Adding Fuel to the Nitrate Debate: Why Water Changes DONT Reduce Nitrates

[Amphilophus88]

True,, it always stablises at some point, because let's say your nitrates are 30 and increase with 10 a week and you change 50% every week it's like (assuming your tap water has no nitrates)
30 > after water change 15
after a week: 25 > after water change 12,5

 

[sushiray]

let me blow this scientific mathematical biological conclusions out of the "water"!! I was running 40units down to 5units & now zero as of last week. doing daily W/C started at 15-20% now 30-40%. no plants, just bare bottom 72g BF 15 discus tank AC110 Fluval204 & sponge filter. feeding 3-4x's daily. ph6.6 AM/NI = 0

edit:

API master test kit

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

let me blow this scientific mathematical biological conclusions out of the "water"!! I was running 40units down to 5units & now zero as of last week. doing daily W/C started at 15-20% now 30-40%. no plants, just bare bottom 72g BF 15 discus tank AC110 Fluval204 & sponge filter. feeding 3-4x's daily. ph6.6 AM/NI = 0

edit:

API master test kit

Sushi

I don't think I even agree with the original debate but, in your case you were not letting the nitrate build any with daily water changes.

You were removing alot more then could be produced.

This would be like saying I cracked the myth because I did a 100% water change with reverse osmosis water. And after that i checked any there was no nitrates.

 

[mfgl]

My previous 55 gallon inhabitants were a pair of Common Oscars. I got them when they were under 2 inches, I kept them in there till they were over 12 inches. (about 18 months) I fed them heavily. If lucky I changed about 5 gallons per month when vacuuming the gravel. I only changed the filters about every 3 months. They seemed healthy to me, grew fast, vivid colors, no gasping or anything. Before that was about 9 African cichlids, a rhino pleco, and a channel cat. even less, water and filter changes, they all seemed healthy and bright....before that a 14 inch black arrowana (had an egg sack when I got it) and a 10inch peacock Bass (about 2 inches when i got it. Same deal vaccum the gravel once a month or so, filters every few months. Never tested the water, All these fish seemed healthy and I never once lost a fish. Maybe none of this matters so much.

 

[sushiray]

My previous 55 gallon inhabitants were a pair of Common Oscars. I got them when they were under 2 inches, I kept them in there till they were over 12 inches. (about 18 months) I fed them heavily. If lucky I changed about 5 gallons per month when vacuuming the gravel. I only changed the filters about every 3 months. They seemed healthy to me, grew fast, vivid colors, no gasping or anything. Before that was about 9 African cichlids, a rhino pleco, and a channel cat. even less, water and filter changes, they all seemed healthy and bright....before that a 14 inch black arrowana (had an egg sack when I got it) and a 10inch peacock Bass (about 2 inches when i got it. Same deal vaccum the gravel once a month or so, filters every few months. Never tested the water, All these fish seemed healthy and I never once lost a fish. Maybe none of this matters so much.

in my early naivete days, I always had overstocked tanks (10gal/15gal). my oscar went from 2" to 8", angels spawned, silver $ kissers blue gouramis albino cats algae eaters all thrived. didn't know about testing except for pH.

never w/c, did some nasty vac-ing, with a cheapo filter cleaned infrequently, water should have been plain un-liveable - but they all lived well.

now - with an expensive intro to discus in 72g BF - I am trying to follow all the rules of fishkeeping so I don't suffer any losses (or at least not suffer a major disaster). discus are too fragile to slip up to stress so I must stay diligent in caring for them.

so if my daily w/c is controlling/reducing my nitrate levels I must be doing something right. thank goodness!

but as for my 20gal angel tank, I only w/c once a week & parameters are consistently good. they seem more hardier & less prone to disease.

 

[FSM]

We've got a 13 page thread because the person who wrote that article doesn't understand math. This is pathetic.

 

[tcarswell]

We've got a 13 page thread because the person who wrote that article doesn't understand math. This is pathetic.

So true.

 

[houie925]

Water changes don't reduce nitrates because they only move the nitrates from one place to another, from the tank to the garden in my case.

 

[Noto]

And so the Law of Conservation of Mass is preserved. Whew!

 

[yogurt_21]

idk but if you get past a certain point with w/c you might as well not filter at all.

I've often wondered why discus keepers bother with filtration, they're going to change 100% of the water every other day anyways. lol