Nitrate

[Joemuz]

Is it vital to know about nitrate levels in your tank as i dont understand this and hear it quite a lot on this forum when people talk about whats in there tanks and ask things like "how big is your tank?" and "what temperature do you have keep it at and what is your Ph?".
I just dont understand it so i thought i better find out as its bugging me. Its the one thing i havnt understood yet and im hoping i will get the jist of it now.
Besides it will possibly give me a help in my chemistry or biology exams. lol. Thanks a lot Joemuz (clue-less as ever!)

 

[Majjie]

Fish produce ammonia as a waste product (so do decaying plants). Ammonia is toxic to your fish. Bacteria in your tank - on all the solid surfaces but mostly in the filter - convert that ammonia to nitrite. Nitrite is also toxic to fish - but not quite as bad as ammonia. Further bacteria in the tank convert nitrite to nitrate.

There is nothing in a normal fish tank that uses up a lot of nitrate. Plants will use it (but they actually prefer ammonia) and you need a very heavily planted tank to make a difference to nitrate levels with plants. Some anaerobic bacteria (ones that don't like Oxygen) would use it but most tanks are fairly well oxygenated so these bugs don't grow there.

End result is that nitrate builds up in the tank. Whether or not nitrate is toxic to fish is a hotly debated topic - some fish appear to be more tolerant than others. Most people try to keep nitrate levels below about 40 - 50 mg/litre. Old tanks where the water isn't changed very often may have levels of 200mg/litre or more.

To keep nitrate levels down to a reasonable level, most people make regular water changes in their tanks, typically 10 to 20% a week. In order to find out how quickly nitrate levels build up in your tank(s) you need to test for it. You also need to test your tap water - since some water straight from the tap already has 40 mg/litre of nitrate (or more) in it. Once you know how often the water needs to be changed to keep nitrate levels reasonable - you then don't need to test on a regular basis - only when you add more fish, or make other changes.

 

[beesnees]

take a look at this link

http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/cycling2.htm

 

[Joemuz]

Thanks a lot il have a good read through later.
Cheers Joemuz