Water Stats For My Planted Tank

[rhian]

Hello

I have just tested my aquarium water with the more accurate API master test kit - my plants are looking very healthy, but I was concerned after 2 fish died (not at the same time, a week apart)

Ammonia - 0 (perhaps 0.25 ppm, the colour isn't as dark)
Nitrate - 20 (up to 40 ppm, again the colour is not as dark)
Nitrite - 0

I understand that feeding my plants with TPN+ could be responsible for the nitrate readings, but I wanted to ask if the other reasings are ok? I feed the plants once a week, and the fish every other day so should I cut back the TPN+ or use the micronutrient formula instead?

Many thanks in advance

(my tank is 90L, with 4 lemon tetra, 2 platy, 5 guppy & 3 otocinclus all juvenile, I started thr tank the end of june and have added the fish gradually)

 

[RadaR]

Well, you shouldnt see any ammonia. However it might be a false reading because of the TPN+. Do some more regular water changes and make sure to dose your nutrients. If you still see some ammonia then it mmust be a false reading.

Overdosing nutrients doesnt kill fish. So I'd consider another reason for the fish death.

 

[rhian]

Thanks Radar, it's difficult to tell whether there was a slight tinge of the next colour in the chart

I did wonder about the fish, as I went to the shop a few days after I had my guppies, and there were a few upside down ones in their tanks as well, I hope it's not a disease! my platy died a week later - both fish looked ok right up until I found them upside down at the bottom of my tank.

the nitrates are ok though?

I do a 10% water change a week - I'll keep up with the plant feeding thanks

 

[RadaR]

You're nitrates are nothing to worry about.
Even on tanks with sensetive fish, you can dose over 60ppm of nitrate with no problems.
With regards to inorganic nitrate, none of us have even come close to a concentrations that may be deemed dangerous. A test was done using inorganic nitrate, and it showed that fish showed signs of ill health at 400ppm (yes, that's right, 400ppm) and shrimp showed signs at 120ppm.

Letting organic nitrate concentrations rise up to large levels is a different matter entirely. A lot goes on to convert ammonia to nitrite and then nitrate. The toxicity of organically derived nitrate (fish waste, food decay, detritus and so forth) is not due to the nitrate itself, it's really due to the process of nitrification and of the toxic compounds that the NO3 starts off as.

 

[ian]

where's the thread with Tom Barr's discus tank, RadaR? That was the tank that he dosed large amounts of Nitrates wasn't it.

 

[RadaR]

where's the thread with Tom Barr's discus tank, RadaR? That was the tank that he dosed large amounts of Nitrates wasn't it.

Here you go.
The tank specs are on page 2.

 

[ian]

saved in faves for future refs. cheers.

 

[rhian]

thanks for your help, its food to know that my water is ok

out of interests, how can I tell if it is inorganic or organic nitrate - sorry if that sound like a silly question!

is it organic nitrate if I have signs of nitrites or ammonia present as well? ammonia that hasn't broken down yet?

 

[RadaR]

thanks for your help, its food to know that my water is ok

out of interests, how can I tell if it is inorganic or organic nitrate - sorry if that sound like a silly question!

is it organic nitrate if I have signs of nitrites or ammonia present as well? ammonia that hasn't broken down yet?

You wont need to worry about the organic nitrate/oragnic waste problem. You are doing water changes and this completely solves the problem. Remember, its not the organic nitrate itself that's the problem, but rather the process at creating it.

It's worth mentioning that nitrate test kits are very unreliable. If you do have any nitrate, it's probably inorganic. Why? Because if you didnt dose the nitrates then your plants would run out of NO3 because they have already used the organic nitrate that was in the tank. You're having to dose to get the levels back up.

 

[rhian]

thanks for your help Radar - sorry just noticed all my dyslexic spelling mistakes in my last post!!