NITRATES at 40ppm, DON'T KILL YOURSELF! [We Worry TOO MUCH!] - What PPM is Too High?
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- Опубліковано 23 лип 2024
- Nitrate reduction can be a frustrating and worrisome topic. Tropical fish keepers, in particular African Cichlid keepers struggle with nitrates. At what level should we be really be worried? 20ppm? 40ppm? 100ppm? There are as many opinions are there are levels!
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Too much panic over nitrate at 40ppm my nitrates were even at 80 or 100ppm and my fish are healthy
Exactly the point. Too much worry created by companies that sell products to address this.
I believe you touched on this subject briefly and I've since gotten into the habit of moving the decor or removing it and during water changes and haven't had a problem since... I appreciate the advice
Good move.
It's amazing, even with regular maintenance, how much can build up under that decor.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Thx Big Ben for the info n thx for having E.A. On with extra insite it’s been a major help for my venture into this hobby
Thank you so much for the teaching on Nitrates !!! You guys are the best :-)
You're welcome April. Just trying to get some good advice out there. Certainly not gospel but just observations from our own experience.
Keep it up! Looking forward for more videos from you, don't stop!
You're welcome. Keep watching!
Agreed. It takes a Ton of plants to have a large effect on nitrates for the heavily stocked African cichlid tanks that we all love.
Just wondering if you have had the filters achieving the full nitrate cycle (reduction in nitrates) from the filters alone as I notice you use biohome in one of the tanks?
I have had lots of reports from people who had a great result (0 ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) then noticed nitrate shooting back up when purigen or chempure was added. I'm not sure what the link is but these seem to either starve the anaerobic bacteria (which are much more fragile than aerobic bacteria) or kill them off chemically? - certainly recharge of purigen seems to be a common factor in the failure of the full cycle / rise in nitrate but I'm guessing that is the bleach or stability which is recommended to be used as when those products are removed the anaerobic colony recovers (slowly) and nitrates fall again.
Just wondering what your thoughts on this are and if you have had sudden swings in nitrate like this as you use both biohome and purigen as I'm really scratching my head on this one.
This is the first time I've heard of this and will certainly look into it. I have a couple kilos of biohome ultimate in each of the two SunSun 302's that I run on my 60 gal grow-out tank. I was told that in order to get a drop in nitrates from BB in biohome that I would need something like 1 kilo of Biohome for every ten U.S. gallons. That's a LOT of Biohome, so I just gave up on the idea, but continue to use Biohome along with MarinePure (and Purigen) in the 302's.
Good questions that I will certainly keep in mind.
It sounds like you have enough in there and that should really be showing very low nitrates but if as is often reported the chemical treatments are screwing with the bacteria you could pile twice the amount of media in and still see high nitrates.
Although every tank is different we have the recommended amounts of media to use from hundreds of user feedbacks with various stocks of fish - if you're running over 2kg per 100 litres and still not seeing a reduction in nitrate then there's definitely something retarding or preventing the bacterial growth from reducing the nitrates. As you're across the pond if you get in touch with Don from Greatwave I'm sure he will be able to help and may offer you more media if some tanks are running short as he is as eager to gather data and useful guides as I am for a variety of situations.
I ordered my biohome ultimate from Don. He's a very nice guy, very helpful. Maybe I'll get with him and we can do a project that gets documented in videos posted to my channel. Could be very interesting.
If I was on your side of the pond I'd certainly help out with that so I imagine Don would too would be good to try a suitable amount in a variety of tanks with and without the chemical filtration present as all I have to go on is the numerous reports of anaerobic bacteria failure when they are added and revival when they are removed. I'd love to know why they affect it so severely (try getting a straight answer from the manufacturer......) but it would be also be great to do a side by side and I'm sure you would devote the necessary attention to that test.
That makes sense and it is the best explanation I have heard so far - thanks for that information.
I didn't even know what a nitrate was in my first few years of fish keeping lol, I just knew I needed to change water because I was told.
Great info Ben and Evan. I get lazy with my canister cleaning. I need to step it up🙂
Easy to do. Two to three months start to really messy with my bio load. I imagine a very lightly stocked tank could go for 4 - 6 months without a problem.
Great vid Ben, very informative!
Thanks Corey. I'm thinking we should all do a collab. If you have an idea PM me. Could be fun.
I congratulate both of you gentlemen! Such beautiful aquariums you guys have! I've kept aquariums for over 50 years. Please consider my opinion. I refuse to be a slave to a peaceful hobby. What I've learned over the decades, filter/cycle all aquarium water 7 to 10 times per hour, keep maximum of 1/4 of inch of fish per gallon of water when fish are fully mature, test ph daily, do 20% maximum water change monthly and most importantly, have fun and don't be a slave. Anything else is more work than necessary due to overcrowding and money out the window! Thank you both for your honesty and sharing.
Thanks John, I appreciate you stopping by and commenting.
thank you Ben I've been having this problem for a long time trying to get my nitrates down wondering why they were so high great vid
walter akins You are welcome. We love a lot of fish in our tanks and they are waste machines. It's easy to out pace the bio media. Feed less, reduce stock, add more media, etc. can all help, along with regular maintenance and, of course, those water changes.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
newbe question ... is 20 - 40ppm okay/safe for a Betta fish?
MY SETUP ....
.I have a 3.5 gallon planted Topfin brand Betta tank.
(1 fish. 1 hang-on filter box. 2 Activated charc filters, thermometer and heater)
we have aquarium gravel & tank decore,
2 large moss-balls, 1 small Anubius,
1 Windoluv Java fern,
2 small narrow leaf Java ferns
1 small floating feeding-station (home-made), I introduced it to elevate the the food and contain it / keep most of the food off the gravel. this addition helped me obtain ammonia stability.
Oddly, the fish literally wouldn't eat any other way.
he didn't eat for the first 3 weeks and dwindled to a skinny sliver until I switched to blood worms, which quickly created an 8ppm ammonia spike!
I saw the feeding basket idea on a Chinese Betta video.
It works great! it's clear so it's not visually intrusive.
the fish loves to eat and rest in it.
OUR MAINTENENCE ROUTINE ...
were kerping up with 15% water-changes every 1 to 2 weeks as needed / as indicated by water parameters. we proactively test water 3 times a week (literally for science fair project (kid in school )) using and API liquid test kit ... and record our guesses and results for the science project.
We test at midweek, and again on Saturday AM... We do a 15% water-change if needed using spring water and 1ml of dechlorination and 1-2ml bacteria starter ... and we do a third confirmation test on Sunday PM (24 hrs after the water change).
Our ammonia and nitrites have stabilized pretty much at the 6-week mark. but nitrates are elevated and wavering.
I'm not sure about what the nitrAtes *should* be.
water temp is consistently 78 degrees
pH is consistently 6.5 to 7.
I've never tested hardness.
I hear confusing information and usually it's for large community tanks.
Originally we were told nitrates were safe and no need to track them. we just were doing for science. THEN I SAW THIS VIDEO !
the fish seems okay and he blows bubble nests periodically that are foamy and are bigger each time.
THANKS ... any help is appreciated.
Great post always 😉👍
So I just set up a new 75 gallon I put a fully established sunsun 304b and a established hob for a 30 gallon I also took water from another tank to help fill it I have high Nitrate and am wondering if it would be ok to clean the canister I haven't cleaned it in about 3 months or more. So with moving it to the new tank about a week ago is it ok to clean it so soon
Your video supports my belief, that many aquarists do too many water changes, chasing the 20 ppm or less nitrate level.
...and that ties into the "stress" created by water changes vs. the stress created by slightly elevated nitrate levels and the connection between this stress and predisposing our fish to health issues. It's a balancing act and finding that sweet spot that minimizes stress on both the fish and fish keeper can enhance the enjoyment of keeping fish. Otherwise it's like those golfers that throw clubs and scream, why do it if it's just increasing stress?
Always a pleasure to have you drop by my friend.
Great idea to check your water as it comes from the tap, my NO3 from the city of Cleveland is 10, in my Cichlid tank it was over 200, so I just did a 30% and its now around 200 how often can I change the water? My pH from the city is 7.0 and so is my tank. I used test strips. My local "real" fish store said he just uses the city water and never adds pH+. Your opinion Ben. I did just add live plants in my 38 bowfront. Canaster penn plex 1200 is new with new insides. New crushed coral but old tank water. I just vacuumed the substrate.
Mine was just at 40 this past weekend, I cleaned my Fx4 yesterday and I'm going to do a water change tomorrow and get under the Decor like you suggested! Thank you
Go a few days between each of those steps. It will help the good things stay stable, like your beneficial bacteria, pH. I try not to do too much at one time since, at an extreme, it can start the tank on a cycle again with a jump in ammonia which would be fatal with most fish.
Ben Ochart I cleaned my FX4 and it dropped to a 5
nitrates level are too high and killed few fishes for my 55g tank when filter return under water. Any Idea or advice? 0 ammonia, perfect PH for Cichlid Tank.
My tank been going for two months. It's a 125 gallon. It use to be a saltwater tank. I cleaned it and took everything out that was part of the saltwater. So I'm using RO water and the ppm is 8. I have 3 fish only in it an a lot of live plants. The problem is my nitrates keep going up. I have done a lot of water changes but I 'm at the point I am ready to give up. The ppm is running around 200 . No clue what to do any more. Any advise?
Great video. I have a question for you. I have a 60 gallon tank with a canister and HOB filter. Will having Seachem Purigen in the HOB and Chemi-Pire Elite in the canister affect the aquarium? Should I be just running Seachem Purigen in both filters? The back ground on your aquarium is very nice. Can you tell me where you got that from?
Thank you.
I don't see a problem in using those two products, however, I use Purigen but not ChemiPure so you might want to contact Seachem and ask them to be sure. Both, from my experience and from reviews I've read, seem to be excellent products.
Background is the "Rocky" thin model from Universal Rocks in Texas.
Thank you so much for the help
You are welcome Emily!
grow some pothos in your sump or out of the tank itself, which makes a cool kind of vine effect with the roots hanging down into the water
Worth considering for sure. Thanks!
hi ben i have a bristlenose pleco and a king tiger pleco would you say they would be ok with all crushed coral substrate?
My basic green pleco did great. I have a bushy in my 135 but that's sand in there, so I don't know how a bushy would do with coral. I imagine, if you drop a wafer in there every other day, he should do fine.
Hi mine is always at 40ppm my tap water is 20ppm out the tap there is no way i can get it any lower
Hi Ben my aquarium nitrite level is hi .I cheng 30% water every day since two weeks ..but nitrite levels is same. I clean the tank every day. Now I can see some fish had fins are damege. But I don't know are they fight when I put the food or because of nitrite. I have canister filter. But I fix this one week ago. How to sort it out this nitrite level.
What about one betta in a 10 gl? Last week for the first time 0, clear water. Ammonia zero. Ph beautiful. I did three changes.
This week back to stage one. Nitrate 50, ammonia at 0.1. Ph 7.0. I have plants which are growing beautifully. I’m going out of my mind! Did another vacuum ph is 7.0, nitrite 0.8, nitrate 20, ammonia 0.1. How many water changes can one person do in a week to get it to 10? Is my betta ok? I replaced the filter, I take out the decor and wash it in the tank water that I took out. She looks good. Her colour is good, she’s not gulping, she’s not swimming low. I feel crazy!
I recently started my first topical fish tank (305 litres). I believe I cycled the tank correctly, and using test strips, everything seemed to be going well. Prior to adding fish, I purchased an API water test kit. This showed up a completely different story. Ammonia was minimal, but present as was nitrite. However, nitrate was in excess of 40 p.p.m. / mg/l. I carried out a 50% water change, this of course risked the tank going in to cycling again. I must add the correct doses of bio-start and tap water conditioners were added in each case. Again, using test strips, everything appeared ok. API test, the nitrates in particular were still high. A visit to the local aquatic centre didn’t appear to have any answers either, they even independently tested my water, and concurred with my results, hence I could be confident I was using the test kit correctly. Anyway, there was still the high nitrate problem ongoing. Test the tap water methinks. So, that’s what I did. Shock horror, the tap water tests at 50 p.p.m. so, a water change was going to make no difference at all. Contacting my local water supply company confirmed my results were correct, and I was informed that 50 p.p.m. was the maximum dose of nitrate allowed in the water supply. (they even sent me a full report of the water quality within my area). So……now I have a nitrate problem. None of the additives for nitrate removal had any effect. I nearly gave up! Now I getting really desperate, eventually I came across a company here in the Uk that distribute Pozzani water filters. The only way I can ensure I start off with nitrate free water, is to run it through Pozzani nitrate removal filtration. This more than doubles the time for water changes because the filtration time is 1 - 3 litres per minute. I have learnt a huge amount in my short time in this hobby, one of my best tips……don’t use test strips. I hope my story of interest, and hopefully helpful, I do not work for Pozzani filters or have any associations with them, other than replace filter cartridges from time to time. Stay safe everyone.
Ben, good topic and advice. You do more water changes in one month than I do in a whole year. Nitrates are not the killer everyone makes them out to be.
I've seem some research that backs up what you're saying. It's a very interesting subject.
Set up an ecosystem and stay out of it. It's really not that hard to accomplish. For some reason, fish keepers think anaerobic conditions are the devil. LOL
Keeping detritus out of the tank is important to keeping the nitrates down. A recent trend in advanced aquarium practices is to use a "bottom sweep" with either a substrate or a mat with no substrate. I prefer the later and have achieved a zero detritus aquarium using this method. Couple of good examples on youtube on how to set this up. Thanks for the opportunity to weigh in on an important topic to get correct.
Thanks Ben for all info. My personal believe is If you want to have a beautiful overload tank, there is not others option, Water changes,enjoy your tank, take care of you parameters, and forget about nitrates, just maintain you water changes on schedule, I don't know about others fish but cichlids can handle a 30 % w/c every 10 t0 15 days work for me, and leave with the 40ppm.
Routine maintenance is vital and if you're doing it, it's like giving the fish fresh air, they are healthier and can tolerate a lot.
Great video guys. I have had a bit of a problem with minor though. My Nitrates. Out of my well water run around 20ppm. Obviously that increases to 40 plus after a few days of having fish in it. I'm not sure what else to do except do water changes every 2-3 days. I have plenty of filtration on there with a 38 gallon sump, 2 FX6s, and a media Reactor. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
i have the same issue with bad Tap water and 20ppm from jump. Ive recently been in touch with Gina (commented above) and will be investing into a Nitrate Reactor ( I believe you set one up yourself as well)...I need all the help I can get cause my nitrates jump quickly...
Hey Dennis, Have you ever tried MarinePure? A few blocks in your sump might develop some of that bacteria that lives deep in the media and eats up nitrates. Check it out.
My water comes 40ppm out of my tap.... kinda a bummer. If i don't keep up on my water changes my fish starts displaying symptoms of nitrate poisoning. Takes him a couple weeks to pull out of it too.
Hi, thanks for a great video. My tank has been through it’s cycle now been a few weeks or so since I’ve had livestock to the tank. I have a 12.5 gallon tank with two shell dwellers only. I am doing 10% water change each day, and I vacuum the floor each day too. My PH is high, which is great. If there’s tips to bring down my nitrate from 20/30 that’ll help please? My nitrite is 1. I have three rocks and coral rock. Some shells for decor and that’s about it. Shall I continue cleaning 10% each day? P.s my tank is fairly new and my tank has no debris as I clean it regularly just until the nitrite is lower I won’t add any more fish. Thanks!
It sounds like you have a working routine. As the fish grow and/or you increase stock keep an eye on nitrates. If they start to creep up go to 20% water changes.
@@BenOchart Thank you Ben.
i like the video ben, good topic with good info. ime if you can plan your layout/scape carefully, and have proper flow going both around and through the scape you can minimize waste build up. i have heavy rock work for my saulosi, so rescaping once a week is too much unnecessary maintenance in my case. it could also potentially stress the fish. i recently went a yr without moving my scape. when i pulled the rocks out. there was very little waste built up. but i should mention i stock very lightly with heavy filtration. (30g sump on a 90g).
Daves Rift I agree flow is important on waste
One fellow had placed powerheads low in the tank and had them on a timer. They would blow everything around for a few hours every day. Might be worth adding.
Great video guys I have been using de nitrate from seachem, along with marine pure bio meadow spheres, brightWater (B,S,I) media along with Biohome Maxi and ultra in my sump... and my water quality has been great. PH is 8.0-8.2, Ammonia has been at 0 ppm, nitrite has been at 0 ppm, and my nitrate has been at a steady 5.0 ppm in my 220 tank. Now I am also running a 30 gallon sump along with 2 FX6’s with just seachem matrix and denitrate. It has worked wonders for me also.. great video guys always great stuff from you Ben and IFG
Thanks Damian, sounds like you've got it nailed down!
Ben Ochart thanks Ben been working at it for some time now.
Thanks Ben. I purchased the UR background today.
You got the "Rocky thin" from Universal? I love mine!
Post a vid so I can see it!
I live in the UK london. What do i do if my tap water nitrates is 40ppm + ?
Move. Something is dead in the water supply and needs to be reported. Maybe an RO system would help?
I recently took a large "glob" of detritus from my sump. I shook it rigorously in a glass jar and compared the nitrates levels in the jar, with those in the aquarium. To my surprise, the nitrate levels were exactly the same. I would like to challenge the belief that detritus adds nitrates. Try it and let me know what your results are?
One other comment, there is a difference between well digested detritus (my sump), and waste that is more recent and still being digested by beneficial bacterial. In the first case, my detritus is nitrate free, the 2nd case nitrates are likely still being manufactured by the detritus via the nitrogen cycle. Superior media like K1 kaldness and Poret foam fully and rapidly digest any detritus and render it harmless as far as nitrate production.
HalfMan HalfCichlid agreed. Detritus that has not yet been degraded equals future NH3=NO2=NO3 in your system.
Oh my god Ben this video is made for me, I always have 40 ppm I try to keep it at 10-20 cause I have discus, but the lowest I can get it to is practically 10 because I have 5 in my tap
Yes, with 10 out of tap your probably instantly at 20 after a WC and it goes up from there. You might want to look into that Aquaripure nitrate removal unit mentioned in the comment above.
+Ben Ochart I have 20 at the tap from well water. Guess im going to try some plants in my sump, maybe some pothos?
I got 40ppm outta the tap lol. They can like it or lump it, cos I ain't messing with ro. Kept fish for couple years now in it. Aslo have super hard water which aparently plants dont like.. all my tanks are heavily planted no issue
Hi I just tested the water of my brand new fish tank (700L) after 5 days. The readings are GH 12
PH 8.4 , Ammonia 0 ,Nitrite 0 ,Nitrate 20.Does this mean that the water is safe to put fish in (African cichlids) ?
Im new to all this.🙃
Those are good readings. Add fish gradually and re-test as you go.
@@BenOchart thanks for you reply 🙂
What can I do to help lower my Nitrates ppm with my local water testing 40 ppm. I have started adding plants to my aquariums and have added extra filters to help with bio loads.
That’s a lot out of the tap! You might have to add an RO system or perhaps an algae scrubber could help
@@BenOchart Question, if 40ppm is so bad for our fish, why is it ok in our local drinking water? Should I stop drinking our local water?
I have had readings as high as 40 many times before but it's never been a problem for my cichlids...
as a beginner in freshwater fish aquarium.. what is a easy and reliable tester for water levels? thank you
API Master Test Kit (Freshwater)
Read the direction booklet, which also contains Good Information besides the Test(s) Procedures.
Go to a Drugstore and ask the Pharmacist for a 5 ml dosage Syringe. It will make filling the Test Tubes EASY. 😉
@@apaulmcdonough2170 TY.. but I am using 'test strips' and they are perfect!
Mine comes out of the tap over 40ppm. This is Wisconsin farm country. I'm attempting to get a full cycle with biohome as ponguru suggests. Wondering if you ever did that study?
If you follow the recommended amount, it can require a lot of biohome for a well stocked African Cichlid tank. I have seen videos on UA-cam claiming that they did get the full cycle. I'm currently trying to do that with a deep substrate that provides an low oxygen area deep in the substrate. Another idea is to grow plants, like pathos, in your HOB or sump.
@@BenOchart I have pothos in my mattenfilter and live plants in a deep dirt substrate, but I'm honestly taking the dirt out soon. I have large fancy goldfish, and they just stir it up too much, and I'm constantly paranoid about what kind of pathogens or parasites might be hiding out under there. I do have about 5 kilos of biohome in my canister, and well water, so at least I don't need any of the additives that pondguru suspects will prevent a full cycle, but it's only been a couple months, so I can't say if a full cycle is possible. I gave up the purigen for a uv sterilizer. Works just as well, and I never worry about using bleach.
Great vid once again Ben O. So I think I might of just shocked my tank. I say this because I took out all of my polyfil out of my Penguin 350 biowheel and also the same in my aquaclear 70 hob. I did leave the sponges in them, but noticed the polyfil had more beneficial bacteria. Make a long story short, my Venustus has popeye or cloud eye and I read somewhere that when medicating, to remove the polyfil (which I did)Im treating my whole tank with Melafix as I dont have a hospital tank. Im gonna check Tommorrow morning...crossing my fingers I didn't just kill all my fish.
Raider Rocha1974 Well, first, thank you for watching.
Polyfill does not need to be removed when medicating and removing poly while leaving the sponges alone should not shock the fish.
You do need to remove items that will pull the meds out of the water like charcoal, Purigen and chemipure. You then add charcoal for a few weeks after treatment is over to remove residual meds.
Water changes and maintaining extra pristine water conditions will be the best thing. Melafix is pretty weak. You need something more powerful if you notice it’s getting worse.
GOOGLE the condition for med recommendations. Good luck.
I did 50% of water change during cycling when my nitrate got to between 40-80ppm..It still stays around 40ppm for some reason, should I continue to cycle the tank or I need to bring that nitrate down first to cycle?
Ammonia and nitrite are 0 ppm? If so you are already cycled.
@@BenOchart But they need to go down to 0 in 24hrs for fully cycled right? mine takes 2 days for past 13 days since the beginning of cycling. It didn't take 1 week to drop to 0 like other tutorials showed
Good one
Thanks
how often do you clean your canister filter
I run two on each tank and alternate cleaning them every two to three months or if there's a spike in nitrates or a drop in output water pressure.
Can you show me a little bit of your kind of the food and what do you use for the water is look very clean???
Yes, I think I will do a canister set-up update. In the meantime watch some of videos on this playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLr8ew8o8WXoA-6pu7lFTc_D6idLKGCE2j.html
Regarding food, I mostly feed NorthFin, both the cichlid pellets and their Kelp wafers.
Ben Ochart . Thanks for this, I drive myself insane obsessing over nitrates.
i wish i would of seen this before! i lost a couple of fish due to the maintenance! seen the water parameter being too high i start water change alot of water ,couple days later i lost a few fish
Don’t panic! Just keep your nitrates at 10ppm. Lol.
great video guys, in my case after w/c maybe 10-20ppm and in 4 days 40-60ppm and u know another 75% w/c, also 1st day of the month i clean my fx6 and 15th day of the month my sunsun
Sounds like a good routine. Do you get nitrates out of the tap?
Ben Ochart 0 ppm from the tap
Your maintenance routine sounds solid, leaving only a couple of options like reducing stock and feeding less. You can also use some of the salt water tank equipment suggested by Gina Corno in the comments below.
Thanks for the tips
I'm still battling nitrates in my 65G, I do 30% weekly water changes, vacuum, move the decor, over filtrate, and I don't over feed. I also have 31 plants in my tank because I thought it would help, and I still haven't gotten my nitrates below 40ppm!
What's the level coming out of the tap? If it's below 10ppm, then I suggest that you either add one additional water change per week or increase the percentage to maybe 50 or 60% of the water change you are currently doing. The second option, in my opinion, will be less stressful on the fish.
I have a lifesource water filter installed for my household, in Laguna Niguel, CA. So once the city water goes through my home filter and out the sink I have the following levels (according to the API Test kit): Ammonia at 0.15 ppm, Nitrite 0.0 ppm, and Nitrate 0.0 ppm. and the water comes out at a ph 7.5 so very ideal conditions for my aquarium water changes. Also, with respect to the API test kit, I use a white piece of foam core board as a background to read the test vials and have even lighting shining to get an accurate reading to compare my sampled water with the API color sheet. Also, I don't believe you can tell the difference between 40ppm and 80ppm with the API kit, the variation on the color sheet is not enough to be accurately distinguishable.
Is it possible that your filtration, biological media, is not keeping up with your bio-load? How many fish do you have in there and what is the average size?
It's probably the bio-load I have 22 fish mostly medium-sized African Peacock Cichlids I'm currently cycling 2 new tanks so I will soon remove some of my fish. I have a 65g (which can be tricky for gas exchange), I have 2 air stones working most of the day, 2 marineland 220 filter's set-up w/Pond Guru's methods with his biohume ultra media, two sun sun wavemakers on most of the day (one aimed upwards toward near the surface, one aimed downwards), gravel substrate, 31 plants and a couple of caves. I feed them twice a day and fast them once per week. I move things and do weekly 30%-40% water changes. I welcome you to look at my video entitled "65 Gal. Cichlid Tank WIDE-SHOT *Peace & Quiet*" and you can see my entire tank from a wide-angle to see the whole set-up (I've added more plants a a few more fish since that video, and airstones are off for that video). I think once I move some of my Africans to my new tanks I should be able to get the nirates down to 20ppm.
Yesterday, I performed a 50% water change in my 180 gallon. I gravel vac'd, including under the driftwood. I water tested today and my nitrates returned to 80ppm (red color in the API Master Test Kit vial that doesn't exactly match the colors on the chart). Prior to the water change, the water had a green tinge. The water was much lighter immediately following the water change yesterday, however, the green tinge returned today. The aquarium is presently stocked with 12-1" (average size) clown loaches and a Sinodonis cat fish. I feed once daily and turn my led lights on for approximately 90 minutes daily. Additionally, I've used three bags of Algone Nitrate Remover and Water Clearifier without any noticeable improvement. I can't afford to perform more than one water change weekly.
Is your wood releasing something into the water? Pull it out for a few days and see if you notice a difference.
Hey Ben speaking of nitrates when I said they were low al of a sudden they are in the 40 range. I do water change every week. The only thing in can think of is my chemipure blue is kinda old . Can this leak nitrates when it is to old.
Chris, I don't think so. Have you had an increase in stock, or extended the time between water changes? If no to both, then shorten the time between filter maintenance and increase the percentage of water that you replace during water changes.
Ben Ochart Hey Ben I do once a week water changes at 50% and have 2 filters and a sponge going. I just cleaned the sponge and HOB with tank water . Maybe I should up my WC to every 4 days and clean the canister next.
Ben Ochart I also stopped feeding twice a day and now only once a day hope this helps Me. Just seems all of a sudden it was so low a few weeks ago. Maybe I'm feeding to much as well.
Ben Ochart Ben do you think my crushed coral substrate can be causing high nitrates. I read someplace it can cause it even though I vacuum it with every water change.
Well, if it's really crushed, like sand, then no because it would be hard for detritus to get down in there. On the contrary coral will add minerals to the water that will help to neutralize nitrates (nitric acid).
But if it's coarse, like what you see in my 60 gallon grow-out, then yes because gunk can somehow work it's way down deep. I ended up removing 2/3 of the crushed coral in my 60 gal because too much gunk was getting down there, even with deep vacuuming.
If it's crushed real fine, like sand, you only need to run something through it, like raking it, then give it a few minutes to settle, then vacuum around a 1/2 inch off the substrate (in other words, you don't deep vacuum sand).
Also, be sure to move decor around because a lot of gunk can get under it, even when it's deep in the substrate.
One last tip, instead of shortening the days between water changes, just increase your WC from 50% to 75%.
Good luck and remember what IFG says, "The advice you follow should be your own..." So, keep asking questions, keep learning, like we all are, then take action 😀
well done guys
Thanks Adam. Come up with a topic and let's do a collab?! Think about it.
I'll have to put on my thinking cap
Thank you again for the video I needed. My nitrates test has been blood red twice now (could be 80-100 ppm or maybe more) in my 70 gal aquarium for a very long established tank. I am going to start with a 30% water change with removing part of the pool filter sand substrate on day 1. Will remove remaining of the pool filter substrate slowly over the week going bare bottom, doing a 20-30% water change every time I remove the substrate. At 2 week mark will clean out one of my canister filters with a 20% water change. At week 3 will clean the second canister filter with a 20% water change again. All this time will be adding seachem stability and prime during the water changes. Hope it gets the nitrates down. Last step will be adding a DIY bio pellet bottle reactor with a pump into the aquarium at the end of the month.
How often to you feed your fish and are they eating all of it in under 30 seconds? You're bio-load might be too high.
Also, have you removed rocks/decor and done a vacuuming under those items? It's amazing how much detritus can build up under those.
Your sand might contain a lot of beneficial bacteria, so I'd be a little reluctant to remove it, but the gradual way that you are doing things should work. Keep testing and watch for spikes in Ammonia and Nitrite. Seachem Stability can help build up BB.
Good luck.
I feed them twice a week only worrying about the exact same thing and they finish it fast. I don't have any decor in there at all except three large to medium pieces of lava rock in there. My pool filter sand looks clean at the top as I have 2 fairly large canisters running and also a circulation fan agitating the water fairly well pointed towards the surface. But the pool filter sand is thick at the corners I can see and there it is getting brown tinge at the bottom which I can see.
I've had nitrates at180ppm+ for months, no dead fish yet and am very gradually getting on top of the problem. Tap water is 60 and not enough planting.
My ritrate is 70 in my fish tank it's been like that for 2 years no problems wot so ever :)
I'm struggling. I have 0 ammonia and nitrite but my nitrate is 30ppm. Why? I have a pretty heavily planted tank. I do have a 7 inch pleco and 6 juvenile geophagus. Should I not add fertilizer? Change more than 40% a week? My head hurts
I also have pothos and lucky bamboo hanging out the top of my tank (yes roots only)
The plants I hear actually consume the ammonia, which down the line (in the cycle) results in reduced Nitrates. That pleco no doubt is creating a lot of waste. Do you feed him algae wafers?
Have you checked your tap water? You might be getting ammonia/nitrite out of your tap. My other questions would be have you done something that might have killed off beneficial bacteria and started the tank cycling again, like over-cleaned or swaped out the substrate or something major like that?
If the fish look good and are acting normal, just keep doing water changes, maybe 2 50% per week and treat with a good conditioner like Seachem Prime.
@@BenOchart I have checked tap and everything reads 0 with a ph of 6.7. Ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, but I just dont understand how my nitrates are that high. It's an established tank and I havent done anything to disturb the bb. Only rinsing in tank water (in a bucket) during water changes. Electric went off last week but only for about an hour. I have 2 hob marineland 350bs that I "hot rodded" i have sponge, floss, biorings and polishing pads in there . All fish are great and I do use prime. Could new plants be causing the nitrate to go up, I know it sounds counter productive but?? I'm just thrown off because the ammonia and nitrite reads 0. I do feed my pleco algae wafers, zucchini, peas (every now and then), green beans but all of that is put in at night and taken out in the am. I do feed the baby geos 3 times a day, sometimes pellets, flakes, bloodworms, tubiflex and everyone gets spirulina. Small amounts but maybe I'm over feeding? I was told to break up the feeding and do 3 because they are so small. I'd say 1.5 inches, the biggest maybe being 3, maybe. I will for sure do the water changes like you suggested. If for some reason, somehow I did disturb the cycle, what do I do? Just prime it and wc until it balances out? Ive had my pleco for 2 years and have grown very fond of her. Also love my geos. I cant have anything happen. I'm stuck at home due to covid so I can do whatever I need to. I keep trying to find out why I have 0 nitrites but high nitrates. Usually the opposite I'm finding online. Thank you for your response and trying to help me I appreciate it soooo much! Love your channel btw
And I know my pleco makes a huge mess lol. I do go around every few days and suck up her mess with a coral feeder (like a turkey baster with a huge tube) I do have about 2-4 inches of sand as a substrate. I do vaccum that 2 times a week. Should I not disturb it? Is mixing it creating issues? Do I have a messed up test kit? I use api master kit and check almost daily now because I'm worried. I understand the cycle but I dont understand this. I would ask my fish groups but man oh man are people passionate and get angry and I just dont need that. Should I skip fertilizer while the nitrates are high?
Hey Ben my nitrates are at 0 ppm is there something wrong with my tank or tester lol.. It's been cycled for 8 months have about 18 fish in a 75 g. Is there such a thing . I do 1 water change a week with prime . Is there such a thing as 0 ppm.
Thanks
Btw I use biohome as my media
If you using the test kit exactly as described and getting 0 nitrates, then you have developed a colony of anaerobic bacteria that consumes nitrates. I've heard that this was possible with one kilo of biohome ultimate for every 15 gallons of water (and no chemical filtration like chemipure, purigen, etc). I'd love to get the details of your set-up and perhaps share them with PondGuru in the UK who is looking for cases like this . Maybe we can collaborate on a video on this topic?
Ben Ochart Hey Ben thank you for the response. Having this other bacteria dangerous to my other bacteria? My setup is RENA filstar canister filled with biohome ultimate and chemipure blue. I also am running a Ac110 HOB filter with some left over biohome and some ceramic from eheim. I am using API master test kit and test my water a few days after water change witch i use prime and it's always 0. People are telling me it can't be 0 witch brought me some concern that my bacteria doesn't have any food to eat but my ammonia is 0. As far as making a video I am one of them shy guys not sure about that haha
Ben Ochart Ben I feel kinda stupid now and need to read directions better lol.. I made a mistake testing my water and I'm getting a reading of 5. Did not know I had to let it sit for 5 minutes. Beginner mistakes .
First time I used the test kid I didn't use test bottle #2 for nitrates and I thought I had zero nitrates. Duh ... we've all been there!
I was surprised at the levels of nitrates being as low at 40 being a concern. Then I saw this was over 6 years ago. I watch much of your content but only got back into the hobby about 18 months ago after a long absence. I don't know if you've changed position on nitrates or if the same levels are still your recommendation? Looking at some of these studies regarding nitrate levels, it seems literally 700ppm was the level needed to cause fish ill effects. I think someone would have to try real hard to get 700ppm, but that's the level found to cause harm in fish fry. 700 and 40 are substantially far apart. Was wondering if you have changed your view point since this video?
Yes. At around 80ppm I consider a water change. Check out the more recent videos in my water change playlist here ua-cam.com/play/PLr8ew8o8WXoCdEYkD0rQa0OWejFk5-bHD.html
Another thing to remember is if you are using canister filters it's so important to keep them on a regular cleaning schedule or they will become nitrate factories. I've heard fellow aquarists brag about extra large canisters that they seem to think they can clean only once or twice a year WRONG !
I agree. What do you think about a "pre-filter" that clean with sponges before the water reaches the main canister which is full of biological media and some floss? I've heard that a set up like that can go for a long time, so long as the pre-filter sponges are maintained.
Ben Ochart yeah i have had some success using a canister booster and regularily testing water quality
5 to 10 ppm seriously? My tap water has 20.
And how did you come up with those numbers?
Ideally you shouldn't have any coming out of your tap. Ask your water treatment facility what's going on?
I wish I seen this video earlier.. yesterday I replaced the dirty filter pads from both my canister filters had a nitrate spike in the middle of the night so far I have 3 Dead and 11 fish hanging on for their dear lives I did a 30% water change in my panic added some seachem safe and stability now just hoping some of them pull through 😖
Dose Safe every day or two days. It neutralizes for around 48 hours. Sorry you had to go through that.
Thank you Ben.. I was thinking about doing that but I wasn't sure if it was ok thanks for the reply love watching your videos keep it up! We need people like you 👍👍
I found its very fish based. My tap water sits at 40ppm nitrate so it’s never much lower in my tank even with the amount of plants and pothos I use. I’ve kept guppy’s and they didn’t do well. My false julii corys on the other hand are healthy, happy and multiplying everyday. 🤷♀️
Someone told me it’s ammonia that plants consume, which would naturally lower both nitrite and nitrate, but plates will not help if nitrates are being added from the tap 🤔🤔🤔
i water change once a month and my nitrates hang around 80 ppm. tank couldn't be healthier.
Did you ever lower the nitrates
For those who are actually seeing nitrates of less than 10 ppm my hats off to you. I have a small 55 gal with a very low bio load from 6 small electric blue acaras and 4 very small blue spotted sunfish and the lowest I have ever seen is 20 ppm with average being about 30 ppm. Filtration is an FX4 packed with Biohome Ultimate and 500 grams of Purigen. I feed lightly twice per day, weekly water changes of 50% at least and the tank is stripped to just gravel and full vacuuming of the gravel is done at each water change. Food is frozen blood worms in the morning and NLS at the evening feeding. I must be doing something wrong, but as Ben says, I don't panic and my fish seem very healthy. I will soon have my 180 gal Peacock and hap tank set up. Filtration will be a 75 gal sump set up like Mr. Ben with loads of bio media and an FX6 packed with bio home ultimate. Later
"Crap from the fish to be crude"
Ben ohart 2017
...almost poetic, LOL.
Good and controversial topic. Based on my experience the statement that "nitrates are a silent killer" is not accurate. I have held my nitrates between 20 - 40 ppm, in highly stocked tanks for 25 years, and the fish grow larger than most of the same species I have seen on UA-cam. As far as keeping nitrates in the 5- 10 ppm, this would require twice weekly water changes (minimum) for the average cichlid enthusiast to attain (African and American cichlids), and I believe many would quit the hobby if this was really required.
Got 40ppm nitrates in my reef tank right now🤔going to clean the sand today.
Maintenance often..
Good video👍
every situation n tank is different but I haven't had any problems with an average of 40 ppm. tap is 10ppm so a %75 water change tests out to between 15 and 20ppm. my tank has been running for 9 months now and the fish are colorful and healthy. it's impossible to keep 10ppm in a well stocked tank unless your tap is perfect and you do changes everyday. I think consistency is more important. maybe I've just accepted higher nitrate levels cuz there's nothing I can do given shitty tap water but tank looks good.
Lou D I agreed with you
Silent Lary that api master test kit color chart for nitrates is also bullshit. you think they could make it a little easier to distinguish 10-40 ppm.
I was under the impression that Africans needed plenty of rock, doesn't look like you have much, what's your take on it?
Hi Jeff, are you referring to my tank (Ben) or to Eaven's?
Ben Ochart I was talking about your tank
I noticed that the lighting and angle the video was shot at doesn't really show how much rockwork is in there. Between the rocks and plants there are plenty of spots for fish to hide or chill out. It's not just Mbuna that like rocks and nooks. Often, if you look them up, you'll discover that some Haps and Peacocks like them to. In the ideal set-up, IMO, both rocks and open water should be provided.
That's just my opinion, I certainly see many good looking and successful set-ups that look bare. So, we have to take into consideration both the needs of the fish and what you find aesthetic.
Be interesting to go to Africa and measure the parameters in the lakes , I wonder if any aquarist has done it , probably they would mostly read zero.
Wow that music is so loud in the beginning. I'm wearing headphones and it made me jump!
Wish I was sleeping Well you’re certainly not sleeping now. What did you think of the video content (except for making your ears bleed)?
Ben Ochart the video was great! I'm somewhat of a beginner and I've been running my low tech 20 gallon bow front tank for about 1 year. I was so happy when I tested 0 on amonia and nitrites but was concerned when I saw 30ppm on my nitrate test. I feek relieved thwt it isnt a critical issue. I was/still am considering upgrading my filter because I'm just using the one that came with the tank and it isn't ideal in terms of space for media.
Wish I was sleeping Let me know if you need any tips. If you change filters be sure to use the media in your old filter in the new one to seed beneficial bacteria.
Ben Ochart yeah I'm planning on doing that. My current filter has literally no space in it to add media stuff, I'm thinking about getting an Aquaclear filter. Would it be better to take old filter down when I add the Aquaclear, or run both filters for a few weeks before removing the old one? I don't want to mess up my bacteria!
Could you mentor me? I have 6 tanks.
All very interesting but you haven't provide any evidence for any number at all
Just tips my friend. If you want some science and numbers, here's a good start: www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/water_chemistry.php and this is interesting too: www.thespruce.com/nitrates-in-the-aquarium-1381883 Thanks for watching and commenting.
I must be one of the lucky ones. I have a 210g African tank Filtration: sump with submerged MarinePure spheres & 2 - 7 inch filter socks (changed every other day), 1 - FX4 purely used for polishing (outer sponges and center filled with polyfil), no chemical media at all. Figure I'm pushing 2000gph plus whatever the FX4 pumps. Tank water is RO since this spent 5 years as a planted discus tank. Only chemicals added to the water are Seachem's Cichlid Lake Salt & Malawi Buffer. I use Hanna meters to check water parameters weekly prior to a 50% water change (habit from the discus). The only time my nitrates approached 20ppm was on initial cycle when they hit 16.6ppm. Since then my highest reading has been 5.9ppm, usually runs between 0 and 2ppm. Hanna meter is calibrated and I've used a number of different lots of reagent over the years so I don't believe the meter is the cause of lower than "normal" readings. I do a surface gravel vac weekly and a deep clean (removal of scape and vac to the tank bottom) every six months. The tank contains 50+ mix of haps & peacocks along with a dozen or so cats & plecos. All fish are 4+ inch with a couple of the synos & plecos approaching 12 inches. My big issue is phosphates, rarely getting below 1ppm, causing algae on the holey rock/dry rock scape. I run a 6500k LED strip at 50% intensity for 6 hours and no external lighting outside the room lights (no sun, basement office). Considering using a phosphate reactor in the sump.
The sounds like a great set-up especially pushing 10 times water volume per hour. MarinePure is pound for pound the best. Some would argue that pumice or lava rock would do the same thing for a fraction of the cost, but I have MarinePure in my SunSun 302s and that stuff is the best.
I'm surprised the plecos are not eating up that algae. I hear that they get lazy when they get bigger and just lay around waiting for an algae wafer.
Thanks for the comment. Very good info.
my tds meter reading at 2120 !!!!! WTF
“TDS = (60-75 ppm) + (70-120 ppm)+ 0 + 0 + 0 + Other Molecular CompoundsTDS should be between 130 and 195 ppm + what comes from compounds such as fish waste, plant fertilizers, algae treatment chemicals, etc.”. You have concrete in your water...
@@BenOchart thank you i did a water change and it went down fish seems perfectly fine i was worried for such a high number but will take some water to get tested just to be sure what the water condition is like i know my ph is perfect i only have 1 fish in the tank a flowerhorn about 8 inches big in 55 gallon tank . thank you for your reply i appreciate it
Do you sell your fish
Watch my most recent video where I discuss a recent sell-off of fish. I sell from time to time locally (i.e. I don't ship) and I'm in Arcadia, CA.
Hey boss just soo you know bacteria grows on you substrate very little will live in your water
That is true
Oh my god that intro though
Water change, water change, water change. Routine water changes and syphon out poops/waste/food and water/fish should be healthy.
Simple and true.
My ppm is 1034 right now ... No wonder why my plants melt 😂
I over feed cause my 13 plecos and over 40 guppys in my 90 gallon tho lol
👀
I see you too Deon ;)
This is a heavily debated topic and has been for years and I am sure it will continue. I have always tried to keep it under 40 myself. At this time I have a 55show with 2 Fluval FX6's Yes I hear some of you screaming over kill, well maybe. I have my tank on a drip water system that exchange's about 16g/day I test for Nitrates 2 times a week. They are now always 10ppm. I hate water changes with a purple passion and cleaning canister filters is next. With such huge filters on a small tank like a 55 they easily run for 6 months between cleanings. My fish load for this tank is well past what could be kept with out what I am running. My load is 34 mixed haps and Johannes, Along with 3 feather fin catfish plus 2 spotted plecostomus. Also I have 4 fry that have survived for about 3 months, soon they will join the community. When I clean the filters you would be surprised at how dirty they are not. There is enough filtration for and 600g tank. The turbulence is all directed at the top I also run 4 small power heads with a Current USA power head controller these are focused at the bottom to keep waste in motion so the filters can that up. Each run front left and back right then they swap every 3 hours to the opposite sides. I switched this over 6 months back and love it. I have never had a tank that looks this good. I got this idea from a visit to the Georgia Aquarium and talking to one of the Marine Biologist for about an hour. That was the best day I ever had in my tank life.
Great info Geo. It sounds like you're certainly staying ahead of the considerable bio-load.
Is your tank posted? I want to see that set up in action.
I will post a video of my tank and send you the link.
Zero nitrates are not really practically available in the aquarium,, but in theory if kept at zero for long enough, this can cause other crazy dangerous shit to start happening. Hydrogen sulphide can be produced. I reckon aiming for 10 - 30ppm is a safe bet.
Agreed. I hadn't heard of the sulphide issue. Interesting indeed!
Hello Ben, Here is the video of the my tank. ua-cam.com/video/5xljewToZTMT/v-deo.htmlhe Nitrates in this tank have not been above 10 in months. Fish keepers on well water can have a drip system without worry with Africans, I am sure a city supplied water system could be figured out with some thought. This tank was started in Nov.2016 and I started adding fish Jan2017 and maxed out in Feb. There also has been multiple spawning's at least 5 only one fry made it the community. I have never manually done a water change.
First lol
You win!
algae scrubbers are a good option for nitrates, ITS NOT JUST A TOOL FOR THE SALTYS!
Michael Ironside overgrowth of algae is because nitrates and ammonia levels are high scrubbing only hides the problem
sam blackhurst lol ok, most algae is nitrate or phosphate driven and an algae scrubber literally removes those things from the water. maybe you should do a bit of research. if they didn't work then people wouldn't use them, and they've been in the hobby for many years.
Michael Ironside my bad dude wasnt meaning to cause u any offence i have only been keeping fish a few years and im pretty sure by now u figure that i was thinking about a sponge scrubber but hey thanks to this i get to look into something and learn more about the hobby :)
Try a planted tank and then redo your video.