Nitrate Removal

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Maxine-R

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Hi everyone.

Over the past few weeks my NitrAte levels have been at 40ppm.

I Have performed 50% water changes once a week & have tested my tap water to make sure that that is not the problem.

Despite the increased water changes it has had no effect what so ever on the NitrAte levels.

What plants can I use to reduce NitrAte levels?
 
What are the levels of nitrate coming from your tap water?
 
If for example your tap water ois at 40ppm and tank is at 40ppm, changing the water won't make an ounce of difference.
 
Bear in mind the nitrAte test on the API master kit is the least accurate of the four tests. Mainly due to the shaking of the reagent solutions, so it is possible the readings are innaccurate but as a guideline it should be ok.
 
I used to have an average of 30 - 40 ppm nitrate and tap water was the same, so i was not too worried, many folks on here say levels should be at max of 20ppm or less. Difficult to do if no plants and tap water puts this amount of nitrate out.
 
Any aquatic plants will undoubtly help, but notably elodea and floating plants such as water lettuce do absorb a lot of nitrate from the water column.
 
I second what Ch4rlie writes about the API test...Regent #2 should be shaken for at least 2 full minutes (the instructions say 30 seconds, or used to) before adding the drops to the tube.  Failure to do this has been known to give inaccurate and high readings.
 
And, I also agree that we need to see the numbers for tap water and tank water (after following the re-test advice).
 
Is this a recent increase from lower levels previously, or has this been on-going?  Setting aside any nitrate in the source water, nitrates will usually accumulate in an aquarium with live fish, but they should not be more than 5 or at most 10 ppm from the biological system itself (again, to be clear, this is assuming no nitrate in the source water, just what occurs within the aquarium).
 
Plants can certainly help with nitrates, but they are not an end in themselves.  Nitrogen is only one of 17 nutrients essential for plants to photosynthesize, plus the fact that most prefer ammonium over nitrate.  Using ammonia/ammonium so fast is what keeps nitrates low; less ammonia is changed into nitrite and then nitrate with more and fast-growing plants.  There is some uptake of nitrate, more so in high-tech planted tanks where the other nutrients will be higher and in balance.
 
Byron.
 
The NitrAte levels in my tap water were 0 - 5.0 (the solution did not become the clear yellow to indicate 0ppm but did not change enough to indicate result of 5.0, so it is between those two)

I shook bottle two for 1 minute as this is what the instructions advise, however I will do a re-test and shake the bottle for two minutes as you have suggested.
 
I find that It's also a good idea to rap the bottle on a hard surface several times
 
I Have just done a 50% water change & done a NitrAte test, shaking bottle two for two minutes as advised.

Result is below. I can't quite work out what the result is.


2015-09-22 14.54.06.jpg

Should it be this high right after a water change?
 
That is difficult to read, colour-wise.  The camera is at an angle, and the light is unknown here...but at a guess I am thinking you may be in the 10-20 range.  But the angle and the light source can affect the colours.
 
I always do tests using natural daylight through an open door, not in direct sun though.  And at eye level, with the card and bottle side by side, the bottle over the white on the card.  Move the bottle a bit.
 
I took the photo in natural light from a window but not direct sunlight.

The tube is placed in the white section between the two result columns.

Should the result be lower after a 50% water change?
 
If, and I say if, my reading of the colour is that it is in the 20 ppm range, then your 50% water change appears to have cut the nitrate in half, from 40 ppm to 20 ppm.  So that is what one can expect.  Another 50% change should do the same.  This is why repeated, or more frequent, water changes are advisable to reduce nitrates.  Of course, the cause of the nitrate has to be dealt with too, or they will just rise again.
 
My thinking of the 20 ppm range here is because the colour in the tube, although darker, does appear to be more orange than red, and that equates with the 10-20 chart colours.  But again, light, angle and the camera itself can affect colour rendition.
 
Byron.
 
How soon would it be advisable that I do another 50% change?

Like I say I have done one today ... so is tomorrow too soon ?

Could someone give me a list or ideas to things I can check or look into to find the cause of my nitrate levels?

I Have ruled out tap water as this came back with an extremely low NitrAte level. What else should I look into?

Thank you.
 
A 50% each day is fine.  I am assuming your other parameters (GH, pH) between tap and tank water are relatively close.
 
Nitrate comes from organics; agricultural runoff around farms for example is a common source of nitrate in well water.  So basically anything that adds organics to the aquarium has the potential to increase nitrate.  Fish load, not just numbers but size (more fish, or larger fish, obviously produce more organic waste), fish foods, and decaying organics like fish excrement in the substrate, filter, etc. are the prime sources.  Now, obviously from this you can see that nitrates will be occurring always in every aquarium with live fish that are being fed.  But the fewer fish, the lower will be the nitrates.  And perhaps to be clear I should explain that nitrates do not appear on their own; they result from the second stage of nitrification--ammonia is changed into nitrite which is then changed into nitrate.  I'll come back to this momentarily.
 
Live plants help not so much by taking up nitrates, but by taking up ammonia/ammonium in something of a competition with the nitrifying bacteria.  But when plants take up the ammonia/ammonium, nitrite is not produced, and thus no nitrate.  So with lots of plants, nitrates will usually be lower than without.  But one cannot jump onto this, because all the other biological and chemical factors are still part of the processes.  Though having said that, many of us with fairly heavily planted tanks, using the natural (meaning, no added CO2 or high light) method do have nitrates at zero or slightly above.  However, the fish do still play into the equation.  Most aquarium plants prefer ammonium over nitrate, and will begin taking up nitrate only when the ammonium is exhausted.  There is some suggestion that they may actually prefer nitrite over nitrate, but studies in this area are few and many think inconclusive.  But no one really doubts that ammonia/ammonium is the first choice of plants.  The reason is that when they take up nitrate (or nitrite if they do), they must change this back to ammonium, and this takes more energy, so it is sort of a last resort.
 
Water changes are the quickest and usually most effective way of eliminating nitrates, or at least reducing them.  Provided nitrates are not occurring rapidly, this can work well.  Vacuuming into the substrate during the water changes, in open areas, will remove a lot of the decomposing organics, further lowering nitrates.  Keeping the filter clean also.  And this leads into de-nitrification.
 
This is the final stage in the nitrogen cycle.  Many will stop at nitrates, thinking them "safe," and ignore the next stage.  But nitrate can be changed back into nitrogen gas and released into the atmosphere (this is de-nitrification).  Nitrate can also be turned into oxygen by certain anaerobic bacteria.  De-nitrification is becoming much more talked about in filtration these days.  Seachem (I believe) and some other manufacturers are producing biological filter media that they claim specifically provides for de-nitrification.  Of course, this stage can become overloaded too, again due primarily to the fish load and feeding.
 
Some additives, esp plant fertilizers, may add nitrate.  This should be insignificant, unless one is running a high-tech method planted tank and dosing nitrates as a source of nitrogen.
 
Byron.
 
Yes the PH & GH in the tap water doesnt much change after being added to the tank.

I do vacuum the substrate at every water change (which at the moment is once a week)

I do not add any chemicals or additives etc into my tank. All that is added is "King British safe water" at water changes, I mix this into the tap water befor adding it to the tank.

I don't know if this has any impact ... but I have recently started putting a wedge in the lid of the tank because when the lid is properly closed there is an awful amount of condensation on the underside of the lid. So by wedging it open slightly I don't have that problem now ... does that have anything to do with this?

Also I have one live plant in the tank but have noticed that majority of leaves under the water line look as if they are dying while anything above the water line is looking great and still growing. I Have considered removing the plant as I thought this maybe the problem behind the NitrAte levels (especially if it is dying) & replacing it with people's suggestions of plants that are known for good NitrAte removal.
 
Yes the PH & GH in the tap water doesnt much change after being added to the tank.

I do vacuum the substrate at every water change (which at the moment is once a week)

I do not add any chemicals or additives etc into my tank. All that is added is "King British safe water" at water changes, I mix this into the tap water befor adding it to the tank.
 
 
Nothing wrong in any of this.
 
I don't know if this has any impact ... but I have recently started putting a wedge in the lid of the tank because when the lid is properly closed there is an awful amount of condensation on the underside of the lid. So by wedging it open slightly I don't have that problem now ... does that have anything to do with this?
 
 
No, this would have no impact on nitrates.  As an aside, I prefer keeping the tank covered to retain heat and moisture, especially in winter.  Water evaporation into the room does mean moisture getting into your walls, etc.  With one tank, likely nothing to fuss over.
 
Also I have one live plant in the tank but have noticed that majority of leaves under the water line look as if they are dying while anything above the water line is looking great and still growing. I Have considered removing the plant as I thought this maybe the problem behind the NitrAte levels (especially if it is dying) & replacing it with people's suggestions of plants that are known for good NitrAte removal.
 
 
One plant will not impact nitrates, dying or otherwise.  However, we could look into this, if you know the plant species.  You say no additives other than the conditioner, which means no plant fertilizers; some plants can manage without, others less.  Fast-growing plants, which is what you want to deal with ammonia/nitrate, will likely need fertilizers.  Floating plants are the best in this regard of using nutrients from the water, as being on the surface they have abundant light and CO2 from the air.
 
Byron.
 
I have just returned home after being out all day to find that two of my guppies seemed to have lost the use of their back ends .. they don't seem to be able to use thier tails to get around, what's that about??

Ammonia is at zero. NitrIte is at zero. PH is 7.6. NitrAte is 20-40.

I have one live plant (which I think is dying.

All other plants are artificial.

And I have a few rocks and caves.

It had a water changes yesterday.

What's going on in my tank!?
 
Maxine-R said:
I have just returned home after being out all day to find that two of my guppies seemed to have lost the use of their back ends .. they don't seem to be able to use thier tails to get around, what's that about??

Ammonia is at zero. NitrIte is at zero. PH is 7.6. NitrAte is 20-40.

I have one live plant (which I think is dying.

All other plants are artificial.

And I have a few rocks and caves.

It had a water changes yesterday.

What's going on in my tank!?
 
I will leave the guppy questio to the disease experts, of which I most certainly am not one.
 
Nitrate yesterday was assumed by me to be around 20 ppm,half the initial 40 ppm.  Are you saying today it is 40 ppm again?
 

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