Nitrate Questions
- Thread starter RadleyMiller
- Start date
As long as your filters are keeping the ammonia at zero, you should not have to worry about upgrading to something else. Nitrite consumption is a slower process, so I think the reading is just showing your bacteria colony is still in the catch up phase. If you get contant nitrite readings after several weeks, it will be a likely sign that your colony is at its maximum capacity. If that is the case, then you will need to increase your bio-filter area. You might just want to drop a pot scrubber into each side of your filter.
Problem solved for less than a buck.
Nitrates on the other hand are the least toxic of the three and many fish will tolerate high levels. Nitrates can be used to judge the overall quality of the tank's water. I don't mean that you can test the nitrates and assume the ammonia and pH are ok. Rather the nitrates can be representative of those chemicals that your test kit can not test for. For example, Say that you live next door to a factory that pumps smog into the air 24 hours a day and you are conserned of your indoor air quality. Your test kit will test for CO2, carbon monoxide, radon, and animal dander. The readings show that everything is fine so you go living your life as nothing is wrong. The only problem is that your neighbors are dropping like flies from exposure to dioxin, heavy metals, arsenic, and airborne asbestos.
The Periodic Chart contains over a hundred elements which will form hundreds of thousands of different compounds. Our aquarium test kits will test for zero elements and only four compounds.
So in a nutshell, if your source water has say ten ppm of nitrates and your tank has fifteen ppm, then you have nothing to worry about. If your tank tests in at 100ppm, then the other stuff that you can not test for also built up while your nitrates built up.
Problem solved for less than a buck.
Nitrates on the other hand are the least toxic of the three and many fish will tolerate high levels. Nitrates can be used to judge the overall quality of the tank's water. I don't mean that you can test the nitrates and assume the ammonia and pH are ok. Rather the nitrates can be representative of those chemicals that your test kit can not test for. For example, Say that you live next door to a factory that pumps smog into the air 24 hours a day and you are conserned of your indoor air quality. Your test kit will test for CO2, carbon monoxide, radon, and animal dander. The readings show that everything is fine so you go living your life as nothing is wrong. The only problem is that your neighbors are dropping like flies from exposure to dioxin, heavy metals, arsenic, and airborne asbestos.
The Periodic Chart contains over a hundred elements which will form hundreds of thousands of different compounds. Our aquarium test kits will test for zero elements and only four compounds.
So in a nutshell, if your source water has say ten ppm of nitrates and your tank has fifteen ppm, then you have nothing to worry about. If your tank tests in at 100ppm, then the other stuff that you can not test for also built up while your nitrates built up.
HarleyK;533170; said:Where to you keep hearing that?
The only "filters" that remove nitrates are
- planted sump
- denitrator
HarleyK
I have read on several threads people writing, they are sensitive to nitrates, and you need to upgrade your filter. I just wanted to see what everyone has to say about it. I know that plants/refugiums, reactors, water changes, and resins are the only way to get nitrate out. It just seemed to me that the obligate aerobes that break down nitrite and ammonia are being confused with the obiligate anaerobes that break down nitrates into nitrogen gas. I am just trying to clarify everything because I am sure I am not the only one that is confused about the reasoning behind it.
People will just regurgitate information, and a default answer for so many questions is "you need more filtration" when they dont even know what the filters job is.
You obviously do, and thanks for bringing this subject to the surface.
You obviously do, and thanks for bringing this subject to the surface.
rallysman;533353; said:
Thanks Rallysman,
I really hope this thread helps a lot of other people that may be confused.
biowheels+nitrate reactors=0 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate
http://www.championlighting.com/home.php?cat=371
http://www.championlighting.com/home.php?cat=371
rallysman;533353; said:
i run a RIO 2500 on a wet-dry with 3 gallons bioballs and about 3 liters of "bio-glass" on my 180!
ammonia, nitrite always come out and 0ppm (except for one incident) and nitrate go betweem 10 and 30ppms
tell me i dont have enough filteration
HUMPH! 
stick that in your pipe and smoke it (not you rally, just those who tell others they dont have enough filteration when it is actually adequate)
señor_pescados_felices;533393; said:
Pretty pricy, but worth it. If you read it though, it says anoxic conditions, which means extremely low DO but for wet/drys you have a trickle filter to increase the amount of oxygen available to the bacteria.
DeLgAdO;533417; said:i run a RIO 2500 on a wet-dry with 3 gallons bioballs and about 3 liters of "bio-glass" on my 180!
ammonia, nitrite always come out and 0ppm (except for one incident) and nitrate go betweem 10 and 30ppms
tell me i dont have enough filteration
stick that in your pipe and smoke it (not you rally, just those who tell others they dont have enough filteration when it is actually adequate)
Delgado,
What I meant was that people point to wet/drys and canisters as to ways of removing nitrates and I wanted to get that rumor dispelled on this thread. I am sure a lot of people feel that I am underfiltered but it works for me. As they say, If it ain't broked, don't fix it.
RadleyMiller;533426; said:
or:
If it aint broke, dont fix it.
Del, I think he's asking why people suggest upgrading filtration when his ammonia and nitrites are low to 0.
It's the same thing as the 3x vs 10x argument. Why do you need 10x turnover when 3x gets the job done?
