How do I adjust the nitrate level in my aquarium?

I just did a quick dip stick water test in my aquarium, the nitrate level is in the very hot pink -unsafe. Total hardness is Very Hard. Total alkalinity is low and the PH is acidic. How do i adjust them to normal? and what do I use to do that? Please help my Cichlids are suffering.How do I adjust the nitrate level in my aquarium?First of all, don't try to mess with the pH, alkalinity, or hardness. I have a feeling your testing kit isn't at all accurate, considering how rare it is for to have a low pH and a high alkalinity/buffer. To lessen the nitrates, simply do a 20% water change now, and a 10% water change every other day until the nitrate is below 30 ppm.



You should really consider getting a REAL test kit (liquid instead of strips)... they are quite a bit more accurate.



EDIT: Driftwood makes the water even more acidic, which doesn't appear to be what you need. Also, running the filter will not lower the nitrate as it is the final step in the nitrogen cycle (unless you have denitrifying bacteria, which you don't).How do I adjust the nitrate level in my aquarium?Hi Lisa, messing with your pH will almost never be successful because artificial 'pH up %26amp; down' additives only make the problem worse as they often have a delayed %26amp; cumulative effect so it sways up %26amp; down violently further stressing your fish. Unless the readings are off the scale most fish will tolerate an approximate pH to their own-the most important thing is keeping it stable.



The nitrate reduction is one of the easiest processes in fish keeping-simply do a partial water change using same temperature, treated water. You do a partial water change, you drastically dilute %26amp; reduce your nitrate [%26amp; other toxins] immediately. The good bugs live in your gravel %26amp; filter NOT your water so up to 50% changes daily are perfectly safe.How do I adjust the nitrate level in my aquarium?Simple. Do a water change 25%. This will automatically lower the reading. Also test again tomorrow. You may need to do another water change but drop it to around 20%.



As for the PH:





This is going to sound dumb but what kind of gravel do you have? Believe it or not certain types of gravel will keep your ph from increasing or increase it too much.



The property of water to resist changes in pH is known as buffering capacity. You can determine the capacity of your buffering system by measuring total hardness. A reading of 4-6 dH or higher is usually adequate to keep the buffering system in place and maintain a stable pH. A reading under 4 dH means there isn't enough of a buffering system and the pH is likely to drop. For higher pH levels, you will probably want to aim for 6-12 dH. Many hobbyists choose to measure only Carbonate Hardness (KH), which is a measure of the calcium carbonates in your water. This test is also effective in maintaining a proper buffer system. When testing for Carbonate Hardness, a reading of 75-100 mg/L is adequate for most aquariums, while a reading of 100-200 mg/L would be desired for higher pH levels. For the purpose of freshwater aquariums, measuring either total hardness or carbonate hardness is necessary, but measuring both independently would not be needed.



You need to know that anywhere in your aquarium where detritus (a fancy term for dirt) accumulates is a source of Phosphate production. As detritus accumulates in your gravel bed and on your filter pads, the Phosphate levels in your aquarium rise. Free Phosphate ions may bond with calcareous buffering material, precipitating calcium from your aquarium, and reducing your aquariums ability to keep pH stable. This is why it is so very important to clean your filter pads regularly and vacuum the aquarium gravel with each water change. In addition, your tap water contains buffering ions. Doing regular partial water changes will help to replenish the buffers which have been lost. This is important in all aquariums, because fish respiration and organic wastes alone will cause a gradual drop in the ability of your aquarium to buffer against pH swings.



Now the question becomes what to do if the fish you want to keep have very special pH requirements. If your fish prefer a pH level which is reasonably close to the pH your aquarium water is naturally buffered to, then I do not recommend you make any changes at all. Unless you are keeping an extremely specialized fish your fish will be fine. On the other hand, if your fish have pH requirements which are far from the values in your tank, then you have work to do.



Let us consider methods of raising the pH of your tap water. There are many additives on the market today which claim to raise your pH. Most of the liquid products on the market today are a 50/50 success at best when used alone only to find the ph will soon return to the normal level of 6. You also need to use a product to increase the buffering ability of your aquarium. To maintain a stable pH in the upper levels of the pH scale for fishkeeping, I would recommend using a buffering substrate such as crushed coral. You can add crushed coral to your existing aquarium. You can place larger amounts of shells or chrushed coral beneath the substraight in the tank. I personally place the crushed coral in a mesh bag and place the bag in my filter. You will want about 1 kg of crushed coral per 40 liters of water to buffer the water to hold a pH around 7.6. This method does not allow for the use of large quantities of crushed coral, but can be effective if you only need to make small adjustments to your aquariums buffering ability. This is why ocean items such as shells and ocean sand should not be used in a fresh water aquarium. It does raise the PH level.



Be assured that attempting to control pH is the most frustrating experience for a fish hobbyist. I would guess that 50% of the problems encountered in new aquariums are a result of the aquarist attempting to change the pH level. Few fish keepers actually need to adjust their pH. For the majority of aquarists your tap water pH will be adequate. The dangers of adjusting the pH incorrectly far outweigh any benefit you may receive by moving your pH a few points on the scale.



Remember, when it comes to adjusting your pH, less is more! Stability is most important. Routine maintenance is the key to keeping your pH stable and your fish healthy!



Also, do not use baking soda in your tank. Over doing the ph plus adding additional salt is not going to do your tank any good. It will also revert back to 6 when the carbon filters pull the Soda out.

Hope this helpsHow do I adjust the nitrate level in my aquarium?do a 20% water change. and small changes until the nitrates have dropped to a safe level do a 20% every two weeks.How do I adjust the nitrate level in my aquarium?ph get drift wood from petco

for the rest just run the filter for a few days and for the rest of it just get 1 or 2 fish to get the cycle going after about a week you should see some results