Nitrates.... Low?

[jenny6165]

i did a water test today, and im not sure if its ok...

ammonia 0ppm
nitrites 0ppm
nitrAtes between 0-10ppm (most likely 0)
ph about 7.5ppm

should the nitrates be that low? ive done the test 3 times now to make sure and it keeps comin up like that. when i tested it 2 weeks ago it was 40ppm

 

[Torrean]

Have you done water changes? Do you have live plants?

 

[jenny6165]

yeh ive done daily water changes and i have about 5 live plants.
im going to stop the water changes being so regular now and just do one aweek,

but is 0ppm nitrAtes ok?

 

[newfishaddict]

yeh ive done daily water changes and i have about 5 live plants.
im going to stop the water changes being so regular now and just do one aweek,

but is 0ppm nitrAtes ok?

Hi there, is this a new tank? being cycled? if so , the cycle is done with amm and nitrite at 0.

0ppm nitrate is not a good thing for your plants and tank. You want to keep your nitrate at about 10ppm for the plants sake. How deep is you tank? what type and how much lighting do you have? Any direcdt sun on the tank? any indirect sunlight on tank?

In my tanks with plants growing quickly I need to add Nitrate (potasium nitrate) to the water every few days. With doing water changes every 4 days for my discus, I need to add even more nitrate....

0ppm nitrate can also encourage the growth of some types of algae, mainly becuase you plants wont grow well in these conditions and the plants then can "out compete" (allopathy) the algae.

cheers

 

[jenny6165]

yes its a new tank. well, ive had it about 4 weeks and it kinda did a fish cycle.
do i need to add nitrate then? or will it rise itself if i dont do as many water changes.

is it bad for the fish if there are no nitrates

 

[Liam]

Its fine for the fish not having nitrates, weekly water changes should be fine now if the tank is cycled fully. Some nitrate is good for the plants but unless you have a lot of them and want to get into planted tanks there is no need to add nitrates. The tests can be pretty inaccurate for nitrate anyway so I wouldnt trust them much.

 

[newfishaddict]

Yes I agree about the accuracy of tests however you can calibrate your own tests to improve accuracy and precision.

Test your tap water for nitrates. Then find out from your water company what the nitrates were in their lab tests. You can use this a baseline. Then, I used my potassium nitrate to make solutions of known nitrate concentration and did tests on these known "standards" and then I could tell what colors corresponded to what ppm. (of coarse I couldn’t compensate for how pH and other substances will effect the test results but these effects should be minimal in most cases).

You will only need to add nitrate if your plants are growing so fast that the levels remain low; with co2 added this is usually the case. Also, if you tank is very understocked you might need to add nitrates for your plants sake.

Remember nitrates are only good for your plants. Having low nitrates is a good thing for your fish. So if you want you plants to grow well and your fish to be well you will need to maintain nitrates about 10ppm.

Cheers