N Itrates

[lucasluke]

getting fish today after doing fishless cycle and I am wondering how many nitrates is to high?

 

[fishprotector]

Mine are normally less than 20, but I think that anything upto 50 should be ok for most fish. Dont forget to test your tapwater though if water changes are not bringing them down. The levels might be high before the water goes in the tank.

 

[colleen0309]

This is a very debateable topic. Some say nitrates should be no higher than 20. Others say as long as it doesn't go over 100, everything is fine. I try to keep mine as low as possible. I live in a very rural area. In the spring, with rain runoff and spring planting going on, my nitrates can run as high as 80 out of the tap. Once the ground is frozen, my nitrates are 5 - 10.

 

[StandbySetting]

Depends on the species, for most Nitrate doesn't cause problems until you're past 400+ Mg/L, obviously lower is better as the full extent of the damage isn't fully known.