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

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FSM;3373082; said:
We've got a 13 page thread because the person who wrote that article doesn't understand math. This is pathetic.
Click to expand...


I read page one... came to this conclusion... skipped to page 13... and saw it was recently posted...

^5 FSM...


In the original example... every week the nitrates increase by 1/2 the units they did the previous week... If the original genius would have done the math for another month he would start seeing the increase get far smaller... doing it a third month would have showed him it's such a pathetically small increase that he proved the point he was trying to disprove...

yah math... learn it... love it... use it...
 
Quite simple really.
My tank has 20 nitrates in it, producing 10 nitrates a week.
I do a 50% water change. My tank now has 10 nitrates in it.
I wait a week. My tank now has 20 nitrates in it.
I do a 50% water change. My tank now has 10 nitrates in it.
I wait a week. My tank now has 20 nitrates in it.
I do a 50% water change. My tank now has 10 nitrates in it.
I wait a week. My tank now has 20 nitrates in it.
I do a 50% water change. My tank now has 10 nitrates in it.
I wait a week. My tank now has 20 nitrates in it.
I do a 50% water change. My tank now has 10 nitrates in it.
I wait a week. My tank now has 20 nitrates in it.
I do a 50% water change. My tank now has 10 nitrates in it.
I wait a week. My tank now has 20 nitrates in it.
I do a 50% water change. My tank now has 10 nitrates in it.
I wait a week. My tank now has 20 nitrates in it.
 
Assuming you do 50% WC per week:

ppm per week x 2 = maximum ppm nitrate can reach


20 ppm per week x 2 = 40
 
wondering why when I do 20-50% daily w/c (maybe 50% once a week but min. 20%, some weeks I miss a day) my nitrate levels stays at 5, one week went to zero.
I don't understand the math. I have a heavy bio-load with 15 discus juvies 1 baby BN & 1 baby royal.

I vac as much solid waste as possible to avoid the filters from sucking it up (tho I have dead spots so vac is a necessity)

api master kit pH 6.6, AM/NI=0 NA=5
AC110, Fluval204, sponge filter

???
 
sushiray;3395981; said:
wondering why when I do 20-50% daily w/c (maybe 50% once a week but min. 20%, some weeks I miss a day) my nitrate levels stays at 5, one week went to zero.
I don't understand the math. I have a heavy bio-load with 15 discus juvies 1 baby BN & 1 baby royal.

I vac as much solid waste as possible to avoid the filters from sucking it up (tho I have dead spots so vac is a necessity)

api master kit pH 6.6, AM/NI=0 NA=5
AC110, Fluval204, sponge filter

???
Click to expand...
You must be feeding just right and cleaning your mechanical media well. Also your water sounds like gold :grinno:
 
brianhellno;3273652; said:
I guess I'll contribute a handy little calculator.

http://www.theaquatools.com/water-changes-calculator

Just replace the word dirt with nitrate and it calculates a water change schedule and what would happen if you stuck to the water change schedule. This is all assuming of course that every day your tank will produce the same amount of "dirt" and that nothing will ever possibly go wrong. :grinno:
Click to expand...

This is an excellnt tool.. Congrats to AT for posting it... & thanks to brianhellno for sharing...
 
heres my 2 cents (no maths, just logicical thinking):

we all know that nitrate is toxic to fish if we let concentrations get high enough.
based on that known fact if nitrates continue to rise even after water changes, as per the OP, why are my fish not dead after a few months as nitrates eventually hit lethal levels??

how can people who do 50% weekly water changes have fish that are years old?
 
During the summer months, interest in fish keeping and forum use drops off. The OP was probably trying to rekindle the posting flames by posting an obvious false statement.

Works every year at this time of the year.
 
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