Nitrate level very high

Question
I have a 46 bow with small fish.  It has been set up for about 2 years now.  I do weekly water changes. My nitrate level is off the chart with a cloudy appreance to the water.  All other levels are fine.  I have live plants in the tank and some of them have had a little decaying due to cutting leaves off etc.  Is it the plants that are causing the high level or other?

Answer
Hey Tina,

Werid to see that your having a nitrate outbreak after 2 years of setup. Seems like you are having a bacterial bloom outbreak. There would have been somthing that caused it.... High nitrate levels are a sign of poorly maintained aquariums and will cause problems.overfeeding is a common cause for high nitrate levels. Regular partial water changes of 35% every week will help keep them low. Do them with a gravel cleaner to remove decaying organic material from the gravel at the same time. A dirty filter, over population, dying or decaying plants are also a contributing factor.

Take out the dying plants or decaying ones, feed once every 2 days for a week period, only feed them as much as they eat without ever feeding them, do an initial 40% water change and after that a 35% change weekly. Figure out if your overstocked....

Start from there...and it should get back to normal.. just figure out what's causing that nitrate bloom.