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Should I be worried about these levels?

1K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  SinCrisis 
#1 ·
I'm looking to get some live plants to bring my nitrites and nitrates down in my tank.
Do I need to do that? I did a test just now. The levels are 3 ppm for nitrite and 80 ppm for nitrate. To me, this seems a little high and it worries me because both of those levels are, on the visual scale that I have to determine the levels, high on the chart.
What kind of plants would be good for my ten gallon? What would be the most beneficial for my fish?
 
#2 ·
Yeah, those are high. Nitrites should be at 0, and Nitrates at most 50 ppm.

How many watts is the light for your ten gallon? Putting plants in there will help lower nitrates, not sure how much, but it will. Some good plants are Java Fern and Anacharis, these are usually available pretty easily at your local fish store. Those would be good to start with. Then do some research on other plants you might like and such. The two I mentioned don't require much, and do well under lower light conditions so you don't need to drop a lot of money of good lighting.

For an immediate relief of your levels, do like a 30% water change. If your source of water (I'm assuming tap) is clean of nitrates and nitrites (should be), it will lower the levels a lot.
 
#3 ·
Yikes, those levels are high! I would do a 50% change NOW and another 50% change the next day. What size tank and how long has it been set up? What is the reading for ammonia? How many and what kind of fish are in the tank? Are you using test strips or a liquid test? The strips are junk.

The plants Arkamaic mentioned are good nitrate suckers but you really should find out why your nitrites are so high. Ammonia and nitrites should remain at 0 in a cycled tank and nitrates should be kept under 40ppm with weekly water changes.
 
#4 ·
plants will help but you will also need to get some ind of fertilizer for trace nutrients. As for your high nitrate levels, i would do as the other have suggested, water changes ASAP. Simple plants to keep nitrates down are generally java moss and java fern since they are almost literally indestructible plants.
 
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