Nitrates

[William Spak]

I have a bit of a Nitrate issue in my 35 gallon tank. I am currently doing 30% water changes every day. We have recently begun to use RO water. Is there anything else I should do to fix this issue? Thanks!

 

[Crabs McJones]

Can you give us more info? How many and what type of fish are you keeping, how much and how often are you feeding? Are you using ro/di water for your top off and water changes? What test kit are you using to determine your nitrate levels and what are they currently at?

 

[William Spak]

Can you give us more info? How many and what type of fish are you keeping, how much and how often are you feeding? Are you using ro/di water for your top off and water changes? What test kit are you using to determine your nitrate levels and what are they currently at?

I have 2 clownfish that have been in the tank for no more than a month and a half. I am using RO water.. not RO/DI, I am using API test kit which I know isn't that good. Last I checked they were at around 80ppm... I will check now because I just did another 30% change today.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Goodair]

test your water supply to see what nitrates your starting with too

 

[Crabs McJones]

I have 2 clownfish that have been in the tank for no more than a month and a half. I am using RO water.. not RO/DI, I am using API test kit which I know isn't that good. Last I checked they were at around 80ppm... I will check now because I just did another 30% change today.
Thanks for the help!

Test your water change water before using it to make sure that it isnt introducing nitrates into your tank from your ro water. Also double check that your test kit isnt expired. And make sure to shake up the reagent bottle very well.

 

[William Spak]

Test your water change water before using it to make sure that it isnt introducing nitrates into your tank from your ro water. Also double check that your test kit isnt expired. And make sure to shake up the reagent bottle very well.

@Crabs McJones @Goodair We tested the RO water... almost no nitrates!! Then we tested the water we’ve been using... and there were a ton... so maybe not enough RO has cycled through the tank yet? Test kit isn’t expired... and I do follow the instructions on the test kit! I’ll let you know the results !
Thanks!!

 

[Goodair]

you can take some water to your lfs and have them test it to compare ( both your supply and tank water). If they are getting high readings, most likely it from over feeding if the only things in your tank are 2 clowns.

 

[William Spak]

you can take some water to your lfs and have them test it to compare ( both your supply and tank water). If they are getting high readings, most likely it from over feeding if the only things in your tank are 2 clowns.

Yea we tested them and our previous water supply had high nitrates. But since yesterday... the nitrates have gone down significantly... so hopefully if I keep up these water changes every other day... it will get down to around 20 permanently!