High nitrates or faulty test drops?

**NIN8185** · 02-18-2013, 06:00 PM

Hi, i just started using a API Mast Test Kit over the last month or so. My Nitrate Readings with this test have always been coming up as 80ppm +. So i've been doing 2-3 10-33% water changes every week and the readings have not changed one bit over the month. I have a 50 gallon tank with a Butterfly Koi, Comet goldfish, and two Rope fish and a Reaction 4 Canister Filter . Fish do not appear to be stressed and there isn't to much waste at the bottom of the tank either. Only thing i can think of is i have to clean out the filter in and out tubes of algae and left over waste but cant see how my nitrates have not moved at all.

**Cliff** · 02-18-2013, 06:09 PM

Your test kit may or may not be working. Perhaps you could take a water sample to a LFS near you and have them test it for you. If you do have higher nitrates, doing 10 to 33% water changes won;t help lower the nitrates that much

Perhaps you could trying increasing the waterchange amount to 50 to 75% to help lower the nitrates until you can have your test results confirmed just to be safe. Cleaning the filter in old tank water will also help

**fishmommie** · 02-18-2013, 06:17 PM

Hi - first thought is that those are some really big fish for a 50 gallon and their waste might be part of the cause. I'd increase the water changes to 50% weekly or even 50% twice a week to see if it doesn't reduce the nitrates.

Second thought is that many do not use the nitrate test kit properly.
shake bottle 1 and add 10 drops to vial. Cap and shake 5 seconds.
shake bottle 2 for 30 full seconds then add 10 drops to the vial, cap and shake for 60 seconds. Wait 5 before reading.

If you're conducting the test some way other than those exact steps you will not get an accurate reading. Also check the expiration date on the bottles in the event they are out of date.

Other than that - it's possible your canister may need cleaning. Just be careful to only rinse your filter media and parts in old tank water, not tap water or you'll kill your BB

**madagascariensis** · 02-18-2013, 06:18 PM

It could just be that your fish are producing more nitrates than your water change schedule can handle, since all of your species grow large to very large, and most or even all will not belong in a 50 gallon tank when full grown. Butterfly koi: heavy bodied with the potential to reach 2 ft. Comet goldfish: again, heavy bodied and will exceed 1 ft. With proper care. Ropefish will reach 40 cm in length although they are not so bad due to their slender shape.

**NIN8185** · 02-18-2013, 07:13 PM

My Koi's body is about 7 in the comet's body is about 5in long not counting the tails and have not increase much at all in size in the last 3 years. My tank is more up-right 47in across 22in tall if that makes any difference as far as space for them is concerned. I will do a 50% change 1-2 weekly and see if that helps the Nitrate levels! I did clean my ceramic rings once with tap water by accident when i didn't know to much about set ups, though my tap is filtered to take out the hardness and has no chlorine and has some added salt so i don't think it harmed the BB but its been awhile so any harm should have been replenished by now i would think?

**Cliff** · 02-18-2013, 07:18 PM

Test for ammonia and nitrites. That will tell you if you harmed your bacteria or not

You fish will outgrow your time with time, not a matter of if, but when. You could also google stunting of aquarium fish to better understand everyone`s concern here

**NIN8185** · 02-19-2013, 01:48 PM

Ammonia - 0 >.25ppm day after 1/3 water change so maybe some damage to the BB?
Nitrites - 0ppm
PH - 7.4ppm
Nitrates - still high

My question now is, I have had these guys for 5 years and counting. I am in no position to be getting a pond or 500 gallon tank at this stage in life. What are my options as these guys probably have already been stunted to some degree. I would like to keep them as they are my best fish I have ever had and some day i do want to have a pond when i get settled. Keep doing weekly large water changes till they most defiantly need more space or have them adopted for a larger home? (would a some-what stunted aquarium Koi/comet do ok in a Pond?) Here is a quick pick of the set up (dont mind the GDA on its 2nd week cycle)
IMG_2244.jpg IMG_2228.jpg

**fishmommie** · 02-19-2013, 01:55 PM

They are beautiful fish. until you figure something out, I'd definitely up the water changes to 2 X 50% changes a week. That should help with the nitrates. As to losing some of your BB, I don't know how long ago you rinsed things in Tap water, if it's been more than a month I would think it would have recovered by now. It could be your filter can't keep up with the waste fish that size produce. You might add a HOB filter rated for a 90 gallon on the tank. The extra filtration might solve the nitrate issue as well.
Good luck

**Honey Badger 1** · 02-19-2013, 02:00 PM

Make sure you shake the 2nd bottle of nitrate reagent really well. There are crystals in it that will settle down in the bottom and if they aren't in proper suspension you will get a bad reading. With that being said, you have a couple large bio-load fish in your tank and should probably be doing more than 2-3 10-30% changes each week. If shaking the reagents better doesn't fix the problem, try 2-3 50% changes each week and see if that helps.

**NIN8185** · 02-19-2013, 03:38 PM

I did a 60% change today. 33.3% change yesturday and plan to do another 50% change this weekend. I never did 50% often before because i was afraid of Ph swings. I am giving this a shot and going to get some hoses to make the process much easier then syphoning into buckets and refilling.

In case I cant keep up or the better water quality makes my fish grow faster I will look into looking for a better home. I would hate to let him go but i wouldn't mind giving him a better home in the long run and maybe making a small profit from raising him. While making more room for roseyreds for my rope fish to thrive.