High Nitrates in Fishtank, poor maintenance and green water
Discussion
Hi all I have a 120litre tank with an external filter. The tank is home to two fancy goldfish. The external filter has course pads, ceramic tubes and floss. To note the ceramic tubes have started to go green.
I am struggling with green water. I put this down to poor maintenance over the last 3 months in terms of letting water changes slip and not vacuuming gravel. So I am back on it now and want to bring the tank back to clear water.
Recent water tests show ammonia and nitrite at nil but nitrate at 500mg/l so very high.
Apart from keeping on top of water changes with gravel vacuuming can I do anything to assist.
I am struggling with green water. I put this down to poor maintenance over the last 3 months in terms of letting water changes slip and not vacuuming gravel. So I am back on it now and want to bring the tank back to clear water.
Recent water tests show ammonia and nitrite at nil but nitrate at 500mg/l so very high.
Apart from keeping on top of water changes with gravel vacuuming can I do anything to assist.
The two issues are most likely related, what people call green algae is actually cyanobacteria which is an organism halfway between algae and bacteria which thrives on nitrates and phosphates.
At 500mg/l nitrates I'm a bit surprised the fish are still alive but not surprised that you have a problem with what is probably cyanobacteria.
120l is a bit on the small side for 2 fancy goldfish, usually the smallest tank for those would be 3 feet long and around 140 litres so not a million miles away. Regardless of size the tank needs a good capacity external filter as they really churn out waste so maybe think about introducing a second filter to help your existing one out.
Aside from sorting out the filtration to remove the food source for the green slime then it's back to basics I'm afraid including regular water changes, avoiding overfeeding fish, cutting down on lighting times, moving the tank out of sunlight and scrubbing everything in the tank including the substrate.
Even with the above you might not get rid of it as it's a bugger once it's set in and catfish won't touch it so no help there unfortunately, not that it would be wise to introduce any more fish to your set up at the moment.
At 500mg/l nitrates I'm a bit surprised the fish are still alive but not surprised that you have a problem with what is probably cyanobacteria.
120l is a bit on the small side for 2 fancy goldfish, usually the smallest tank for those would be 3 feet long and around 140 litres so not a million miles away. Regardless of size the tank needs a good capacity external filter as they really churn out waste so maybe think about introducing a second filter to help your existing one out.
Aside from sorting out the filtration to remove the food source for the green slime then it's back to basics I'm afraid including regular water changes, avoiding overfeeding fish, cutting down on lighting times, moving the tank out of sunlight and scrubbing everything in the tank including the substrate.
Even with the above you might not get rid of it as it's a bugger once it's set in and catfish won't touch it so no help there unfortunately, not that it would be wise to introduce any more fish to your set up at the moment.
The only thing I could add to the great advice above is to put some plenty of water wisteria (Hygrophila difformis) in the tank, it thrives on nitrates. It's cheap, hardy and easy to grow too. It will out compete the algae for nutrients so is a win/win.
The other thing that I use in my tank is Seachem Purigen. It goes in a mesh bag in the filter and keeps my aquarium's water crystal clear. It's amazing stuff.
The other thing that I use in my tank is Seachem Purigen. It goes in a mesh bag in the filter and keeps my aquarium's water crystal clear. It's amazing stuff.
s adding to the problem within no time!Gassing Station | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff