Testing nitrates?

[Zanzag]

Just be sure to dose the prime or safe before adding water back otherwise its chlorinated water going into tank then getting chlorine removed. You want the dechlor before filling so it doesn't let the chlorine mess up the BB

 

[pacu mom]

Added another filter. Not taking one out for a new one. I had one aqua top canister. I just added a fluval FX4. I was doing 50-60% once a week but the nitrates were staying high. So I was doing 40-50% every other day to get those numbers down. Every water change I used prime with the new water added for conditioning.

Your nitrate levels have everything to do with the bioload produced in the tank. Adding one , two or ten filters will not reduce the nitrate levels. Reducing the bioload (removing stock) or getting a bigger tank will slow down the nitrate build up. If the fish in a 100 gallon tank are moved to a 1,000 gallon tank, they will produce the same amount of ammonia that they did in the 100 gallon tank. The same amount of nitrate will be produced in both tanks, however the nitrate concentration is greatly diluted in the larger tank--dilution of the pollution.

Reduced stocking levels or a bigger tank with appropriate water changes are the easiest way to control nitrates. Of course, heavily planted tanks, nitrate reactors, deep substrate with anaerobic bacteria are other ways to reduce nitrates. The last one scares me with the possibility of hydrogen sulfide poisoning if meticulous tank maintenance is not done routinely.

 

[Peacock_bass]

Your nitrate levels have everything to do with the bioload produced in the tank. Adding one , two or ten filters will not reduce the nitrate levels. Reducing the bioload (removing stock) or getting a bigger tank will slow down the nitrate build up. If the fish in a 100 gallon tank are moved to a 1,000 gallon tank, they will produce the same amount of ammonia that they did in the 100 gallon tank. The same amount of nitrate will be produced in both tanks, however the nitrate concentration is greatly diluted in the larger tank--dilution of the pollution.

Reduced stocking levels or a bigger tank with appropriate water changes are the easiest way to control nitrates. Of course, heavily planted tanks, nitrate reactors, deep substrate with anaerobic bacteria are other ways to reduce nitrates. The last one scares me with the possibility of hydrogen sulfide poisoning if meticulous tank maintenance is not done routinely.

So the bio-media in canister filters do nothing to help reduce nitrates or the bio load in the tank?

 

[pacu mom]

So the bio-media in canister filters do nothing to help reduce nitrates or the bio load in the tank?

Sorry, NO. The bacteria in the bio media consume the ammonia and produce nitrites. Another group of bacteria in the bio media consume the nitrites and produce nitrate. When talking about filtration, there is biological, mechanical and chemical filtration. Nitrates are generated in the biological filtration. Mechanical and chemical filtration do not remove nitrates. Water changes is the easiest way to remove nitrates. To decrease the frequency of water changes necessary to maintain optimal conditions, you can decrease the amount of ammonia being generated by decreasing the stocking in the tank or by getting a larger tank where the nitrate is diluted in the larger volume of water (overall ppm goes up more slowly)

 

[Peacock_bass]

Sorry, NO. The bacteria in the bio media consume the ammonia and produce nitrites. Another group of bacteria in the bio media consume the nitrites and produce nitrate. When talking about filtration, there is biological, mechanical and chemical filtration. Nitrates are generated in the biological filtration. Mechanical and chemical filtration do not remove nitrates. Water changes is the easiest way to remove nitrates. To decrease the frequency of water changes necessary to maintain optimal conditions, you can decrease the amount of ammonia being generated by decreasing the stocking in the tank or by getting a larger tank where the nitrate is diluted in the larger volume of water (overall ppm goes up more slowly)

Well crap! I guess another filter won't hurt at least lol. Thank you for the info!

 

[pacu mom]

Well crap! I guess another filter won't hurt at least lol. Thank you for the info!

No it won't hurt ... you could always beef up the mechanical and polish the water It can also serve as redundant filtration. I like overfiltration