Eaglebarret Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 What is the maximum nitrate level africans can deal with?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Salita Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 How long is a piece of string? There is no definite answer to this. Maybe you could tell us the species and we could give you a guide. But its a bit hard to say at which point they will drop dead at. Tangs are more sensitive than malawians generally speaking. But not always. Most rift lake species like it in the lower range. If they die from nitrates, the levels were probably too high two weeks ago. Due to the fact they tend to accumulate more gradually, and is slightly less toxic than nitrites and ammonia. Easy life/geo liquid/purigen can help mask these problems for a little longer if you are having problems doing water changes. Feeding less can also prolong the life of the water. We really need a bit more detail to help you better. Cheers, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eaglebarret Posted May 22, 2005 Author Share Posted May 22, 2005 I tested my water and the nitrates are 10, they are lake malawi and none of them are suffering apart from the new fish that i added yesterday. I have purigen in my tank. i have also triple dosed the tank with prime to bring it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Salita Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 10mg/L of nitrate is not much imo. But less is best for rift lake species. According to my test kit booklet, levels above 110mg/L are getting lethal! However it says levels above 20mg/L are getting lethal towards saltwater invertebrates! A mate of mine recently killed his Tinanti and occies somewhere between 50-110mg/L. Geo's and b/n and were showing signs of severe stress, but survived once the problem was pointed out and fixed. L001 Pleco seemed totally unaffected. Maybe the new fish are just acclimatising. HTH, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eaglebarret Posted May 22, 2005 Author Share Posted May 22, 2005 thats what i am hoping too. How long should this take? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeW Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 I agree with Eddie - I'd suspect toxicity becomes a problem at 50-100 mg L. More so, in poorly buffered (ie: tanks without buffering substrate) aquaria as the pH will drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanceswithDingoes Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 I tested my water and the nitrates are 10, they are lake malawi and none of them are suffering apart from the new fish that i added yesterday. I have purigen in my tank. i have also triple dosed the tank with prime to bring it down. ← Why didnt you just do a waterchange? Purigen and their ilk should only be used in emergency situations as they remove some 'good' elements from the water like salts. Prime would not be that effective on nitrates, ammonias and chlorines yes but not nitrates, and now youve locked up any ammonia, what is your nitrifying bacteria going to feed on? Best bet with nitrates is a good old fashioned water change of around 10-15% of the tank volume. If you want to reduce nitrate build up use a 'matrix' type material in your filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eaglebarret Posted May 22, 2005 Author Share Posted May 22, 2005 I did do a water change(approx 30%), and i have matrix in my filter. It was just a question to rule out the reason for my new fish seeming sick as stated in my other post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Salita Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 How long should this take? What type/size of fish are they and who are the tankmates, in what size tank? It could take up to a week or two or more . Re-arranging rockwork can help as it affects the existing fish heirachy which may be affecting the new guy. Cheers, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanceswithDingoes Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 Its more likely to be a difference in overall water chemistry (Gh,Kh,Ph etc) that has stressed the fish rather than just the nitrates alone. I tend to agree with Jason about the newbie being harassed as a strong possibility too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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