Nitrate, in fresh water tanks, won't be zero unless really densely planted.
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Nitrate ?
- Thread starter jaws7777
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Nitrate, in fresh water tanks, won't be zero unless really densely planted.
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Well if you want to get THAT technical then ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate will never truly be 0 in an aquarium, just undetectable with the given test. And while planting helps, I have seen plenty of densely-planted tanks with nitrate off the charts. My coworker who had one of these tanks always used to say the same thing too.
Actually the most-effective method of biological denitrification is through the use of either planktonic or anaerobic bacteria. SO you can have a tank with no plants and still have "0" nitrate. Just look at most reef setups!
Nitrates will often read 0 with an API kit, as it has a huge range of color change. Cycling is the issue in question. And, optimally, nitrates will read 0. Most of the reef tanks I keep myself and the ones I maintain for customers have a reading of 0. Freshwater is usually another story since water changes are dirt cheap and people often stock them much more dense, sometimes with bigger fish as well. The owner of the pet store I used to work at was always frustrated with his freshwater systems because he couldn't get the nitrate below 20. Do I think that 20ppm is an issue? No. But 0 is definitely what we should all strive to achieve.
Nitrate isn't usually lethal to aquarium fish, but it does cause physiological stress that you may not see. In fact, according to the literature, t's known to be an endocrine disruptor and there are even some species of fish that are known to croak at levels as low 10ppm.
Well if I could add to the seachem matrix talk, matrix that seachem sells is just simple pumice stone. Its pretty ridiculous that they overprice rocks and sell for a absurd amount lol. I have some friends who own chains of nail salons and one of the girls was playing with the media thinking its the nail supply that is pumice stone they use on their clients.
From this I did some of my own research and ordered a 20 pound bag of pumice for about 13 bucks at my local rock yard and it yep its the same stuff. Some of the rock yard stuff floats but the bulk of it is identical. Weighs the same and also has the same texture which is pretty conclusive. Seachem replies to this saying that their "matrix" is natural substance that they refuse to tell the public but they dont refuse its pumice stone. A rep for seachem said its nearly identical yet seachem can 100% guaranty that there will be no impurities that will affect the water and its inhabitants.
From this I did some of my own research and ordered a 20 pound bag of pumice for about 13 bucks at my local rock yard and it yep its the same stuff. Some of the rock yard stuff floats but the bulk of it is identical. Weighs the same and also has the same texture which is pretty conclusive. Seachem replies to this saying that their "matrix" is natural substance that they refuse to tell the public but they dont refuse its pumice stone. A rep for seachem said its nearly identical yet seachem can 100% guaranty that there will be no impurities that will affect the water and its inhabitants.
Good luck with denitrification with fresh water tanks.
Most fish will do fine with nitrates between 20-40 ppm. Lower is better but you get diminishing returns after a bit.
This is starting to turn into a tank size like argument. Pretty soon, it'll be we shouldn't keep oscars unless the setup is an cycled eight-foot tank with 0 nitrates
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Most fish will do fine with nitrates between 20-40 ppm. Lower is better but you get diminishing returns after a bit.
This is starting to turn into a tank size like argument. Pretty soon, it'll be we shouldn't keep oscars unless the setup is an cycled eight-foot tank with 0 nitrates
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Good luck with denitrification with fresh water tanks.
Most fish will do fine with nitrates between 20-40 ppm. Lower is better but you get diminishing returns after a bit.
This is starting to turn into a tank size like argument. Pretty soon, it'll be we shouldn't keep oscars unless the setup is an cycled eight-foot tank with 0 nitrates
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Funny you said that cuz I actually had an argument about that on planet catfish....they swore minimum tank requirements for an O is 8 ft.
Oh yeah what does this look like to you guys..
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Looks like the tank has not finished cycling as it has around 5 ppm of nitrite.
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What do you guys think nitrate is ? From those pics
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