Project: ZERO Nitrate

[DeLgAdO]

I've been following this thread and doing some of my own research and have a question. I've read on several sites that plants help reduce nitrates, but have also read the opposite that while plants are beneficial to a tank they have little affect on nitrate uptake. Is it possible that the reason nitrates go down on a planted tank is because they generally have a fairly deep subtrate where the anarobic bacteria could live?

i suspect that in planted tanks there is little to no nitrate in the system to begin with, but when plants are introduced and fish begin producing waste the plants take in the ammonia and encorperate it in there tissue before nitrifying bacteria have the chance to break it down.

the small percentage that does get turned into nitrate its taken up by the plants as well, simply because there is so little of it.

when you introduce plants into high nitrate level water they will be overwhelmed and start to die, high nitrate levels will kill plants.

 

[FishSkins]

Um. Didn't you just copy paste that from here: http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/watercare/a/nitrates.htm

????

yes i did ... it pretty much tells all there is needed to know the only thing i would have added would be using different types of chemicals to rid them, there are so many to choose from

 

[johnptc]

nitrate is plant fertilizer.......... plants eat the nitrates and grow.....so i am told.

 

[FishSkins]

nitrate is plant fertilizer.......... plants eat the nitrates and grow.....so i am told.

yep... any form of nitrogen

 

[DeLgAdO]

nitrate is plant fertilizer.......... plants eat the nitrates and grow.....so i am told.

correct....to an extent......