Is this alright?

[jonawm]

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH): 3x1.5x1.5
Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 2x55W
Type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : PL
No. of Hours your light is on: 11hrs
CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : 3bps
Type of CO2 (DIY/Liquid/Tank) : Tank
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor): Reactor
Substrate Used :
How Thick is your base fert : 1cm
How thick is your gravel : 4 to 5 cm
Liquid Fertilizers Used : Flora Plus
Frequency of fertilization : Once every 3 days
Tank Temperature : 27
Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister) : Canister
Filter media used :
How long has your tank been set up :


Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
---------------------------------------

Carbonate Hardness (kh): 3.5
Total Hardness (gH):
PH : 6.6
NH4 (ppm): ard 0.1 mg/l
NO2 (ppm):
NO3 (ppm): amazingly high
PO4 (ppm):
Fe (ppm): 0.1 mg/l


Sorry, i dunno how to get to the PPM
Bioload (Your Fish and Plants)
------------------------------

not sure abt the plant names

10 cardinals, 8 rummy, 8 halequin, 2 oto, some yamatos



Please can someone advise me whether this is alright?
What is the best way to get my NO3 low to acceptable range?
I've did partial water changes since then, but may I know wats the cause of the high test readings?
Too much fish excretion?

Am I overfeeding my fishes dat they shit too much????

[hirowen]

Hi,
What about your nitrite level? Most probably is ur high level of bio load. Fish excretion and fish food. Maybe you overfeed your fish and causes increase in ammonia, then it convert to nitrite and then nitrate. Is your tank heavily planted? If so it will more or less help by absorbing some ammonia and nitrate as nutrients. Partial change of water helps too.

[jonawm]

HI,

My NO2 is somewhere ard the 0.1 region. Does it make sense dat my NO2 is rather normal but NO3 is high?

My tank is relatively dense with plants.

After partial water change and if the NO3 is still high, do I change more water at once or shall I change little by little everyday...say abt 20% everyday in order to go back to normal?

If I do dat, will it affect the other elements?

[kc]

What is actually wrong with your tank? Just too high NO3? If your fishes and plant are doing ok and you got no algae problem then relax man.

[hirowen]

If you have enough beneficial bacteria around, convertion of amonia to nitrite to nitrate is fast, so it is not easy to detect high level of nitrite unless your tank is not fully matured. In your case, high level of nitrate may be due to your high bio load. For your 3 ft tank, the number of fishes you have is acceptable level. So higher possibility is that you overfeed your fish. Nitrate is not really harmful to fish, but too much is not good. Too much of nitrate will causes the nitrogen cycle to turn back, as in causes nitrate to convert back to nitrite and then ammonia. High level of nitrate may also cause algae bloom. You can change 30% of your water, and 20% weekly. Remember to add fertiliser after you change water, estimate the amount to dose. If your tank is free from algae, and your fish is alright, you dont have to worry so much.

[jonawm]

Thanks for all who hv given their views.