Nitrates TOO high?

[Kokiron]

So I just tested my water for the first time in a couple of weeks (I was away from home and had my mom adding ammonia to the tank for me while I was gone), and my ammonia and nitrite are fine but the water for my nitrates was BRIGHT red, which puts it around 40-80 ppm. That's a super high number I think, and i'm wondering if it's too high for me to go ahead and buy my axie and have it drop in time to put him in there? It'll take a few days for one to get here anyway, and I just added a gallon of water to the tank (I would have done a water change, but the water level had dropped so much that I could just straight up add a gallon without taking any out....idk if that's basically the same thing??).

Any other measures I can take to drop the nitrate level a little without crashing my cycle?

 

[axowattyl]

I'm not the expert, but whenever I've had problems with water balance I just go to 25% water changes daily.

Make sure to use dechlorinated water, and if you're doing it daily why not leave the next days water out to age the day before.

Might take a couple of weeks/days/whatever, and just test every second/third day to see how you're going.

Hope that helps.

 

[Kaini]

Actually, nitrate is the final product of the nitrogen cycle. It does NOT go down as part of the cycle because it's the last stage - it is removed via weekly water changes YOU do, and is acceptable in freshwater tanks under 40ppm.

So to bring it down, just do a water changes. If your ammonia and nitrite are 0, your tank is cycled.

Doing weekly 20-50% water changes is part of normal maintenance for a cycled tank.

 

[Kokiron]

Actually, nitrate is the final product of the nitrogen cycle. It does NOT go down as part of the cycle because it's the last stage - it is removed via weekly water changes YOU do, and is acceptable in freshwater tanks under 40ppm.

So to bring it down, just do a water changes. If your ammonia and nitrite are 0, your tank is cycled.

Doing weekly 20-50% water changes is part of normal maintenance for a cycled tank.

Cool, it's just riding high because I wasn't here to change the water for a couple weeks then. Thanks

 

[axowattyl]

Actually, nitrate is the final product of the nitrogen cycle. It does NOT go down as part of the cycle because it's the last stage - it is removed via weekly water changes YOU do, and is acceptable in freshwater tanks under 40ppm.

So to bring it down, just do a water changes. If your ammonia and nitrite are 0, your tank is cycled.

Doing weekly 20-50% water changes is part of normal maintenance for a cycled tank.

Actually yes, correct.

Didn't have my kit in front of me and had the "ite" and "ate" dilemma...

I'm getting old and dotty!

 

[layna]

Dont forget you will still need to add a little ammonia daily, until you get your axie, to replicate an axie being in the tank, but only maybe 0.5ppm or so

 

[Kaysie]

Adding water that has evaporated is NOT the same as a water change. As Kaini pointed out, you have to physically remove waste-water in order to remove waste products. When water evaporates, it leaves behind everything, basically concentrating your waste.

 

[GlowingFauxPas]

Adding water that has evaporated is NOT the same as a water change. As Kaini pointed out, you have to physically remove waste-water in order to remove waste products. When water evaporates, it leaves behind everything, basically concentrating your waste.

So the water evaporates, but leaves nitrate behind?

 

[axowattyl]

So the water evaporates, but leaves nitrate behind?

Yes, exactly.

Only water evaporates from your tank.

As others have posted it sounds like your cycle is fine, you just need to do your weekly 25% water changes to keep your nitrates down.

Just tested mine yesterday, and my nitrates were about 5-10ppm after a water change 2 days earlier.

No getting away from water changes, they need to be done at least fortnightly, better weekly.