The local Pet Smart tested my tank water and tap water for me. Tank water tested at 0 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 15 Nitrate 7 ph. The tap water tested the same except that the ph was a little higher at 7.2. Kinda weird. My API master test kit is not reliable with the Nitrate testing. Going back to the strip tests.
Tap water is testing Nitrate at 40ppm
- Thread starter Silencio
- Start date
The most common error in testing, is caused by not rinsing glassware.
And erroneous results are easily detected by using known standards to compare.
We are dealing in ppm, and even the slightest contamination from a previous sample can cause an incorrect reading.
As a chemist I found unless test tubes are not thoroughly rinsed at least 3 times with DI water between each test, errors are common.
And we used glass in the lab, that is acid washed to remove any trace of residue.
Many of the aquarium test kits use plastic tubes which easily get inundated with nitrate and/or other residue, making them unreliable after only a few uses.
You can prevent this by getting DI water from the grocery store, and thoroughly rinsing 3 times after each test, and once before doing a new test.
Replacing the cheap plastic tubes with a similar glass one also helps, but rinsing those are equally important.
As stated above, the MCL for nitrates in drinking water in the US is 10ppm.
If you are on a public water system, over 10ppm would put the company in noncompliance, and I would suspect sloppy testing methods, before a reading over 10ppm from the water provided in the tap.
If you are on a well, located in a rural area, that may be a different story.
And erroneous results are easily detected by using known standards to compare.
We are dealing in ppm, and even the slightest contamination from a previous sample can cause an incorrect reading.
As a chemist I found unless test tubes are not thoroughly rinsed at least 3 times with DI water between each test, errors are common.
And we used glass in the lab, that is acid washed to remove any trace of residue.
Many of the aquarium test kits use plastic tubes which easily get inundated with nitrate and/or other residue, making them unreliable after only a few uses.
You can prevent this by getting DI water from the grocery store, and thoroughly rinsing 3 times after each test, and once before doing a new test.
Replacing the cheap plastic tubes with a similar glass one also helps, but rinsing those are equally important.
As stated above, the MCL for nitrates in drinking water in the US is 10ppm.
If you are on a public water system, over 10ppm would put the company in noncompliance, and I would suspect sloppy testing methods, before a reading over 10ppm from the water provided in the tap.
If you are on a well, located in a rural area, that may be a different story.
Wrong
It's 10 ppm nitrogen. When you do the math that comes out as 44 ppm nitrate.
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HarleyK is right, the US EPA standard MCL for nitrate in drinking water is 10ppm.
The reason being, a syndrome called methemoglobinemia can occur, and be very serious in children under 2 years of age that drink water with 10ppm or over.
Now think about a fish that in nature lives in water with normally <1ppm, is stuck in a tank with >20ppm or more. I might consider that tank, a toxic soup.
The reason being, a syndrome called methemoglobinemia can occur, and be very serious in children under 2 years of age that drink water with 10ppm or over.
Now think about a fish that in nature lives in water with normally <1ppm, is stuck in a tank with >20ppm or more. I might consider that tank, a toxic soup.
I am not sure if I'd call it toxic. Depends on species and natural habitat. Some fish live in residual puddles or rice fields. I'd be curious to see those water parameters. Others live in pristine creeks. It all depends...
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Well what about getting my tank water at ZERO nitrate if my tap water is at 10 or 15 ppm. How do I accomplish this. If the tap water I'm adding is already bad. What I'm doing is adding 1ml prime and bacteria per 5 gallons of water and changing 25 gallons every 3 days in an 150 gallon tank. Is this ok? Fish are doing fine. I'm new to this hobby and I've already messed up by buying 5 stunted Discus from a local fish store. I want to buy 5 more from a breeder online but I want to make sure my water params and what I'm doing for care is correct.
you wont get nitrates to zero in a tank with fish, and starting with those nitrates in your tap doesn't help- but it doesn't mean you can't have healthy tanks either.
Check out the pothos thread info for reducing nitrates.
Also look into SeaChem Purigen in your filtration.
http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/nitrate.cfm
"The MCLG for nitrate is 10 mg/L or 10 ppm." It says Nitrate, not nitrogen. Since this is an EPA website, I'll assume the EPA knows the difference when it posts information.
Not sure what we are disagreeing on. 40 PPM is not an acceptable standard for nitrates in the US for drinking water. Any water at that level is in violation of EPA standards.
My point exactly
If the op or even his LFS tests his municipal "tap" water, and the result is over 10ppm nitrate, his test is wrong, or the testing glassware is contaminated, or the method is sloppy.
No municipal water system in the US would send out water over the EPA regulated MCL, the fines and liability would put them in deep sh/t.
If the op or even his LFS tests his municipal "tap" water, and the result is over 10ppm nitrate, his test is wrong, or the testing glassware is contaminated, or the method is sloppy.
No municipal water system in the US would send out water over the EPA regulated MCL, the fines and liability would put them in deep sh/t.
