# YIKES huge nitrate WTF



## Fido (May 21, 2003)

160ppm nitrate OUCH. What is doing this? How do I fix it?


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

are u sure u were fully cycle?? because i think a nitrate spike is part of the ending of a cycle. if u havent already id suggest adding some salt to relieve nitrate poisoning to ur fish. do u have any plants in the tank??


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

33truballa33 said:


> are u sure u were fully cycle?? because i think a nitrate spike is part of the ending of a cycle. if u havent already id suggest adding some salt to relieve nitrate poisoning to ur fish. do u have any plants in the tank??
> [snapback]807685[/snapback]​


Salt is used to relieve nitrite poisoning not nitrate. Just increase your water change schedule. Once nitrates are this high it can be a little pain even with little water changes daily depending on your current bioload. if you can match the ph and temperature out of tap to match your aquarium, do a 50% change and retest. Otherwise best to just do a 30% change daily until your nitrates are under control.Don't forget the dechlor if your water is treated for chlorine and chloramines. Good luck.


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## Fido (May 21, 2003)

sh*t I will do a 50% change right now. I know my tank is cycled btw. Time to get the bucket and gravel vac haha.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

50% may be too much...


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Filo said:


> sh*t I will do a 50% change right now. I know my tank is cycled btw. Time to get the bucket and gravel vac haha.
> [snapback]808126[/snapback]​


Like I said only if you can match th ph and temp...you don't want to shock your fish...


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## Fido (May 21, 2003)

...ok...i cant match ph, i can match temp though...ill just do 15% every other day.


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

I would do 20% daily until you have caught up with the bioload...You have alot little fish in that tank in your sig peeing and pooping...Good luck...Let me know how you made out..


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

haha thats the first time ive ever seen fish peeing mentioned haha sorry


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## shutter13 (Jun 23, 2004)

15-20% daily sounds right.... like jerry said once they are that high they are a biotch to get under control....

also look for any rotting food in the tank just incase


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## blantwon (Oct 20, 2004)

i had a spike like that in my 29 for no apparent reason once. i just did 20-25% water changes every day and it was back under control in about a week. plants help keep nitrates down, so i would get some if you dont have any.


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## Fido (May 21, 2003)

Just finished a 20% water change. Nitrates are at about 40-80 ppm. a lot less than before BUT still very high! My fish are fine though, so I don't know if they care or not.


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## SpAzZy (Mar 30, 2004)

you do have a lot of fish in the 32g tank. although your fish may be small at this point, there are a lot of them compressed into that tank. although they are supposed to max out at 3".. i have seen one that was probably a little bigger than 4", he was definitly bigger than my irritan (which is 3.5") and he was being sold for $10. red devils also get very big and will not be able to live in a 32g alone.. especially not with 10 other fish in the tank.. it is not a suprise that your nitrates have reached that level. to successfully overstock, try to do AT LEAST two water changes a week to keep your nitrates down. like someone else stated, plants also decrease nitrates, but in a cichlid tank, i would suggest it.. they like to redecorate their tanks often..


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