The moment of... wait water is going...

[Dalfrey86]

Deep into my weekend night of WC it has struck home the importance that water plays not only in this hobby but in life as well.
Only a fish keeper would pull out the API kit to test the tap water because it tastes funny. Seems like all I do is run and test water these days. Doesn’t bother me but really how many of you folks have gotten to the point when you are contemplating putting in a whole house water filter for “your” benefit...?
Didn’t help that from the tap my nitrates were reading almost 160 per the rest kit. Yea I didn’t believe it but ask how I know this to be true when I used my current bottle, test strips, and a new set of nitrate test bottles.
Cheers... oh wait rule number 1. Never leave a tank while it’s filling.

 

[Lepisosteus]

Overflowed my ATO and flooded the house one to many times so I installed a leak detection probe. Later realized the leak detection probe informs you after the fact so I then installed a high level optical sensor. As for testing tank water, I haven’t done it in months with the new trident system installed

 

[duanes]

You must not live in the US and be on a public water system.
The MCL (maximum contaminant level) for nitrate in the US is 10ppm (or at least it was a little over 5 years ago when I left).
I heard the administration was relaxing water quality safe guards, but I can't imagine they would be that cavalier.
A nitrate level over 10 ppm is suspected of causing methymoglobeanemia, in human infants under 2 years of age.

 

[Dalfrey86]

I’m in the middle of farm country in the US. Our water report indicates 10 PPM for nitrates, however the source for the water is a combination of one surface level water source and one underground well.
Really unsure what’s going on to be honest. Any other suggestions beside the API test kit?

 

[duanes]

In rural areas fish keeping can be a problem, when you look at the high use of nitrogen based fertilizers, and crowded cattle feed lots devoid of vegetation that would use the excess nitrate, its easy to see how nitrate from feces would percolate thru the soil, and its no surprise even deep wells get inundated at certain times of the year with it, after a century of those practices.
The API is what I use.
Your tank may be a serious candidate for the use of terrestrial plants to help use nitrate up, if that's possible.
Even where I live, where nitrates are almost nonexistent I find them useful for fish based nitrate removal.

But plant density compared to fish must be significant to make a dent.

.

 

[Dalfrey86]

That was the follow up thought I did.
Dilution rate for the nitrate would either have to come from a clean water source or an over abundance nitrate consuming plants.
This wouldn’t be as much fun if it was easy, right?

 

[duanes]

I like the addition of terrestrial plants, the hanging roots look natural to me, but also like aquatic plants, so for me, that is the fun part.
I also do daily 20-30% water changes, not the fun part, but what I consider needed, and find it easier to do the smallish daily water changes, than giant ones once per week.