Nitrates safe for livestock?

[JazzyV]

Would love to hear from others on this topic. I’ve came across many in the last few years of my research stating nitrate is not bad for fish but I find it hard to be okay with nitrate levels. Am I wrong? while others are the opposed force stating nitrates is not good for fish at high levels..as they compare it to a smoky room your fish is in. Takes me a long time to build up nitrates to show 5 ppm. Even then I’m not comfortable so I water change it out. I know to grow lush plants some nitrate levels would be nice. But I really don’t know if 20ppm is safe for fish so I rather not. I don’t feel like it is… watching my fish makes me uncomfortable..I can’t say for sure they were aggravated ..could just be me uneasy with the unknown so I wc it out. What’s your take on nitrates? Am I wrong for water changing out 5ppm nitrates? I’m at a point where I’ve decided to forgo it and do plant only until I found this forum to ask questions I don’t know..is that too rash of a decision? Please discuss. Thank you

 

[Byron]

There is increasing evidence that nitrates are dangerous to all freshwater tropical fish. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all poisonous; the fish species, the level of nitrate, and the exposure time all factor in. At the very least, nitrates do slowly weaken a fish.

Nitrate in any freshwater aquarium should be as low as possible. Overstocking, overfeeding, insufficient water changes, insufficient filter cleaning, organic buildup in the substrate...all these will contribute to higher nitrate levels. Live aquatic plants help to keep nitrates low--not by using nitrate (they do not), but by being faster at taking up ammonia/ammonium than the nitrifiers so there is significantly less nitrite and thus less nitrate.

The other thing is once you get the nitrates down--and 20ppm is as high as you want them, and preferably closer to zero--they should remain there and never rise. If nitrate increases from one water change to the next, there is something wrong with the biological system.

 

[JazzyV]

Thank you Sir

 

[Naughts]

Nitrates are not the only reason for a water change.
There are many things that build up that we don't test for/ can't measure, such as hormones - alermones, pheromones and growth inhibitors.
Regular (I recommend weekly) partial water changes keep the parameters (pH, GH) in check and prevent them from drifting away from that of the source water.
This is important in emergencies like a toxin in the water because you can safely do a large water change without shocking the fish. Fresh water also replenishes nutrients and minerals for the plants and fish, and prevents additives or chemicals from accumulating.

 

[JazzyV]

Yes, I agree. I change a lil bit daily via vacuum. I think of it as kinda like scooping the litter box or walking the dog and I don’t want to be behind ‍♀ ..if I get sick or busy I’m safe bc I aim to do it daily so that puts me a good 4-6 days per week. Plus my tap runs 8-10 ph so if it catches me on any day it’s no biggie so I don’t get swings.

I think I’m gonna run high tech on plants only and run 20-30 ppm with liquid fert. to achieve it. No livestock. RO cut with tap 50%.