JenM (May 28, 2014)

Ok, I'm totally stumped

50 gallon with 2 Jacks and one Electric Yellow and one featherfin catfish - all are small as tank is only 2 months old - nitrates are off the charts and have been for almost a week

I'm operating a Fluval 306 so there should be plenty of filtration

I've done 40% water changes every other day, I'm not overfeeding and the gravel vacuum is bringing up no/minimal waste from the bottom when I clean

suggestions? The tap water is testing no nitrates

ammonia, ph and everything else is testing normal and I've done the tests at home and at two different pet stores

I cannot get it under control

I typically do 10 - 15% water changes weekly

I need help and suggestions - nitrates are testing over 110 consistently - no idea what the source could be and everything I try to bring them under control is not working. I've gone out and got plants, added media to the filter and added some chemical recommended at pet store (sorry I forget what it is called and I'm at work without the bottle) - nothing is brining them down

Thanks so much


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Do you notice a difference in the nitrates before and after a large water change?

What other decorations do you have in the tank?

I understand your tank setup is rather recent but have you checked or cleaned your filter recently? It's normally not recommended for a newer tank but if there is a lot of uneaten food in the filter, this will contribute to the problem. I would rinse the filter media in a bucket of used tank water to clean it out.


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## JenM (May 28, 2014)

lots of cubby-type decorations, a few fake plants - I know Jacks like to hide and will uproot real plants. We've added some moss ball things without roots in the last couple of days to try and help

we've cleaned all the decorations out to make sure there were no fecal deposits

no change before or after a water change - everything was fine until about Friday we got up to a cloudy tank and haven't been able to bring it down

we rinsed the filter media in a bucket of tank water on Sunday - they were not particularly dirty but we're trying everything

we give them a tiny amount of flakes twice a day - and monitor closely to make sure we're not overfeeding, I've had tanks in the past and know this is a source of so many problems in the tank

I'm open to any and all suggestions because we're completely stumped and can think of no plausible source for this mess. Our main concern is bringing them down, we've lost a fish already and want to prevent any more deaths. We need a short-term emergency fix and then a long-term plan


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

What kind of test kit are you using?

What are the exact ammonia and nitrite readings? How was the tank cycled?

You should definitely be seeing a change in nitrate before and after a water change. If you had 100 ppm and did a 50% change you'd be at 50 ppm.


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## JenM (May 28, 2014)

using a nurtafin test kit - the liquid drops

the tank was cycled using the 'no fish' method for about a month before adding the fish

I forget what the ammonia and nitrite readings were - I don't have a test kit, the store said they were normal and fine

I see a temporary change in the nitrate after a water change but by the next day it is right back off the chart


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## lp85253 (Sep 27, 2011)

i think you might have a faulty test kit , take your water(sample) to a good lfs and have them test it


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## aicardi (Sep 15, 2012)

Get the API test kit and test it yourself.


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## joescaper1 (Feb 14, 2013)

Jen,

Make sure you have sufficient oxygenation. Good surface aggitation is the most efficient way, but adding air stones helps.

Joe


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## JenM (May 28, 2014)

Still no real changes - Ammonia and Nitrites are almost zero. We have two air stones and make sure there is lots of surface agitation from the filter out-spout.

the vacuum is brining up no waste from the substrate.

It has been almost 2 weeks and our nitrates are still testing over 110 ppm - not sure how high they actually are the reference page only goes that high.

Should I be doing more water changes? Less? What could possibly be causing it and how can we bring it down?

I am desperate. The Jacks are still alive but are starting to show signs of caudal fin degeneration.

Thanks


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I would test now, record the nitrate test, perform a 75% water change and test for nitrates again. If you don't see a difference in the nitrates, either your test kit is defective or you are performing the test incorrectly.


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## JenM (May 28, 2014)

I've tested it at home and at 2 different pet stores - 3 independent tests all the same result

it defies logic


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I really don't know what else to advise, it does seem extremely strange that you don't see a difference after a water change.

Are the cubby-type decorations made for aquarium use or are they something else?

It really bothers me that you still have readings for ammonia and nitrite.


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## JenM (May 28, 2014)

Everything is for aquarium

we're going to do a 75% water change tonight or on the weekend and just hope our little jacks can survive

our ph was at 6 on Saturday and is now over 8 - nothing was done to the tank - but this is also counterintuitive since with insane nitrates I'd expect the ph to drop not rise...?

clearly there are major issues with the chemistry but we are totally beyond figuring it out. We've had our tap water tested and it is coming back fine


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## Hap man (May 28, 2012)

wow, this is strange. everything you explained was the exact same thing that happened to me except I discovered it was the tap water with high nitrates. Are you testing the tap water yourself or having some one else test it?


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## JenM (May 28, 2014)

We tested at home and at two different pet stores

we decided to take drastic measures and did 80-90% water changes every other day for 6 days (3 almost total drains and refills)

everything is under control now - just keeping a close eye on ammonia and nitrites now to ensure we didn't restart the cycle but I'm hoping there were enough little critters in the filter and the substrate to prevent this

We still have zero idea what caused it but our two little girls (90% sure both Jacks are girls) are still around

we've added some moss balls and some floating lettuce plants - every little bit will help I hope

Thanks for all the advice!


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## hose91 (Mar 5, 2014)

Great news! Did you see the nitrates drop consistently after each big water change? Did the LFS test your tap water as well? Interested to hear how rapidly they climb now that you have them down under control. You're not missing a fish or anything are you? Or any live food that got under some decoration and died and is rotting? The API kit was one of the better investments I made when starting up. Glad to hear the fish pulled through as well!


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## JenM (May 28, 2014)

yep, we had the tap water tested at several different places. We're keeping a really close eye on the nitrates. we had been doing 40-50% water changes nad no drop so lord knows just how high the nitrates really were - when we went to 80-90% we finally started to see drops, but it took 3 changes of that magnitude to get them to below 40 ppm.

Nothing was dead - we had two jack's, two yellow labs and a featherfin - so they were easy to keep track of and we haven't started them on live food yet. we did lose the featherfin and one yellow lab and took the other one to a friend because it was struggling (doing well now), but the jacks didn't show too many signs so we just kept an eye on them and hoped they'd pull through

This one will remain a mystery and hopefully we won't have to deal with it again. The situation was bizarre, but we seem to be under some semblance of control now.


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