Nitrates In Tap Water.

[TheRedDarren]

Hi,
what is an acceptable ppm for nitrate? Mine is currently at approx 30ppm, and wont go lower than 5 as my tap water has 5 ppm.
Should I buy a filter supplement to try and get it down to 0? Are there any side effects of using a nitrate removing media?

 

[fluttermoth]

Nitrate is only a problem when it gets to very high levels (last time I tested the water from my LFS it was 160pm!); 30ppm is perfectly acceptable; some people have more than that in their tap (the legal limit in the UK is 50ppm, I believe).

You don't need to do anything.

 

[TheRedDarren]

Ok thanks mate

 

[Overload]

Nitrate is only a problem when it gets to very high levels (last time I tested the water from my LFS it was 160pm!); 30ppm is perfectly acceptable; some people have more than that in their tap (the legal limit in the UK is 50ppm, I believe).

You don't need to do anything.

Ok thanks mate

I would kill for 5ppm in my tap water, its pretty much 40ppm+

 

[Mowbz]

I would kill for 5ppm in my tap water, its pretty much 40ppm+

Me too, i get 40+ppm from mine too Joys of living near London i think!

 

[fluttermoth]

Last time I tested my tap water it was as near to zero as makes no difference

Honestly though, nitrate of anything under 100ppm shouldn't be a worry, unless you're keeping marines, wild caught discus or other very sensitive fish.

 

[TheRedDarren]

Brilliant thanks guys.
London tapwater eh? Don't they clean the Thames then?? If you want I can can some some of my water! You pay postage though.

 

[Overload]

Brilliant thanks guys.
London tapwater eh? Don't they clean the Thames then?? If you want I can can some some of my water! You pay postage though.

lol would probably be cheaper to just connect a couple of hundred miles of hosepipe!

 

[KittyKat]

what is an acceptable ppm for nitrate? Mine is currently at approx 30ppm, and wont go lower than 5 as my tap water has 5 ppm.

The lower the better, always. There isn't an exact cut off point for the max (as it varies from species to species and as far as I know the only research done into it compared "lots" to "none"), but I usually recommend 25 ppm. It's still not something worth spending *that* much time worrying about. If you are really concerned, add more plants to the tank, they'll use up nitrate.

Should I buy a filter supplement to try and get it down to 0? Are there any side effects of using a nitrate removing media?

I recommend against. Nitrate removing media maybe might also remove ammonia and nitrite, which would starve the filter, making you dependant on the media.