Holy Nitrates!!!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
thepotz said:
weird. what are you using to aerate the water? I will get that from time to time without any agitation of the surface of the water, but it's not spots, more like a film. yours almost looks like some top ramen spilled in or something!!:D
Click to expand...
^I agree with him... 'cept looks like my big slobbery old dogs' water bucket, if I don't dump & rinse it enough.
;-) AGITATE ain't only for the washing machine.
 
Lol I didn't even realize when I did my wc on Sunday, my spray bar ended up pointing down when I reconnected it.

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I'll take a stab at warmer weather... I always see a spike in nitrates in the spring/summer/fall months. Living in farm field country, its blamed on runoff.
 
hmm...Didnt know that water companies change up water when the weather changes.

I will try to test my water tonight.
 
Water companies react to the quality of water coming into the plant. If it tests high in turbidity, organics or particle counts, they must raise the disinfectant dose to keep people from getting sick. When weather changes the temp of water, dosages must change because disinfectants work differently at different temps. The finished water is usually almost the same. Chlorine is used up faster with more organics in the water, so more must be added, although regulations determine the maximum allowed in the finished water. Anything from storms, to heat waves, to lake turnover (in northern areas) determine how water is treated.
 
To be honest when I first started getting into fish keeping I trusted those test tube drip tests a lot. Until I found out that they are not exactly an accurate measure of nitrates. It gives an approximate amount to water conditions but the best way to know about the water condition is to watch the fish and see how they act. If the fish are swimming and eating lots then they should be fine. Ofourse you always do the regular water changes but if your fish is healthy and eating and all of a sudden just stops swimming or doesn't want to eat or do anything. Then thats when you know something is wrong.
 
If you see film on top of the water you need more water circulation. Also I can't really tell your reading, how many PPM of Nitrate? Anyway, don't panic, people make others paranoid on here about nitrates. Take a look at the craigslist thread. There is fish cramped and living in yellow/brown water. Wanna guess what the nitrates are? And the fish are still alive. There is lots of instances of fish being more resilient to bad water conditions. IMO 30-40 PPM of nitrate is no reason to panic. Too many people have become victim to this paranoia by a few fish keeping elitists.
 
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