I would use those high nitrates to my advantage and keep a heavily planted tank. Just do smaller waterchanges and the plants will eat up the nitrates.
Nitrate Units
- Thread starter cmeier7
- Start date
My test kit was was close to expiring, so I was suspect of my low nitrate readings.
The new Api test kit arrived yesterday, and my first test, of course, nitrate, it surprisingly mirrored the old test, although colors brighter with new reagents.
The tank is a 180 gal, with a 125 gal planted sump/refugium.
Here is the tank.
It is lightly stocked, 5 Andinoacara cichlids (5-7"), 1 Panamanian Pleco (8") and 2 Roeboides tetras (4")
A 30-40% water change is done every other day.
Below the sump
Sump is heavily planted with aquatic Vallisneria, and Hydrilla, also Papyrus (right side, and emergent)
media some bags of ceramic rings, and wall of Porett Foam,and contains a moderate population of shrimp, and a few Andinoacara fry.
As you can see, although there is some mechanical, and biological filter media, I rely most on terrestrial, aquatic (and semi aquatic) plants. Once a tank has cycled, my major concern is nitrate as an "indicator" of unwanted amounts of biological toxins.
The new Api test kit arrived yesterday, and my first test, of course, nitrate, it surprisingly mirrored the old test, although colors brighter with new reagents.
The tank is a 180 gal, with a 125 gal planted sump/refugium.
Here is the tank.
It is lightly stocked, 5 Andinoacara cichlids (5-7"), 1 Panamanian Pleco (8") and 2 Roeboides tetras (4")
A 30-40% water change is done every other day.
Below the sump
Sump is heavily planted with aquatic Vallisneria, and Hydrilla, also Papyrus (right side, and emergent)
media some bags of ceramic rings, and wall of Porett Foam,and contains a moderate population of shrimp, and a few Andinoacara fry.
As you can see, although there is some mechanical, and biological filter media, I rely most on terrestrial, aquatic (and semi aquatic) plants. Once a tank has cycled, my major concern is nitrate as an "indicator" of unwanted amounts of biological toxins.
From the types of testing you are doing in regards to environmental water quality, it sounds like you are talking ppm in terms of NO3-N and not NO3.
Thanks for the details and photos. I have zero experience with planted aquariums since I've always had fish that will eat the plants. I will definitely consider a planted aquarium for the future (will have to do a lot of research).
I will add my two bits, although there is much value in several arguments already stated. And I am thinking aloud, putting myself as if I were in the situation you described -
- 50ppm nitrate is too high for long term fish tank no matter what. Need to reduce that.
- High nitrate (and reducing nitrate levels) is not the only reason for water changes. Other substances (pheromones and others) accumulate as well, and others are depleted. Thus, regular and frequent water changes are needed.
- RO is not a practical solution for several reasons: a) It is too inefficient (produces a small yield from a lot of wasted water) which needs to be pumped. Too wasteful even if one finds ways to use the 'waste water'. b) One will need to add back desirable minerals, making it a pain to maintain a stable system. c) For me to be comfortable with a tank stocked at medium to high level, no less than 60-70% of water change per week would be necessary.;Producing those via RO would quickly become a pain, and as pointed out, expensive and wasteful.
- Having lost of plants in the aquarium will reduce the nitrate somewhat, but not fast enough, and together with the nitrate produced by the filtration in the aquarium itself, will not result in lowering overall nitrate level, if one starts at 50ppm. Not a solution.
Another option is to produce low nitrate water for water changes prior to the changes themselves - have a large container (or a system of 2-3 connected 55 gal drums) with a large population of an easy to grow plant (will need lights), that will take in nitrate during the intervening days between water changes. A number of plants would do, and floating plants will be most efficient since less light would be needed and is more easily given at the surface than into a water column. A number of floating plants would do, one possibility is water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes, not a native and prohibited in some states) or one of several smaller-leaved plants, including several natives. They are very efficient at removing nitrate.
That's what I would consider. Good luck!
- 50ppm nitrate is too high for long term fish tank no matter what. Need to reduce that.
- High nitrate (and reducing nitrate levels) is not the only reason for water changes. Other substances (pheromones and others) accumulate as well, and others are depleted. Thus, regular and frequent water changes are needed.
- RO is not a practical solution for several reasons: a) It is too inefficient (produces a small yield from a lot of wasted water) which needs to be pumped. Too wasteful even if one finds ways to use the 'waste water'. b) One will need to add back desirable minerals, making it a pain to maintain a stable system. c) For me to be comfortable with a tank stocked at medium to high level, no less than 60-70% of water change per week would be necessary.;Producing those via RO would quickly become a pain, and as pointed out, expensive and wasteful.
- Having lost of plants in the aquarium will reduce the nitrate somewhat, but not fast enough, and together with the nitrate produced by the filtration in the aquarium itself, will not result in lowering overall nitrate level, if one starts at 50ppm. Not a solution.
Another option is to produce low nitrate water for water changes prior to the changes themselves - have a large container (or a system of 2-3 connected 55 gal drums) with a large population of an easy to grow plant (will need lights), that will take in nitrate during the intervening days between water changes. A number of plants would do, and floating plants will be most efficient since less light would be needed and is more easily given at the surface than into a water column. A number of floating plants would do, one possibility is water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes, not a native and prohibited in some states) or one of several smaller-leaved plants, including several natives. They are very efficient at removing nitrate.
That's what I would consider. Good luck!
Nitrate is difficult to measure accurately. The API kit actually measures nitrite. it turns the nitrate into nitrie and then measures that. The kiy is aosomewhat inaccurate, especially between 0 and 20 ppi. I would say it can give one ballpark type numbers and can show if levels are moving up or down. How accurately i cannot say.
As far as I know the Hobby kits mostly measure tital ions unless they indicate to the contrary.
Most plants kept on aquarium greatly prefer ammonium to nitrate. To use nitrate they must turn it back into ammonia which takes energy. There are a few speciesof plants which do preer nitrate, but most do not. However, plants consume ammonium (NH4) faster than the bacteria consume ammonia (NH3). However, ammonia taken up by plants does not produce nitrite or nitrate. This is mostly why well planted tanks show little or no nitrate.
As for harm levels, I have serched the scientific literature. There is less on nitrate than either nitrite or ammonia. I used to be able to access the full study below, now one needs institutional access or must pay.
Julio A. Camargo, Alvaro Alonso, Annabella Salamanca,
Nitrate toxicity to aquatic animals: a review with new data for freshwater invertebrates,
Chemosphere,
Volume 58, Issue 9, 2005, Pages 1255-1267,
ISSN 0045-6535,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2004.10.044.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653504009993)
Abstract:
Published data on nitrate (NO3-) toxicity to freshwater and marine animals are reviewed. New data on nitrate toxicity to the freshwater invertebrates Eulimnogammarus toletanus, Echinogammarus echinosetosus and Hydropsyche exocellata are also presented. The main toxic action of nitrate is due to the conversion of oxygen-carrying pigments to forms that are incapable of carrying oxygen. Nitrate toxicity to aquatic animals increases with increasing nitrate concentrations and exposure times. In contrast, nitrate toxicity may decrease with increasing body size, water salinity, and environmental adaptation. Freshwater animals appear to be more sensitive to nitrate than marine animals. A nitrate concentration of 10 mg NO3-N/l (USA federal maximum level for drinking water) can adversely affect, at least during long-term exposures, freshwater invertebrates (E. toletanus, E. echinosetosus, Cheumatopsyche pettiti, Hydropsyche occidentalis), fishes (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, Salmo clarki), and amphibians (Pseudacris triseriata, Rana pipiens, Rana temporaria, Bufo bufo). Safe levels below this nitrate concentration are recommended to protect sensitive freshwater animals from nitrate pollution. Furthermore, a maximum level of 2 mg NO3-N/l would be appropriate for protecting the most sensitive freshwater species. In the case of marine animals, a maximum level of 20 mg NO3-N/l may in general be acceptable. However, early developmental stages of some marine invertebrates, that are well adapted to low nitrate concentrations, may be so susceptible to nitrate as sensitive freshwater invertebrates.
As far as I know the Hobby kits mostly measure tital ions unless they indicate to the contrary.
Most plants kept on aquarium greatly prefer ammonium to nitrate. To use nitrate they must turn it back into ammonia which takes energy. There are a few speciesof plants which do preer nitrate, but most do not. However, plants consume ammonium (NH4) faster than the bacteria consume ammonia (NH3). However, ammonia taken up by plants does not produce nitrite or nitrate. This is mostly why well planted tanks show little or no nitrate.
As for harm levels, I have serched the scientific literature. There is less on nitrate than either nitrite or ammonia. I used to be able to access the full study below, now one needs institutional access or must pay.
Julio A. Camargo, Alvaro Alonso, Annabella Salamanca,
Nitrate toxicity to aquatic animals: a review with new data for freshwater invertebrates,
Chemosphere,
Volume 58, Issue 9, 2005, Pages 1255-1267,
ISSN 0045-6535,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2004.10.044.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653504009993)
Abstract:
Published data on nitrate (NO3-) toxicity to freshwater and marine animals are reviewed. New data on nitrate toxicity to the freshwater invertebrates Eulimnogammarus toletanus, Echinogammarus echinosetosus and Hydropsyche exocellata are also presented. The main toxic action of nitrate is due to the conversion of oxygen-carrying pigments to forms that are incapable of carrying oxygen. Nitrate toxicity to aquatic animals increases with increasing nitrate concentrations and exposure times. In contrast, nitrate toxicity may decrease with increasing body size, water salinity, and environmental adaptation. Freshwater animals appear to be more sensitive to nitrate than marine animals. A nitrate concentration of 10 mg NO3-N/l (USA federal maximum level for drinking water) can adversely affect, at least during long-term exposures, freshwater invertebrates (E. toletanus, E. echinosetosus, Cheumatopsyche pettiti, Hydropsyche occidentalis), fishes (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, Salmo clarki), and amphibians (Pseudacris triseriata, Rana pipiens, Rana temporaria, Bufo bufo). Safe levels below this nitrate concentration are recommended to protect sensitive freshwater animals from nitrate pollution. Furthermore, a maximum level of 2 mg NO3-N/l would be appropriate for protecting the most sensitive freshwater species. In the case of marine animals, a maximum level of 20 mg NO3-N/l may in general be acceptable. However, early developmental stages of some marine invertebrates, that are well adapted to low nitrate concentrations, may be so susceptible to nitrate as sensitive freshwater invertebrates.
