How to Lower Nitrates

Knowing how to lower the nitrates in your fish tank can make the difference between long-living fish and having multiple fish funerals. Nitrates are chemicals that come from the broken down waste in your fish tank; the nitrates are an advanced form of ammonium. The nitrates can ultimately harm your fish, because it can be highly toxic. A dirty fish tank can increase the amount of nitrates, so cleaning the tank is crucial.

Things You'll Need

  • Nitrate testing kit
  • Fish food
  • Water vacuum
  • Fish filter
  • Purified water
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Instructions

    • 1

      Test your water to check your nitrate level. Fill the sample bottle with the aquarium water, and then add 2.5ml of aquarium water from the sample bottle to the provided beaker. Add 5ml of Mixed Acid Reagent to the test tube, cap it, and then shake it. Open the beaker, add 0.1gram of Nitrate Reducing Regent, close it, and then mix it. The test tube will produce a color; compare the color to see the nitrate level in your aquarium.

    • 2

      Sprinkle one or two pinches of food into the water tank. One of the main reasons for high nitrate levels is overfeeding. If your fish takes more than two minutes to eat, then you have placed too much food in your aquarium.

    • 3

      Open the fish filter, and then pull out the cartridge. The cartridge can hold a lot of waste that can raise nitrates. Replace the cartridge by opening a new filter cartridge and sliding it back into place.

    • 4

      Take out 20 percent of the water and replace it with fresh, purified water to help lower the nitrates.

    • 5

      Increase or decrease the amount of water in the tank. The water to fish ratio should be one gallon to one exotic fish and three gallons to one goldfish. More fish means more nitrates and waste.

    • 6

      Test the water again, the following day, and compare the coloring guideline to see if your tank's nitrates have lowered. The nitrate level will be numbered; the lower the number, the better.