# nitrated out of control!



## CJ Fish (May 3, 2013)

i bought a 75g tank and fluval fx5 canister off a guy on cl. when i set it up i used all sand from my other tank still wet and seeded and fluval was as well. i put 6 peacocks in there 2 med size 4 juvis which was about the size of his bioload. everything was fine for a few weeks when i decided to break down the filter to check what ws in the canister. he has some really junky products so over a period of maybe 2 months i replaced all 3 sections one at a time. top is prefilter and mid and bottom are biomax. since then ammonia and nitrites read 0 as hey always did but my nitrates have been going up at a rediculous rate. as in when i nticed them at .80 i did 50% water change for te next few days. every day i do 50% and in 24hrs its at .80ppm. im not a beginner and have never had this kind of issue. i do not overfeed and have a very small bioload for fluval fx5 in 75g tank. i kno tests are working fine as other tanks read correctly at .10-.20ppm nitrates. again im not new so please dont explain the nitrogen cycle. i did replace the old media in fluval but waited til it was seeded and did it over time and never messed with sand or rocks. no mini cycle happened only thing i put in water is prime cuz i think its the best! there is no dead fish or plants in tank nothing is rotting. what could be causing the nitrate spike daily?


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

You mention replacement of the media in the bucket sections of the canister over a 2 month period, that sounds like you did that right. How have you cleaned and managed the sponges that surround the media baskets? When did you clean them, how often, how much? Also, have your removed all your decorations to give your sand a good look over...possibly a pocket of waste has developed somewhere that is a contributing factor.

I would recommend continuing the water changes and treating with dechlorinator as recommended for nitrate spikes, removing your decorations and cleaning the sand thoroughly including making sure no pockets have formed anywhere, and cleaning the sponges in your FX5 if you have not done that already.

Hope that helps and that you find the culprit...good luck


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## CJ Fish (May 3, 2013)

sponges only cleaned once in tank water. sand should be fine only about 1/2 inch ill check to see if waste buildup i kno its common as there always is but that has never caused any spike like what im experiencing. thank for the response though.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I assume you mean 80ppm and not .80ppm nitrate. Test your tap water for nitrate. Otherwise, you're seeing excessive nitrate levels due to high organic breakdown either in the tank or in the filter, or a high bioload as compared to your water change schedule. It doesn't just appear for any other reason.


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## b3w4r3 (Dec 14, 2012)

In situations like this the test kit is always suspect. You say other tanks read at 10 to 20ppm nitrate, but how long ago was that? Do you have other tanks you are using the same kit on currently? I think it's not possible for an fx5 to produce 40ppm of nitrate in 24 hours as you are experiencing.


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## CJ Fish (May 3, 2013)

i kno this forum is old bit it was the test kit all along. hope this helps someone experiencing a similar problem. check the test kit even the api master kit goes bad..


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow, kudos for coming back to let us know!


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