andrews68

hi i have been having a few problems with the nitrate levels i have done water changes over the last 3 weeks and thought i had cracked it but tested again today and is rising again i also had problems with ph but it is spot on now did not have any problems with any levels all year only thing i have changed is the food. filter still looks really mature anybody got any thoughts. cheers

Davej

Hiya

Do you mean Nitrate or are we talking Nitrite?

Dave

andrews68

hi dave nitrate is the problem had this pond 5 years never had problem with this before nitrite level is ok.

Davej

Hiya

Sorry to bounce back a few more questions at you;

• How often to you measure Nitrate
• What test kit are you using and how old is it?
• What are the current Nitrate levels in both the pond and the supply
• How much water do you change per week on average

Dave

andrews68

hi dave i check nitrate once every 2 weeks level in pond today is 100 supply level is 0 test kit is a tablet form by interpet and i renew tablets every season i do about 10% water change most weeks and 25% once a month all fish seem happy i have read one of your other replys with same problem and you advised a trickle change over 24 hours so i stated one this afternoon do you know what causes the rise in nitrate i can't find much info about it thanks for your help.

Davej

Hiya

Nitrate is the end product of the conversion process, some filters will deal with it, if not then it’s a question of dilution through water exchange.

100ppm isn’t a great problem, particularly at this time of the year as with continued water changes over the winter it will be diluted out by next spring.

Reason I asked about the supply is that, if memory serves me right the max allowable in the supply is around 50ppm, mine is 40ppm so that sets the bar if you are relying on dilution as the solution.

Some Guys look to Vegetable type filters for Nitrate reduction, I’ve found both faster flowing showers and trickle towers work really well and its possible to get levels down under that of the supply.

I wouldn’t stress too much about it and certainly wouldn’t be taking any dramatic steps to address it at this difficult time of the year when the eco system in the pond is pretty fragile; as I’ve said with regular maintenance through the winter it will come down.

Trickle in- yes it’s the ideal way of helping keep things where you want them.

Hope this helps

Dave

andrews68

cheers dave for your help.