How to Lower Nitrates in Your Fish Tank

If your nitrates are high in your fish tank you will probably see your fish starting to get sick or your fish will already be dead. You want to make sure that your nitrate levels do not get high. When you notice that your nitrate levels are getting higher you will need to do a water change. You will want to change at least 20% of the water at least once every two weeks. This will help to keep all of your levels down. There are many different reasons for a high nitrate level in your fish tank.

One main cause of higher nitrate levels is the fact that you are overfeeding your fish. You will want to feed your fish small amounts twice per day. You don't want to feed the fish right when the light comes on because this will send the fish into shock and when fish are stressed out they will not eat. Make sure that you wait at least one hour before you feed your fish in the morning. You will also want to make sure you feed the fish a little bit at a time to avoid the food from sitting at the bottom of the fish tank. What the fish do not eat in the first ten minutes will start to decay and cause your nitrate levels to go up.

You will want to do a water change right away. You will want to move around all of the decorations and clean out the substrate. You will want to remove the main source of your high nitrates which is caused from the food that is decaying at the bottom of your fish tank. You will want to change about 30% of your water after you clean off the class and decorations. You will then want to add fresh water to your fish tank and then check the nitrate levels to see what they are at. You can purchase test strips from your local pet store to see what the nitrate levels are up to.

If the nitrate levels are still high you will need to perform another water change the following day. This will make sure that your nitrate levels are back to where they should be. Keep changing your water until your nitrate levels are at what they should be. Remember to keep up on water changes and remember to replace the filter cartridges in your filter system. The carbon will help to reduce the nitrates in your fish tank. The carbon will actually hold the nitrates and decaying food inside the filter which is why the filter cartridges need to be replaced.