High Nitrate In Aquariums Can Kill: How To Lower Your Aquarium'S Nitrate Levels And Save Your Fish'S Life

The danger of excessive nitrates in aquariums is often misdiagnosed by aquarium hobbyists. Nitrate is one of the natural byproduct of fish digestive tracts. It can build up in any tank that is not properly maintained. Nitrates poisoning occurs when fish are exposed to gradually rising nitrate concentrations over a period of time. Overfeeding and overstocking of fish are also significant contributors to slowly rising nitrates levels. Some fish will be affected by levels as low as 20 mg/L. Fish death can be caused by high levels of nitrate in your aquarium's water. Current residents may have become used to slowly increasing nitrates over time. If nitrate levels are not reduced, more fish will start to show symptoms. How to bring down nitrates, slow, controlled water changes will be necessary. Do not feed the fish for 24 hours. Then, only eat sparingly until the tank stabilizes. The maximum speed of concentration change that freshwater fish can tolerate is a five percent nitrate change. Before buying new fish, ask about the nitrate values of any new fish. Re-test to find out how much the nitrates has dropped. If the nitrogen level remains above 100 mg/l, repeat the process the following day. . . .