High nitrate

[kiwi axolotls]

I’ve had my axolotls for nearly 4 years now and during that time i’ve never tested the water at home with my own kit i’ve always taken it to an aquatic shop near me. Every time i went they said my water was perfect (they used liquid testing kit) so i never worried.

Until recently i finally got my own water kit, api freshwater. Tested it everything it was all perfect apart from the nitrate. it was 40ppmi instantly started a water change and continued every 2-3 days it maybe went to 20ppm. I became suspicious of my tap water so tested at it was 5.0-10ppm which is okay right?

Ive brought three kinds of nitrate remover, gone natural with plants, Nitrate minus and de nitrate (stones for the filter) but i just doesn’t stay it slowly creeps back up so i’m doing water changes everyday

I just can’t figure why it rises so fast!! My boyfriend said maybe it’s the sand as he’s heard sand can cause high nitrates.

One of the axolotls also keeps getting fungus which i’m assuming is the nitrate so i’m always putting indian almond leaves which alway helps!

I’m just so tired and i feel like the worst person everso please be kind

 

[kiwi axolotls]

forgot to add my tank is big enough for 2 axolotls and there’s plenty of space! i also feed them earthworms bloodworms and pellets!

 

[wolfen]

first of fungus isn't caused by nitrates, some axolotls are susceptible to it whilst others aren't, axolotls are a brackish moderate/hard water animal so having some salinity (2g/l salt) in the water tends to protect them from certain issues such as fungus.
as to the nitrates they have to be really high for them to start affecting your axolotl, if you look at the main problematic nitrogen compounds ammonia nitrites and nitrates, ammonia ideal is 0ppm tolerable is 2ppm, nitrite ideal is 0ppm tolerable is 0.5ppm (nitrites are worse than ammonia as whilst ammonia is caustic and causes burns, nitrites poison the blood restricting oxygen), nitrate ideal is 0ppm (although realistically 10 - 20ppm) tolerable is 110ppm, which means that there would have had to have been a lot of over feeding and lack of water changes before your axolotl starts to be affected by the nitrates (same issue as high nitrites)
to make the water more comfortable and also protect against fungus, ammonia spikes as well as nitrites and nitrates use 50% holtfreters solution, info here.. Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity
for information on levels ie.. ph, ammonia etc.. see here.. Water Quality Explained: How It Can Affect Your Axolotl's Health - WSAVA 2015 Congress - VIN
weekly water changes are enough, 20 - 50% max, the percentage of water removed is the percentage of nitrates removed, always dechlorinate the water before adding to the tank.