# Nitrates effect water ph?



## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

Ok tested my pygo tank the other day and holy christ. My ph is below 6 not sure how far as thats as low as it will test, color chart type. My nitrates are waay too Fn high but my P's seem fine. Nitrates are like 100ppm ya that high. I have live plants but apparently not enough. Biggest question as stated will high nitrate level make ph drop? or visa versa? Im still trying to grasp the whole nitrate cycle. Oh nitrites are 0-.5ppm if that helps at all. I just realized I didnt check my amonia level oopsy. I'll post that tonight when I get home. I run two eheim 2217s on a 125 gallon tank and just cleaned one of them a week ago keeping the media in tank water as not to kill of beneficial bacteria. I generally do 25%-30% weekly water changes maybe boost that up to two times a week? I also have a 75 gallon community tank but everything is fine so I know it has nothing to do with the water I fill the tanks with.


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

yea 100 on the nitrates is very high and you shouldnt have any nitrites or ammonia so retest both to be sure. your most likely reading nitrites from having such a high amount of nitrates. old water and water with high nitrates does lower the ph over time. the ph isnt really a big concern the real issue is the nitrites and the high level of nitrates. definitely bump up the water changes and keep a eye on things.


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## notoriouslyKEN (Jul 31, 2003)

Check the water out of your tap too. I doubt that it's carrying Nitrates, but it's always a possibility. Large water changes are the only way to greatly reduce Nitrates in a tank, so you may want to do one big change a week instead of adding another change to your cycle to initially get your Nitrates lowered.


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

I just did a 35-4-% water change tuesday and will do another tonight. I use one of those multi test kits thats tests nitrates, nitrites, ph, water hardness and alkalinity. The nitrites were 0 but yeah my nitrates were frikn retarded high. I feed them two times a week and anything left over comes out so Im trying to figure out what caused the spike. I did check the water out of the faucet after I saw that and its 0 nitrates. Like I said my 75 is fine but has a lot more plants so Im thinking I need to up my water changes and add more plants to help break it down. Thanks for the info.


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

you might be getting some die off from the plants that are causing high nitrates. post the types of plants you have and your lighting setup etc so a plant expert can help you. how many Ps and what size are they in that tank?


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

Alright I did another water change on saturday and recheckeed params last night. Nitrates are now at 40ppm, way down from the 100ppm it was at when I first posted this. Guess I just need to get back in gear and do my water changes every 4 days like I used to. Was only doing it once a week for a while. I dont have many plants in it and also just added some more. Hopefully that will help keep the nitrates in check.


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## Us And Them (Dec 4, 2008)

You Running any powerheads in that Tank ? I know Ive said this alot in this section But Honestly Adding a Powerhead and a Hydrosponge Filled With those Clay Media Pellets Works Wonders , I change my tanks 1x a week about 20% and Params are amazing.

But keep something in mind Its all in how much time you put into your tanks , there are little things you can be doing everyday Like Gravel Vacs doing little Water changes , like 5 % .. Clearing out dead plant matter,

Mind you , Im in college and work part time so Im constantly home caring for these tanks. trying to come up with New ways to enhance the performance of my Sump etc

IMO there is always something more that could be done to enhance the quality of the water.


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