wat is the difference and if my tank is heavely filterd with plenty of oxegen and some freshwater plants will it be okay and will nitra zorb help get rid of nitrates
wat is the difference between nitrites and nitrates
- Thread starter cudamaster13
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You wouldve gotten a better response in the general aquaria forum.. but here you go, hope this helps..
Nitrite is the result of the metabolism of ammonia by Nitrosomonas bacteria, which oxidize ammonia (NH3) and convert it into nitrite (NO2). This is a part of the nitrogen cycle, which is discussed in great detail in our articles. Nitrobacter species of bacteria take the process one step further and further oxidize the nitrites into Nitrates (NO3). Nitrite is fairly toxic and in a well-balanced, aged aquarium will always test at zero. It is unavoidable to have nitrite in a tank that is new, where the nitrogen cycle is not complete because there are not yet enough bacteria to treat ammonia and nitrite. As the bacteria populations rise, ammonia and nitrite levels both fall to zero. Provided you don't over-stock the tank or add fish too quickly, you will see little fluctutation in these levels. Nitrates are always present in most aquariums. They do not get removed through normal biological filtration. They are removed by algae which consumes them as food, by anaerobic de-nitrifying bacteria which occurr naturally inside of live rock, and by water changes (the most common way of reducing nitrates). Invertebrates cannot tolerate much nitrate, so it is best to keep the levels below 20ppm for reef tanks. Fish can tolerate a great deal more than invertebrates, but we would not advise letting nitrates exceed 120ppm in a marine fish tank.
Nitrite is the result of the metabolism of ammonia by Nitrosomonas bacteria, which oxidize ammonia (NH3) and convert it into nitrite (NO2). This is a part of the nitrogen cycle, which is discussed in great detail in our articles. Nitrobacter species of bacteria take the process one step further and further oxidize the nitrites into Nitrates (NO3). Nitrite is fairly toxic and in a well-balanced, aged aquarium will always test at zero. It is unavoidable to have nitrite in a tank that is new, where the nitrogen cycle is not complete because there are not yet enough bacteria to treat ammonia and nitrite. As the bacteria populations rise, ammonia and nitrite levels both fall to zero. Provided you don't over-stock the tank or add fish too quickly, you will see little fluctutation in these levels. Nitrates are always present in most aquariums. They do not get removed through normal biological filtration. They are removed by algae which consumes them as food, by anaerobic de-nitrifying bacteria which occurr naturally inside of live rock, and by water changes (the most common way of reducing nitrates). Invertebrates cannot tolerate much nitrate, so it is best to keep the levels below 20ppm for reef tanks. Fish can tolerate a great deal more than invertebrates, but we would not advise letting nitrates exceed 120ppm in a marine fish tank.
and just too address the other questions in your post... yes your tank will be fine (with water changes and a proper cycling period) and dont use chemicals to get rid any off the nitrogen substances, this only hurts your "natural" tank... just do water changes
not really... a little won't cuz any harm and give something for plants and anaerobic bacteria to eat... but not necessarily good...