I Dont Know Where To Put This But I Need Major Help

[jtrain252]

OK i could not figure out what is going on. I kept doing water changes and kept showing 40-80ppm nitrate. So finally i had enough 4 50 percent water changes still showed. I tested my tap water....less then 5ppm from faucet. I tested a bowl of water i stuck all my plants in to see if it was them giving it off. 5ppm I put the Python onto the spicket, Turn it to suck but leave the vac out of the water so none of the aquarium water is coming through. I take 5ml from the bottom of the python do the test and BOOM 40ppm nitrate. SO THIS WHOLE TIME its the python giving me nitrate boosts, has anyone EVER EVER EVER heard of that.

[Brhino]

I have no idea what's going on for you, but there is no way a python is "giving" your tank nitrates. That's just not possible. A python is a piece of plastic. It can't spontaneously generate dissolved nitrogen compounds.

[Honey Badger 1]

I have no idea what's going on for you, but there is no way a python is "giving" your tank nitrates. That's just not possible. A python is a piece of plastic. It can't spontaneously generate dissolved nitrogen compounds.

Unless there is organic waste from you tank sitting in the tubes or connectors.
Clean out that python and see what happens.

[Lady Hobbs]

Platic hose does not give nitrates. Dirty gravel, dirty filter media and water does.


PS......You are also still cycling the tank right? I think it was just a couple days ago you were still showing nitrites? Apparently you are still having conversion going on. Make sure if you rinse your filters out, you do it only in old tank water so you don't kill your bacteria.

[jtrain252]

Correction i checked the faucet again RED
I check the other bathroom RED i
I check the downstairs kitchen RED
I checked the Fridge Red

Now i have NEVER had this issue before but all of a sudden im blowing over 80ppm on every faucet in my house

WAT the F do i do now.

[Brhino]

are you sure you're following the directions exactly? Are you sure your test tube is getting nice and clean between tests?

Do you have any bottled water or something you could test for a baseline comparison?

[Danifins]

Assuming you have the API test kit, you have to be very precise when doing the nitrate test. Follow the directions EXACTLY or you will have varied results. Honestly I hate that damn test haha, the ammonia/nitrites are so much easier.

Just have some patience and rinse the tube really really well, then follow the directions exactly.

[Goes to 11!]

Click here (http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=76252) to see how to check if your test kit is expired. :22:

[Indian Woods Angels]

Or...you have a situation with your source water from the tap. At this time of year dependent upon where the source water is coming from you may have water coming from a reservoir that has an algae bloom or some sort of weather x temperature related organic issue. Warm weather causes this and it's been warm enough in a lot of places.

This is why I use a carbon filter in a GE cannister to filter my tap water. I don't even use dechlor and I'm on Chicago tap. Try doing the test on a bottle of bottled water to see if the test kit is nixed.

[jtrain252]

ok i used peroxide and soap to clean the little test tubes

first vial on the left Deer park water
2nd vial in the middle My faucet
3rd vial on right from tank with 2 wisteria and 2 anacharis floating on the top of the tank.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/jtrain252/IMAG0450.jpg

What the hell do i do at this point
I have never had nitrate readings like this in my water before EVER from faucet or tank
even the deer park showed maybe 5-10 ppm of nitrate
The Expiration date on my bottles is fine

[Brhino]

the bottled water should have 0ppm nitrate, and the Environmental Protection Agency mandates a maximum nitrate level of no more than 10ppm in drinking water. You're doing something wrong, I'm just not sure what.

[Lady Hobbs]

Do you have well water? Well water is independent of city water and well water can be troublesome certain times of the year. If nothing else, you may have to invest in a nitrate remover.

[jtrain252]

Well water no i dont I believe my water comes from a man made damed Lake. Could the fact ive almost never used the nitrate testers before mean maybe they clumped or maybe thats a heavy concentration stuck in the tip? I shook this thing until my arm wanted to fall off ill run you through what i did


I Cleaned vial with Hydrogen peroxide soap then water then hot water.
Put in 5ml of deer park shook first bottle for like 10 secs. Dropped exactly 10 drops. Closed lid on vial and shook for 15 seconds. Took bottle number 2 sat down and shook it side to side for 45 seconds then up and down for 45 seconds. Dropped in 10 drops closed vial shook for 45 seconds. Sat it down.. It was yellow for 3 minutes then got slightly orange. Now when i do my tap water or the TANK same thing. I fill vial drop 10 drops.shake container or a min drop in 10 shake for a min wait 5. If i hold it against the card it looks 80ppm if i hold it an inch or two away from the card it looks 40ppm if i hold it up against a white screen of my computer moniter it looks inbetween 20-40ppm. so I dont know what im doing wrong. Never had high nitrate issue before tanks been running for 8 months.

Ill buy RO water tomorrow and test that because that shouldnt have ANYTHING in it whatsoever

Its just disheartening im at a loss and im tired or always fighting with this

[Danifins]

Hm, the API tests don't need THAT much shaking.

You drop 10 drops of the first bottle, cap the tube and just turn it over a couple times to distribute the drops. Then you shake bottle #2 for "at least" 30 seconds (I rarely do more than 30-35), and add 10 drops. THen you cap the tub and shake for a full minute.

That should get you the accurate results. That's how I do it, after reading the instructions in the little booklet that came with the kit. :)

[jtrain252]

right but shaking it an extra 30 seconds or so shouldnt make my test unreliable if anything it would do much at all.......Sucks maybe ill just go buy a thing of moss and duckweed throw it in and hope they will suck out the nitrates im adding. I cannot afford to buy 3-5 gallons of distilled water everytime i wanna do a water change thats ridiculous.

[Danifins]

I wish I could help but I'm really at a loss for why you would have so many nitrates in your tap water. I hope you find a solution :(

[Lady Hobbs]

You only need to shake a bit.

I would take a water sample to the fish store tomorrow and have it tested by them to make sure it isn't your test kit. If it's still high, then your water department should be given a call. High nitrates are more than unhealthy to your fish but also to humans and especially infants.

You can always get a nitrate reducing sponge for the fish tanks but you need to get to the reason why nitrates are so high for the general health of everyone.

[jtrain252]

where do they make nitrate reducing sponge

[Zander]

I would wager that your test is wrong. Lady Hobbs had a great idea. Bring some of your water into your local Petsmart and have them test it for free.

Also I wanted to add that even though your Nitrate test is within the expiration date, it is possible for them to spoil before then. Was it ever left out in the sun or something? The liquid tests can go bad if they are improperly stored.

[Goes to 11!]

I agree the tests are a bit suspect at this point but do us all a favor and commit to doing the testing procedure BY THE BOOK so that at least those variables [however negligible] will be out of the picture.

It would also be worth the phone call to your Municipal Water Dept just to ask if they have been doing anything different lately.

[jtrain252]

I will be bringing one container of tap water and one from my tank to the store. Ill have them test it. and ill do one with Distilled water when i get home since it should have nothing. we will see.

Fish seem fine this morning except albino everytime i turn the light on he flies around the tank lol i think the light bothers him

[Cermet]

High nitrates even after large water changes is a sign that the substrate has a huge load of organic debris and stored nitrates. The only solution is to stir the substrate deeply and do a 90% water change; and repeat as require. (I assume the filter media is rinsed from time to time.)

Beaware this can cause dangerous levels of nitrite and possible toxic (for the fish) gases to be released. AS such, removal of the fish before doing this is a good idea. Very likely the water will turn very dark upon doing this cleaning.

I had this issue once with a tank. This can cause future issues - nitrates that high is not good for most fish (but many can tolerate.)

Of course, a rebuild of the tank might be easier. In the future, this problem can be avoided by vacuum the sand layer every few days (1/2 to 1 inch down) besides daily vacuumings.

[jtrain252]

Did that, you have to understand i did 3 80 percent water changes put fish in later that night all this happened so i did 4 50 percent changes no affect on the nitrate level. Thats when i tested the tap water and kitchen water. Like i said ill take it to PEtsmart see what they are getting on both. IF its not my kit and the water levels are that high then i dont know what to do.

[Indian Woods Angels]

Well water no i dont I believe my water comes from a man made damed Lake. Could the fact ive almost never used the nitrate testers before mean maybe they clumped or maybe thats a heavy concentration stuck in the tip? I shook this thing until my arm wanted to fall off ill run you through what i did


I Cleaned vial with Hydrogen peroxide soap then water then hot water.
Put in 5ml of deer park shook first bottle for like 10 secs. Dropped exactly 10 drops. Closed lid on vial and shook for 15 seconds. Took bottle number 2 sat down and shook it side to side for 45 seconds then up and down for 45 seconds. Dropped in 10 drops closed vial shook for 45 seconds. Sat it down.. It was yellow for 3 minutes then got slightly orange. Now when i do my tap water or the TANK same thing. I fill vial drop 10 drops.shake container or a min drop in 10 shake for a min wait 5. If i hold it against the card it looks 80ppm if i hold it an inch or two away from the card it looks 40ppm if i hold it up against a white screen of my computer moniter it looks inbetween 20-40ppm. so I dont know what im doing wrong. Never had high nitrate issue before tanks been running for 8 months.

Ill buy RO water tomorrow and test that because that shouldnt have ANYTHING in it whatsoever

Its just disheartening im at a loss and im tired or always fighting with this

What do you mean when you say that you used a hydrogen peroxide soap?
Hydrogen peroxide will be H2 O2, the spare O will oxidize anything that it may but it is not a total oxidant such as O3 and has it's limits in creating a sterile vessel for the purpose of control.

Any type of soap is going to have items in it that will sour the control of the test. I doubt that Hydrogen peroxide will cut the oils and other components of the soaps base composition.

I would find a clean and sterile test tube and use the bottled water. Get the soap factor out of the equation. If the test is still showing a high nitrate level I would take both the bottled water and some tank water to the LFS for a test. If their results are different from your the kits are suspect.

The regulation for the 10PPM nitrate water is from the point of service not the point of delivery. Your water may change a bit on the journey through the piping to your home. There are things that can happen on the journey that taint the water quality from your tap. It can be that you have high nitrate from the tap.

[jtrain252]

Ok took my water to petsmart told them my problem. They tested my tap water with a stick came out to 10 ppm. Then they tested with liquid kit same thing. Then they test my tank water with liquidand got 5ppm. I went home check faucet water got 40ppm. Checked tank two time I got 10 one time I got red. I did notice the caps between bottle 1 and 2 were switched what's the best way to clean Those little test tubes. I'm going to pick up strips and check again.

[Goes to 11!]

what's the best way to clean Those little test tubes.
I just rinse them after use [Tap water] and let them air dry... Never had an issue.

[dmagerl]

How "used" is your test kit. I find that as you use up the kit, the results become higher and higher. I'd guess that you havent been vigorously shaking bottle number 2. This leaves little zinc particles in the bottom of the bottle and as the bottle is used up, they become more and more concentrated in the test solution, thus giving high readings.

I normally throw out the kit when it gets about half used for this reason. A newly purchased kit always give lower readings than the test kit I'm replacing, and I'm religious about shaking the bejeebers out of the bottle.

I've used a Tetra nitrate test and they have you add a non-limiting of zinc powder but their color chart has fewer color gradations compared to the API test. I like the API test better but you have to be aware that it becomes fairly inaccurate as it gets used.

Buy a new test kit and see what it says.

[jtrain252]

Ok well i just got home and did a series of tests. LEt me know what you think,

First up Distilled water which should not have any contaminents in it at all.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/jtrain252/IMAG0454.jpg
IT looks yellow but it had some orange in it which i figured shouldnt happen

2nd test was straight from my faucet.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/jtrain252/IMAG0455.jpg

i get 40ppm or more in the liquid kit but the stick looks to be about 20ppm they got the same at the store i was told it was slightly pink lady said 5ppm

3rd test was from tank.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/jtrain252/IMAG0456.jpg
it looks red but this when looking through it seemed to be slightly orange right before it turned red. But again the stick looks like its lighter then 20ppm.

UGH!!!!!!!

[jtrain252]

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/jtrain252/IMAG0461.jpg
Distilled, Tap then tank
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/jtrain252/IMAG0462.jpg
Distilled Tap then Tank
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/jtrain252/IMAG0463.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/jtrain252/IMAG0464.jpg

thoughts

[jtrain252]

well to be honest when i had the betta and 2 cory i used a quarter of the nitrate and then it sat for 4 months never used it mainly because i did a water change every week religiously

[jtrain252]

any thought or comments? Maybe i should get more plants i only have 3 wisteria.....maybe i should moss out my log in the middle of the tank and get something fast growing thats thin like a weed to eat the nitrate.

[kross]

Looks like your nitrate test kit is inaccurate. Do you have any KNO3 fertilizer? If so, you can make a test solution of known nitrate concentration to calibrate your test kit: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/fertilizers-water-parameters/83545-calibrating-test-kits-non-chemists.html

If not, if you live in the Seattle area I'll give you some. :ssmile:

As for whether or not you should add plants, well I like a heavily planted tank, so my answer will almost always be "yes". thumbs2:

[jtrain252]

I dont believe i have no3 fert

[Lady Hobbs]

You mentioned in post 30 your water, you think, comes from a damed lake? If your water comes from the city, then it's city water. If you are drawing from the lake, then you must have a well? Don't you know if you have a well sitting in your yard? It's not like they are easy to miss?

This water needs to be taken care of not just the fish tanks.

[jtrain252]

I don't havr a well. Our township draws some water from that lake plant experts want to look at my tank and suggest anything currently wistria and amacharis are floating til they grow decent roots

[dbosman]

Correction i checked the faucet again RED
I check the other bathroom RED i
I check the downstairs kitchen RED
I checked the Fridge Red
Now i have NEVER had this issue before but all of a sudden im blowing over 80ppm on every faucet in my house
WAT the F do i do now.

Switch to bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes, for the time being. Haul water for water changes for a while.
If you have a baby, do not bathe it in your water.
Contact the local water department. They will test your water quality. There may be a simple reason for a periodic spike. Flushing fire hydrants is one.

If you are on a well, talk to your county or state health department.
Fertilizer or manure run off can contaminate wells.