Nitrate Level

[PrettyDiscus]

well my fish are all constipated expect my plec and i only feed them every other day. does that count as to why i have 0 nitrates? just a thought. lol

 

[sparklefuzz]

well my fish are all constipated expect my plec and i only feed them every other day. does that count as to why i have 0 nitrates? just a thought. lol

I don't think the best of tanks has 0 nitrates. I'd buy a new test kit if I were you. Even your tapwater *should* have nitrates, so it doesn't make sense...

why are all your fish constipated?!?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i have a tank with 0 nitrates, 8g fairly heavily planted with just a betta in, never had a nitrate reading of more than 5, generally comes up as 0.

as CFC said nitrate tests are notoriously unreliable. I've found the API ones to be the best from what I've used..... but I do treat the results as a guideline not as the actual amount. v rarely test for it anyway, providing your tank is cycled and reasonably stocked and you do weekly water changes you should never have a problem with them.

 

[PrettyDiscus]

i wanted to know the true readings for when i keep Discus. I supposed a low nitrate level is good because they are senitive to nitrates. Although when i used to test my coldwater tank it was only 5g and had two goldies in it!!!! big mistake. i knew the ammonia levels would be high and it came up about 5 and the water quality was really bad. So im not sure if they are reliable or not. how are you supposed to know the true readings of your tank if you cannot really on certain test kits?

 

[AlphaBetta]

i have a test tube kit.
it says freshwater master test kit

Sounds like the API kits.

I have a couple of their nitrate test kits and wouldn't trust them further than my frogfish can spit them. I took two samples from my 6x2x2 FW and tested them both at the same time. One read 160ppm and one read 0ppm. Similarly, they tell me that I have 160ppm in my RO plus salt water (before putting it in my marine tanks) and that my water changes are adding nitrate to my systems that have less nitrate in them than pure water.

RO doesn't remove nitrate from tap water so if your tap indeed has nitrates the test kit will confirm it.

 

[kanzaris]

i have a test tube kit.
it says freshwater master test kit

Sounds like the API kits.

I have a couple of their nitrate test kits and wouldn't trust them further than my frogfish can spit them. I took two samples from my 6x2x2 FW and tested them both at the same time. One read 160ppm and one read 0ppm. Similarly, they tell me that I have 160ppm in my RO plus salt water (before putting it in my marine tanks) and that my water changes are adding nitrate to my systems that have less nitrate in them than pure water.

RO doesn't remove nitrate from tap water so if your tap indeed has nitrates the test kit will confirm it.

Hi AlphaBetta

Just bought a RO Filter as my Tap Water has about 40 mg/l nitrate. I was told by my husband's cousin who has kept Marine Fish for about 7 years and by Maidenhead Aquatics that an RO Filter will take out absolutely everything out of the Tap Water all the bad stuff & all the good stuff that’s why you will have to add minerals as it takes out the good stuff as well.

Sabby

 

[CFC]

Oh for gods sake dont start him off again or i'll have to ban him again

 

[AlphaBetta]

Hi AlphaBetta

Just bought a RO Filter as my Tap Water has about 40 mg/l nitrate. I was told by my husband's cousin who has kept Marine Fish for about 7 years and by Maidenhead Aquatics that an RO Filter will take out absolutely everything out of the Tap Water all the bad stuff & all the good stuff that’s why you will have to add minerals as it takes out the good stuff as well.

Sabby

You're right I was thinking of nitrite and ammonia which RO units do not remove, still it doesn't remove ALL of it. I believe only DI can remove all nitrates, RO can only remove around 95-98% nitrate. In other words if your tap is very high in nitrates the test kit will register for nitrates.