theory vs reality. i dont know which one to follow.

[GamerChick5567]

If you are worried about your floating plants like duckweed or whatever, maybe you can make a plastic container to separate them in? Like drill holes in a food safe container and then attach it with a suction cup to the side? Worth a shot. Also pothos lol get a bunch. Lucky bamboo or other dracena species could work with the leaves out of the water. I even have mint in my hob filter, it's growing enough to use in cooking and tea haha.

 

[Coryloach]

but this stupid nitrate is the only thing that does not make sense to me at all

Nitrate is only an issue for fish when the level in the tank is a result of the ammonia and nitrite produced in a tank. Water deterioration happens due to the chemical processes involved in nitrification, oxygen depletion, etc...Nitrate is a byproduct of something worse, and as such is an indication that those "worse" things were present in high levels in the tank in the first place, and a great deal of oxygen was "stolen" from the health of your fish.

Nitrate added to the tank in the form of fertilisers or via tap water will have no negative impact on your fish because nitrate on its own is hardly toxic, for most fish the tolerance levels are in the hundreds and thousands of ppm. Open a scientific paper and read it well. The low 5-10ppm levels suggested are the extreme minimum required for creatures you've never kept in your tank. For majority of fish the tolerance is so high, one can never reach it even with slacking on maintenance. But as I said, it is only dangerous if it is produced in your own tank...So I'd ignore your tap water level of nitrates completely and stop worrying about it.

 

[giar]

Nitrate is only an issue for fish when the level in the tank is a result of the ammonia and nitrite produced in a tank. Water deterioration happens due to the chemical processes involved in nitrification, oxygen depletion, etc...Nitrate is a byproduct of something worse, and as such is an indication that those "worse" things were present in high levels in the tank in the first place, and a great deal of oxygen was "stolen" from the health of your fish.

Nitrate added to the tank in the form of fertilisers or via tap water will have no negative impact on your fish because nitrate on its own is hardly toxic, for most fish the tolerance levels are in the hundreds and thousands of ppm. Open a scientific paper and read it well. The low 5-10ppm levels suggested are the extreme minimum required for creatures you've never kept in your tank. For majority of fish the tolerance is so high, one can never reach it even with slacking on maintenance. But as I said, it is only dangerous if it is produced in your own tank...So I'd ignore your tap water level of nitrates completely and stop worrying about it.

i just did another wc early this morning.. after leaving the tap water in a container, i put an old internal filter and ran it for about half a day.. it supprised me that the PH went to an extreme change from 6.2 yesterday 3pm to 7.9 this morning 8am. ammonia and nitrate was still as expected, 0.25 and 40ppm.

my tank ph before water change was about 7.3.. i did about 40% wc and after 1 hour later i tested the PH it reads 7.2.. just now (3hours later) i tested the ph again it still reads 7.2... i have no idea why it ended up like that, but it is much better than my previous wc a couple days ago when i filled the tap directly to the tank.

as for nitrates, i just put duckweeds in the tank last night and it looks just so fked up and it sticks everywhere.. i hate the look of my tank now.. but i think its the only way out at this moment..

my nitrate is about 100ppm and above but not yet 160ppm based on api test kit.. so i dont think i should ignore it tho..

 

[Hendre]

duanes

 

[giar]

If you are worried about your floating plants like duckweed or whatever, maybe you can make a plastic container to separate them in? Like drill holes in a food safe container and then attach it with a suction cup to the side? Worth a shot. Also pothos lol get a bunch. Lucky bamboo or other dracena species could work with the leaves out of the water. I even have mint in my hob filter, it's growing enough to use in cooking and tea haha.

yeah i decided to put the duckweed in the tank yesterday.. i hate the look and how it sticks everywhere.. but i gotta do what i gotta do lol.. perhaps ill get used to it sooner or later, or do what u suggested with the food safe container or perhaps use nets so it wont stick and float everywhere

 

[Fat Homer]

^No offense but you should have gone with water lettuce / frogbit or some other floating plant, coz i did duckweed once, and said never ever again!!!

The stuff clogs filters and duplicates extremely rapidly, making removal a kind of P.I.T.A if you ask me...

Basically once its in, its almost impossible to completely remove..,

 

[Coryloach]

it supprised me that the PH went to an extreme change from 6.2 yesterday 3pm to 7.9 this morning 8am.

The difference is due to co2 in the tap water. My ph is 6.6 out of the tap and 7.4 when settles(in the tank). I've been using python for water changes for years, never aged water. Ph change due to CO2 in water has no effect on any other stats such as Kh, GH, TDS and and as such does not affect fish whatsoever....What I would be worried about is that when settled, your tap Ph is 7.9 and tank is 7.2 which means there's enough organics and large nitrification exhausting the Kh, which in turn lowers the Ph down....This translates to deteriorating water quality....unless you measured the Ph wrong in the first place...

my nitrate is about 100ppm and above but not yet 160ppm based on api test kit.. so i dont think i should ignore it tho..

You said your tap water has 40ppm....and your tank is between 100-160ppm. The difference is due to high bioload...not sufficient water changes...As I said, its the nitrate produced in the tank one should worry about as the multiple chemical processes involved in nitrification and decomposition are the ones affecting fish...As such, nitrate removing media is useless to prevent issues caused by these. Plants are best but not because they remove nitrates but because they remove ammonia before bacteria gets the chance to use it. When ammonia is scarce, plants will take nitrite and nitrate as nitrogen source but reduce it down to ammonia inside their tissues, which takes up a lot more energy from the plant. Plants love ammonia....That's why they are essential in a healthy tank as plant ammonia removal does not produce harmful byproducts.

The best way to track water quality is a TDS meter. They cost 20 bucks and last for years. It takes seconds to test your water. One should maintain the tank's water TDS the same as the tap. In a well maintained tank you won't see more than 10-30ppm increase in TDS between water changes, and normally a lot less. TDS meters test conductivity, any minerals increase(in the form of ions) in the water will play a role, including but not just nitrates. ...Ph on its own is meaningless as the origin of the Ph change is what matters. Nitrate tests are totally unreliable. Ammonia and nitrite tests are ok for when starting up a tank but its beyond me why would one need those for an established tank, unless we're talking consistent overstocking.

 

[giar]

What I would be worried about is that when settled, your tap Ph is 7.9 and tank is 7.2 which means there's enough organics and large nitrification exhausting the Kh, which in turn lowers the Ph down....This translates to deteriorating water quality....unless you measured the Ph wrong in the first place...
.

well i think thats what happened? i let the tap water settle more or less 15 hours with internal filter running, the ph went from 6.2 and it settles at 7.9? but when it mixes with the tank water it settles at 7.2, which gives my tank about the same ph before and after wc.. so is this ok or not?

 

[Coryloach]

which gives my tank about the same ph before and after wc.. so is this ok or not?

Just do another test with your tap water, let it sit in a clean glass over night (without the pump because you've probably added organics and bacteria via the media) You can use a clean airstone instead or nothing, just let it sit...

The tap and tank water after the tap water has de-gassed should be identical and that same ph in a healthy tank will stay rock solid.

 

[giar]

Just do another test with your tap water, let it sit in a clean glass over night (without the pump because you've probably added organics and bacteria via the media) You can use a clean airstone instead or nothing, just let it sit...

The tap and tank water after the tap water has de-gassed should be identical and that same ph in a healthy tank will stay rock solid.

yeah i already did a couple days ago. just by letting it seat 24 hours with no disturbances or whatsoever in a bottle it stays at around 7.4.. so this number is my tap real ph?

for the internal filter that i use i just use new sponge and used ceramic ring for the media tho