I have had high nitrates in my tank for a while and not sure what is best.?

I have a 46 gallon bowfront community tank that has been set up since September. I didn't have any problems with it until the last couple of months. I moved out of town for a job and am only able to take care of the tank on the weekends when I come home. The last 2 months I have had extremely high nitrates and very low ph. I'm not as concerned with the ph as I am the nitrates. I do water changes on the weekend...sometimes 20-30 percent. It never helps. Last weekend I did 30 percent, but no improvement. I'm wondering if I should do a larger water change this weekend. I have not added anything to the tank, or removed, except for several fish that I've lost due to the problem. I don't know what is causing such high nitrates. One thing that came to mind was the amount of Ramshorns snails I have in the tank. A LOT of them get stuck to the filter and I know their bodies often get sucked out. Could they have any effect on my water? There are probably 100 or so in there. I'm taking a lot out to give away. Please let me know as I do not want to lose any more of my stock if possible. Thank you!

2009-05-31T05:03:00Z

I have tested my water source and it is free of nitrates. I really think the snails are playing a factor in it. My fish in that tank also got the Camallanus parasite as well that I am now trying to treat.

2009-05-31T08:16:43Z

Am I okay with sticking with the 20-30% water changes?

Indra2009-05-31T06:21:08Z

Favorite Answer

If the snails bodies are getting sucked out and they're left to die somewhere in the tank, then yes that can affect the water. Snails are good to have in a tank, but sounds like you could use a few less! Every once in a while, if you have some breeding-crazy ones, you have to thin out the population before it gets out of control.

Sounds like you're on your way to having things under control, though!

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sixthformnewsteam2009-05-31T04:56:18Z

Nitrates are the end product of biological filtration so at least you know that your filter is working. The high density of snails is likely to be adding to your nitrate problem so removing them is a good idea. If you are replacing 20-30% weekly with no reduction in nitrates then you have to assume that your water supply is high in nitrates, get a test kit to be sure. If its your water supply then you will have to source your water elsewhere such as reverse osmosis water (RO). Low pH and or fluctuating pH is an indication that your carbonate hardness (KH) is low, so getting and product that increase your pH would helpful.

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