Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I having trouble keeping the nitrate and nitrite levels down in my tanks. As a kid I remember seeing baby snappers in cess pools. If waste causes these high levels, how come the snappers were in the cess pool? im trying to say , how bad are these levels when wild turtles can be found in water that should be off the scale?

Most species can tolerate higer nitrate levels. There are many products on the market that will help remove nitrites and such from your water. A well cycled tank should have none at all and then you would just have to do partial water changes to reduce the nitrate build up.

Aquatic plants also help reduce the nitrate levels in your tank (provided that you can keep them in there without your turtles mowing them down)

Steve

They will tolerate enormously high levels of nitrate, not that it is necessarily desireable, but some make the mistake fo "steriliziing" their tanks with bleach etc. and thus wiping out the accumulated nitrate using bacteria that help keep the levels moderate. Keep it clean, but not excessively sterile.