Tap Water Nitrate Is 80ppm!

Daveptkd

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hi all,

my tap water nitrate is 80!!! i'm using a Nitra-Zorb bag in my filter, and now have a tank level of 20, BUT, won't my water changes raise the level? is the nitra-zorb bag good enough to continuously lower nitrate? is there anything to reduce my tap nitrate before I add it?

many thanks

Dave
 
upgrade your lighting buy or make a co2 unit and massivly plant your tank. That should help keep your nitrates under control. Keep in mind some fish won't tolerate plants because they like to dig. You can work around this by using plants that attach to bogwood and using lot's of floating plants like duckweed and elodea densa. Good luck.
 
hi all,

my tap water nitrate is 80!!! i'm using a Nitra-Zorb bag in my filter, and now have a tank level of 20, BUT, won't my water changes raise the level? is the nitra-zorb bag good enough to continuously lower nitrate? is there anything to reduce my tap nitrate before I add it?

many thanks

Dave

I'd be inclined to refer that to your water company - should you be drinking that?
 
Well 80ppm won't kill you, but I agree with going to the water company.

Another option is to buy an RO unit which will stip all the crap out of the water for you.
 
hhmmmm, I feel a letter coming on.

I should add, that my tank Nitrate is 20 (due to nitra-zorb bag in filter!!).

i'll look into an RO unit, I heard they were dear :/
thanks

Dave
 
hhmmmm, I feel a letter coming on.

I should add, that my tank Nitrate is 20 (due to nitra-zorb bag in filter!!).

i'll look into an RO unit, I heard they were dear :/
thanks

Dave

RO units can be fairly expensive, but they are a very handy accessory for all kinds of tanks and not just ones with nitrate issues- many fish breeders trying to breed some of the more difficult to breed fish use them as the extra pure water the RO unit/filter produces can spur even the most fussy fish to breed, such clean/pure water is good for fishes health in general and has many other uses/benefets too.

Plants as before mentioned are the other option and generally much cheaper, there's a whole range of plants though and some which need a lot of maintance/special conditions to grow well while others which are very hardy and will grow in pretty much any tank with no help at all. Plants naturally take up nitrates as part of a basic natural ecosystem, they can also look very good IMO :) .
Plants can also have other benefets themselves other than just taking up nitrates, they can help prevent unwanted algae growth in tanks and can help add natural cover/hiding places for fish and thus help create a more stress-free happy tank environment for the fish :thumbs: .
Check out the plant section on the forum if you decide to consider the plant option of lowering your nitrates, i'm sure the people or pinned articles/stickys there will be able to help you find the plants that are most suited to your tank/fish environment and tank maintanence time :good: .
 
hhmmmm, I feel a letter coming on.

I should add, that my tank Nitrate is 20 (due to nitra-zorb bag in filter!!).

i'll look into an RO unit, I heard they were dear :/
thanks

Dave
RO units cost a fortune and are slow + highly inefficient. Something like 1litre of processed water per day with 10 litres wasted. U also need to add stuff back in to it afterwards. I reckon waste of time personally.

Someone on here mentioned using water from a water butt outside. Rain water will contain less of the crap thats in your tap water. My only worried would be some sort of pollution. Do search in here about it or postr a question as Id also be interested.
 
Rain water may have a different Ph to the Ph of the water in the tank, so putting it in may cause ph fluctuations. I've heard of people using well water though without too many issues, but pollution may definately be an issues especially with rain water (ever seen the smog in some of the cities in america or the polution in london? rain water'll probably be ok if you are in the country though, i dunno..).
I've seen RO filters much more efficient than though. Personally i would go for plants though for lowering nitrates, i just think they look nice in tanks and the fish seem to enjoy having them around too.
 
RO units cost a fortune and are slow + highly inefficient. Something like 1litre of processed water per day with 10 litres wasted. U also need to add stuff back in to it afterwards. I reckon waste of time personally.

Mine cost be about £45.

Some may say inefficient, some would say doing a good job. As long as you're not on a water meter, what's the problem?

I use a 50/50 mix of RO / tap water in my FW tank so no need for additives and marine salt for my SW tank which replaces all trace elements needed.

Essential IMO.
 

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