High nitrates in tap water

[Joshua Douch]

I have high nitrates in my tap water (40-80ppm). I have been looking into the options for reducing them.
I have plants etc in my tanks and have a diatoms issue in one tank and a brush algae issue in the other tank.

Is a nitrate reducing filter a good option? They seem relatively cheap although I can only find one which makes me think that surely if they were worth it more people would be making them. Although these need replacement cartridges which are expensive...

I have looked at RODI units but they just really confuse me. I would have no idea what to add to the water to make sure it is just as hard as before (my multies like hardwater) and they are quite expensive.

What about the nitrate removing pads or bacteria? I don't have a canister filter so I can't put in any filter media of my own, I only have a HOB filter which I can't fit anything in.

Any advice? I had my water company come and test my water so hopefully I should get the results soon... maybe they could do something about it?

 

[Jordan_Deus]

The only media I've heard of that grows bacteria in order to break down nitrates is biohome ultimate and the other biohome medias in this family. I haven't tested it myself so I can't vouch for it's usefulness. There's a YouTube channel that advertises it quite a lot, Pond Guru is the name I think.

Sent from my MX4 using Tapatalk

 

[Ch4rlie]

Thats pretty high readings of nitrate in tap water, which test kits are you using for these resuts?

In my own tap water I usually get around 30 - 40ppm nitrates but this is not a particular problem in my case as my tanks are fairly well planted and these plants will consume pretty much all of the nitrate and ferts I dose, so by the end of the week I will very rarely see anything over 5ppm, if that tbh.

The best natural methods I find that helps in reducing nitrate is two things, one is lots of plants, usually fast growing plants such as elodea, vallisernias and floating plants do best at consuming a lot of nutrients from the water column.
Second is doing large water changes at end of every week or several smaller water changes during the week usually reduces nitrate levels to more managable levels, especially if little or no plants in the tank, but in your case, it depends on what readings you normally have at end of week before water changes if water changes will improve or worsen the nitrate readings.

Nitrate removal chemicals and media I find tend to be more trouble than theyre worth but having had no expereince personally of using any nitrate removal products, I am not in a position to say if they actually work or not am afraid.

 

[Joshua Douch]

Those tap water readings are from test strips which I am unable to tell if its closer to 40 or to 80, though I shall be picking up a master test kit soon...

I have some vallisernias which I put in a few weeks ago and it seems to be slowly doing something.

I shall have a look at biohome.

Thanks.

 

[Ch4rlie]

These cheaper test strips can be very unreliable and give wildy different readings even on testing the same water.

API master test kit is a much more reliable testing kit provided the tests are carried out to the letter following the instructions.

So I would not worry too much until you get your master test kit and see what readings you get from that then take things from there.

 

[AbbeysDad]

It is not uncommon to have high nitrates in water, especially in agricultural areas whether from a well or a municipal water supply.
This is a subject I have learned a lot about since I learned years ago of high nitrates in my well water due to a 95 acre farmers field across the road.
I have a two pronged approach. 1) to keep tank nitrates low and 2) to use nitrate free source water for water changes.
1st, bio-medias (like Seachem Matrix/DeNitrate) that claim to accommodate anaerobic bacteria sound great but my extended testing did not produce positive results. Also although I think dedicated de-nitrate filters could work in some situations that would exclude high nitrates in source water, I think the high initial source water values on top of tank generated nitrates would be too great for most of them.

To minimize tank generated nitrates:
1) Switch to a sand substrate as gravel often becomes a nitrate factory.
2) Add Maylasian Trumpet Snails to manage substrate detritus and create plant usable nutrients.
3) Plants, plants, plants.
4) Keep stock levels low or at least appropriate to tank size as over stocking just adds 'fuel to the fire'.
5) Feed fish modestly as over feeding just creates excess waste.
6) Feed high quality fish foods as lower quality foods loaded with grains just creates unwanted waste.
7) Perform ROUTINE good tank/filter maintenance. The filter may remove detritus from the water, but it decays there into nitrogenous compounds.
8) You may see advantage in using a product like API's Nitra-Zorb in the filter (but this will require a HOB filter like Fluval's Aquaclear or Seachems new Tidal...or a canister filter.

Use nitrate free source water for water changes.
I initially opted for the now discontinued API Tap Water Filter but the the cartridge cost relative to use life was too high. I too had ruled out RO/RO-DI filters as my well water pressure is too low. I now use a DIY filter to remove nitrates from my well water. However, there are inline filters for nitrate removal available that merely require a faucet adapter - these are often used for refrigerators, ice makers and such.
Alternatively you could haul water from a nitrate free source, bit this can get old quick.

Nitrates in source water is a challenge, but there are ways to deal with it.
In any case it's important to keep tank nitrates low to provide the best environment for your fish.
Best wishes!

 

[Joshua Douch]

It is not uncommon to have high nitrates in water, especially in agricultural areas whether from a well or a municipal water supply.
This is a subject I have learned a lot about since I learned years ago of high nitrates in my well water due to a 95 acre farmers field across the road.
I have a two pronged approach. 1) to keep tank nitrates low and 2) to use nitrate free source water for water changes.
1st, bio-medias (like Seachem Matrix/DeNitrate) that claim to accommodate anaerobic bacteria sound great but my extended testing did not produce positive results. Also although I think dedicated de-nitrate filters could work in some situations that would exclude high nitrates in source water, I think the high initial source water values on top of tank generated nitrates would be too great for most of them.

To minimize tank generated nitrates:
1) Switch to a sand substrate as gravel often becomes a nitrate factory.
2) Add Maylasian Trumpet Snails to manage substrate detritus and create plant usable nutrients.
3) Plants, plants, plants.
4) Keep stock levels low or at least appropriate to tank size as over stocking just adds 'fuel to the fire'.
5) Feed fish modestly as over feeding just creates excess waste.
6) Feed high quality fish foods as lower quality foods loaded with grains just creates unwanted waste.
7) Perform ROUTINE good tank/filter maintenance. The filter may remove detritus from the water, but it decays there into nitrogenous compounds.
8) You may see advantage in using a product like API's Nitra-Zorb in the filter (but this will require a HOB filter like Fluval's Aquaclear or Seachems new Tidal...or a canister filter.

Use nitrate free source water for water changes.
I initially opted for the now discontinued API Tap Water Filter but the the cartridge cost relative to use life was too high. I too had ruled out RO/RO-DI filters as my well water pressure is too low. I now use a DIY filter to remove nitrates from my well water. However, there are inline filters for nitrate removal available that merely require a faucet adapter - these are often used for refrigerators, ice makers and such.
Alternatively you could haul water from a nitrate free source, bit this can get old quick.

Nitrates in source water is a challenge, but there are ways to deal with it.
In any case it's important to keep tank nitrates low to provide the best environment for your fish.
Best wishes!

Thank you so much for all the tips.
I had my water company test my water last week and the results came through today... My nitrates are at 36ppm... That shows how inaccurate the test strips can be, or maybe I just misjudged the colour.

I think I will look into the nitrate removing filter or maybe the filter media. The main reason I am trying to reduce the nitrates is to help get rid of the diatoms and brush algae.

Do you think I should be fertilizing my vallisernias? I only have 5 in there but I guess adding ferts will just make the nitrate problem worse?

Thanks.

 

[Ch4rlie]

36ppm nitrate, imho, is not much to worry about, as i mentioned earlier I get 30 - 40 ppm nitrate from my tap water and the plants quickly consume this.

So as long as you have some fast growing plants such as the vals you already have, plus perhaps having some floating plants will do a lot for consuming nitrates, you'll then have not a lot to worry about.

Adding ferts just for a few vals, well, not really strictly neccessary since there is some nitrate and minerals in the tank already simply from the tap water.

 

[Joshua Douch]

36ppm nitrate, imho, is not much to worry about, as i mentioned earlier I get 30 - 40 ppm nitrate from my tap water and the plants quickly consume this.

So as long as you have some fast growing plants such as the vals you already have, plus perhaps having some floating plants will do a lot for consuming nitrates, you'll then have not a lot to worry about.

Adding ferts just for a few vals, well, not really strictly neccessary since there is some nitrate and minerals in the tank already simply from the tap water.

Have any tips for keeping the vals alive and healthy? Some are going brown towards the end of the leaves and nitrates still not going down. Thanks.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Vals typically do get brown leaves when newly planted.

Some of mine do get brown tips on the leaves, I simply cut off these browning leaves, and i do add twice weekly dosages of ferts to keep nutrients in the water column for the plants.

What are your typical nitrate readings now at end of week just before doing weekly water changes?
If still at level of around 30ppm, not too much to worry about imho.

Once vals get established and start sending out runners with new plants, thats when they will really start to help reduce the nutrients and nitrates in the water column, takes a little while before this really happens, a couple of months say and when it does they can grow everywhere!
I regularly take out a bunch of lovely but perfectly healthy vals ranging from 1 to 2 feet long from my tanks simply because they grow in parts of the tank I do not want them in!

But if you want to reduce nitrate quickly, then the suggestion of getting some floating plants will help reduce nitrate as well as excess nutrients in the water pretty fast.

 

[Joshua Douch]

At the end of the week they are 40ppm.

What type of floating plant would you suggest?

I have ordered some filter media that claims to provide an anaerobic place for nitrate reducing bacteria. I am getting it for a tank that I plan to set up (just so I had some cycled media) but I'll let it cycle in the tank with the high nitrates to see if it reduces them and if its worth investing for that tank in the future.

 

[Ch4rlie]

To be entirely honest, I do not know of nitrate reducing bacteria, first I have heard of this. But thats not to say they do not exist, I'd suggest to do lots of research into this before going any further with this.

But nonestly, like you, i get around 40ppm nitrate from my tap water and I worried about this but after some time and in an established tank with a variety of plants, nitrate are never a worry for me.

Patience is a virtue when it comes to waiting for plants to grow and spread, takes time

I would suggest you avoid flaoting plants such as duckweed, causes more problems than it solves imho. Recommendations personally would be water lettuce is nice or perhaps silvinia natans both are easy enough to grow provided there is adequate lights and nutrients.

But there are certainly more types of flaoting plants, and just about any of them will help with nitrate levels, basically a personal preference of which you'd like to have really.

 

[AbbeysDad]

For a long time I tried to culture anaerobic bacteria to convert nitrates into nitrogen gas. I first bought an additional Aquaclear 70 HOB filter with an AC20 impeller for reduced flow (in addition to the AC70 I already had for my 60g) and filled it completely with a mixture of Seachem Matrix and Seachem DeNitrate (a pumice lava rock) I repeatedly seeded with Seachem Stability but I was not able to see any effective reduction in tank nitrates. I then made a DIY filter using a 4L (1 gallon) Lock & Lock canister with a Tom dosing pump. Again filled with Matrix and DeNitrate and seeded with Stability. Again after months I was never able to see any notable reduction in tank nitrates. I'm left with the belief that culturing anaerobic bacteria in the highly oxygenated FW aquarium is difficult if not impossible. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I came to believe it's very difficult.
I have heard that it's done with deep sand in SW and in theory, it should be possible in FW. Perhaps the key is the right environment and a viable starting culture???

 

[Byron]

To be entirely honest, I do not know of nitrate reducing bacteria, first I have heard of this. But thats not to say they do not exist, I'd suggest to do lots of research into this before going any further with this.

The bacteria responsible for the nitrification process of converting ammonia to nitrite to nitrate are termed nitrifying. But the nitrogen cycle is only complete (in aquaria) when it includes de-nitrification; in this stage, different bacteria that are termed denitrifying convert nitrate into nitrogen gas which is released back into the atmosphere. [Another component of the complete nitrogen cycle in nature but not present in our aquaria involves the “fixing” of atmospheric nitrogen by cyanobacteria and other life forms.] These various species of denitrifying bacteria live primarily in the substrate, though they can exist in the filter. AbbeysDad has described his attempts to encourage this though with little success, and his surmise that the FW aquarium is likely too well oxygenated is probably accurate. I believe from my research that most of the denitrification is done in the substrate. This is why it is important not to be rigorous in preventing "dead zones" under rocks, wood, etc.

These de-nitrifiers are heterotrophic bacteria, of which there are several species, that utilize nitrate by consuming the oxygen within nitrate and releasing nitrogen gas. They do not require free oxygen in the water so they are facultative anaerobes, and generally occur in what we term “dead spots,” which occur when water movement is stopped and thus no oxygen is available. These are the good guys among heterotrophs, since de-nitrification is important in a healthy aquarium. And they will naturally occur in the lower level of the substrate.

The greatest population of bacteria in a healthy balanced aquarium occurs in the substrate, not the filter. The floc or humic compost that collects in the substrate is the host for the biofilms; this is why the substrate in planted tanks should never be disturbed significantly, and many aquarists apply this to non-planted tanks as well.

In very general terms, aerobic nitrification takes place in the top 1-2 inches of the substrate; anaerobic de-nitrification takes place approximately 2-4 inches down, and anaerobic bacteria producing hydrogen sulfide occurs in substrates deeper than 3-4 inches. In all three cases, it will be deeper in coarse substrates (like pea gravel) and more shallow in finer substrates such as sand. These generalities will also vary with the presence of live plant roots and substrate “diggers” such as snails and worms, since these factors result in more oxygen being made available in the substrate, reducing anaerobic bacteria activity. An oxygen level in the substrate of as little as 1 ppm promotes nitrogen reduction rather than sulfur reduction (hydrogen sulfide).

Maintaining a substrate of fine gravel or sand no deeper than 4 inches, having live plants rooted in the substrate, and keeping Malaysian Livebearing snails are the best and safest methods of providing a healthy biological system for aerobic and denitrifying anaerobic bacteria.

[The above is an excerpt from an article I wrote on bacteria several years ago.]