Too little Nitrates?

[MonsterMinis]

What are some of the problems in a planted tank w/ no nitrates?... and by no nitrates I mean no distinguishable change in the nitrate test? They read 0... I double checked it to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.. lol.

Wish I had this concern in my other tanks.

My Algae has exploded in this tank over the last few weeks. Is it possible that this is part of the reason? I've been dosing the tank 2x a week lately w/ reg flourish for 20 gallons ( the tanks size) and doing a 25% WC once a week on it.

Is it possible the lack of nitrates have caused this? I just trimmed back my stem plants ALOT. because the algae was starting to grow in clumps between the stems so cutting out as much as I could left me takeing about 75% of it out approx.

I have a billion MTS in the tank, 3 Assassin snails( just put them in last week), 3 tiger shrimp (sp Cardinia type) and a male "feeder guppy" who actually looks pretty nice.

My plants and livestock all look very nice/healthy except for the algae going nuts. always had abit of algae in the tank due the to TTHO t5 light fixture I have on it.

I'm thinking of moveing my clown/peppermint plecos from another tank into this tank, or possibly getting a small group of ottos to help with algae control? But I have concerns about whats safe to mix with my shrimp in particular as far as algae eaters go? I don't mind the extra bio-load obviousely should help raise the nitrates abit and help w/ the algae control.

 

[MonsterMinis]

BTW 99.9% sure it's Hair Algae. I've had it before and it's looking the same.

 

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

Might be the algae sucked up all nitrates. Doesn't look like you have many fish that would produce nitrates to begin with, though. What are your water parameters in tank and tap (pH, iron, phosphates, conductivity, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia)? Lighting type, age of bulbs, duration? Sun exposure?

HarleyK

 

[splant]

Remember if you are using the API test to really shake the bottles or you will get a false low result.

 

[MonsterMinis]

Howdy,

Might be the algae sucked up all nitrates. Doesn't look like you have many fish that would produce nitrates to begin with, though. What are your water parameters in tank and tap (pH, iron, phosphates, conductivity, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia)? Lighting type, age of bulbs, duration? Sun exposure?

HarleyK

Tank/Tap (Just re-did the tests)

ph- 7.8 / 8.0
gh- 160-180 / off chart
kh- 240 / off chart
no3- 0 / under 20 but slight tinge
no2- 0 / 0
amm- 0 / 0

Do not test for the others, but I can get it done if needed. We also have high amounst of copper in our tap here so I make sure to treat the water abit extra.

lighting is a Hagen TTHO T5 set-up w/ a lifeglo and a power glo bulb. both are approx 4-6 monthes old. ( about the time i usually change them) lights on about 8 hours a day on a timer. tank gets no direct sunlight otherwise. eco-complete and flourite substrate. and a decent hunk of driftwood is also in the tank otehrwise just the plants. filter is a penguin 200 w/ the filter cartridge moded to just run filter floss. so simply bio/mech filtration set-up.

 

[MonsterMinis]

Remember if you are using the API test to really shake the bottles or you will get a false low result.

yep I have a API dip strips at home just for ease..and we have a cat and a baby on the way so I don't want liquid test stuff in my house. BUt at work I have access to a full liquid kit. I haven't double checked my numbers at work, but I do have multiple tanks that are giveing me multiple readings, so I believe it's accurate.

 

[jcardona1]

Low nitrates in a planted tank is not a good thing. Nitrogen is one of major elements required for all life, plants are no exception. It's one of the main macro nutrients that we dose in planted tanks. Nitrates are a source of nitrogen for plants. Look at any plant fertilizer. They usually have three numbers on the package, like 20-20-20. That's how much N-P-K they contain, which is nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash. In planted tanks, this is provided via nitrates, phosphates, and potassium.

Good nitrate levels are between 15-20ppm for plants. If you have lots of plants, then nitrates will eventually drop down to zero, which will lead to your plants suffering, as they're missing one of their basic nutrients for healthy growth.

 

[jcardona1]

yep I have a API dip strips at home just for ease..and we have a cat and a baby on the way so I don't want liquid test stuff in my house. BUt at work I have access to a full liquid kit. I haven't double checked my numbers at work, but I do have multiple tanks that are giveing me multiple readings, so I believe it's accurate.

Those test strips are known to be horribly inaccurate.

 

[miniwini]

Good nitrate levels are between 15-20ppm for plants. If you have lots of plants, then nitrates will eventually drop down to zero, which will lead to your plants suffering, as they're missing one of their basic nutrients for healthy growth.

How do you raise Nitrate levels in a planted tank to make sure the plants keep thriving?

 

[jcardona1]

How do you raise Nitrate levels in a planted tank to make sure the plants keep thriving?

Most common way of adding nitrates to a planted tank is via KNO3, potassium nitrate. This comes in powder form and is added directly to the water. Much cheaper than buying bottled ferts like this one, which is the same thing, just diluted with water: