Nitrate?

[m00ms]

hi all, 
 
what would you expect your nitrate level to be in your tap water ?
 
i shake life out of api test bottles before testing and its in date kit.i find that my tap water comes out dark orange almost red which makes it about 20/30 ppm
 
also whats safe limit for nitrate in tank ? doing water changes 35% about every 4/5 days and when i test old water nitrate its about 40 ppm,is that a safe level?
 
i am not new to tropical but am new to water testing.
 
tank is about 3 months old and ammonia shows as near to 0 as possible as using seachem prime.
 
nitrite is 0.
 
 

 

[fluttermoth]

Your results are, perhaps, a little on the high side but perfectly acceptable, for most fish.

 

[Shelster]

As long as you have lots of plants in your tank, that will also help

 

[frapadoodle]

Your results are, perhaps, a little on the high side but perfectly acceptable, for most fish.

The high side? Mine is 20ppm out of the tap.
Hits 40ppm in the tank.
I agree with okay for most fish.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

~40ppm out of the tap is normal on the UK south coast, which is why I do at least 50% water changes weekly on my tanks. There are exceptions, but 300ppm is talked about as being the lethal limit for many fish, although some can perish as far lower levels.

 

[the_lock_man]

~40ppm out of the tap is normal on the UK south coast,

 
Definitely. Mine is at a similar level, we live in the same region.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Those levels are just fine m00ms.
 
 
What's your stock?

 

[m00ms]

thanks for your replies and helping me to be sure my tank is safe.
 
like i said in first post i am not new to tropical but am new to water testing.
 
with one exception which was my fault i have had little amounts of fish loss over the years so not been going far wrong.
 
my main concern was/is for a green phantom pleco i have just brought which is little small.almost 2 weeks on and he seams happy and is eating well.