Opinion On Safe Nitrate Level

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SharonC

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I have three tanks(55, 29, and 5gal.)...all cycled. There seems to be varying opinions on what the nitrates should be when you do a water change. I have been doing water changes every 10 days to two weeks because I feel the need to vac. gravel. My nitrates are between 5-10 at this point. I have been told that this is much too often!!! :hyper: Obviously, I don't want to be doing this unnecessarily!!! And I don't want to be stressing out the fish more often than necessary. :no: Opinions would be appreciated...Sorry for all the questions, but I started this hobby last Jan. and I have much to learn!!! :blush:
 
my nitrate is below 5 ppm (well the test says 0, but it's impossible for it to be 0 as there is constantly some produced I think)... :p but that's better than perfect
 
Nitrates are inevitable. 5-10ppm is good for a fish only system. Try adding some hornwort to your tank. This grows very fast and strips nitrates from you water. It floats which is a bonus if you don't have a good substrate. The futures green!!!!!
 
Mine are always around 5-10. Mind you, I have checked my tap water and there are nitrates in there too, so I guess there will always be some present in my tank water.
 
The only research paper I am aware of states anything below 100ppm in nitrates is fine for both short and long term.

Many people have 40ppm straight out of the tap, so anything under 60-80 should be no problems at all.
 
I have read info that says basically the same thing, which is why I think I may be in overkill mode in regards ro nitrates!
 
I have three tanks(55, 29, and 5gal.)...all cycled. There seems to be varying opinions on what the nitrates should be when you do a water change. I have been doing water changes every 10 days to two weeks because I feel the need to vac. gravel. My nitrates are between 5-10 at this point. I have been told that this is much too often!!! :hyper: Obviously, I don't want to be doing this unnecessarily!!! And I don't want to be stressing out the fish more often than necessary. :no: Opinions would be appreciated...Sorry for all the questions, but I started this hobby last Jan. and I have much to learn!!! :blush:

Generally it is recomended to do weekly water changes so you may not be doing your changes often enough.

There are more reasons to change water than just reducing nitrates, removing old aquarium water removes dissolved organic compounds which would otherwise be producing humic acids which break down the calcium buffers which keep the pH of the water stable. Water changes also remove airborn toxins which can enter the aquarium and may build up to dangerous levels over time, cigarette smoke cooking oil fumes and air freshener/de-odourant sprays all bond with water easily and are not removed by the filtration.

As for the nitrates anything below 50ppm is perfectly acceptable, as said by Andy many water supplies have nitrates of 40ppm straight from the tap and here in London it has been known for tapwater levels to rise as high as 70ppm during times of high usage. As long as yuour nitrates are not increasing to levels more than 10ppm above the level present in tapwater in the time between water changes then you have nothing to worry about.
 
My NIRATES are naturally high as the tap water has high nitrates. to begin with my nitrates were 50ppm after a 25% water change. now it is down to 5ppm but occasionally there is a spike in the tap water
 
Nitrates are no where near as toxic as nitrites or ammonia, only in very excessive levels do they pose a risk to fishes health. However i think that a fishes tolerance of nitrates depends a lot on the type of fish and how "fragile" or sensitive it is in general to water quality issues. Danio's and goldfish for example seem to be pretty hardy when it comes to water quality, while a fish like an elephant nose fish is an aweful lot more sensitive- generally speaking though, 40 or lower nitrates is safe for pretty much all commonly sold freshwater fish.

As CFC says though there are many reasons why you should do once weekly water changes other than to keep things nitrate levels in check.

ediy: the only time you will ever achieve 0 nitrates in an aquarium is either in a very planted tank, or a cycling one.
 
my nitrates were between 10 - 20 today but its due a water change, i was told that the nitrates have to be below 5 at all times this was said by my LFS. My clown loach flick when the nitrates are at the levelmine is at the mo.
 

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