Will using prime to lower nitrates and nitrites be sufficient enough?

[Hendre]

Also, one thing many forget is that there's ammonia in a tank 24/7 and all those factors determine if any of it spikes high enough to chronically affect fish. So yes, ammonia and nitrite are the problems but nitrate is the smoking gun telling the fish keeper that the bio-load is too high. Yet, people start figuring ways to lower nitrate instead of lowering ammonia production...

Nitrate depends on many things. I have a well-stocked tank that receives monthly water changes and has <10 Nitrate because of planting. So in my tank, the bioload is manageable but without plants it isn't? Or maybe just more water changes will level that out.

Or if you leave a tank for 4 months and the nitrate is high then the bioload is too much? Maybe it isn't all about reducing ammonia if you have enough o2 and filtration, maybe methods of nitrate reduction are necessary regardless. It's easier to have a working cycle than magically have low nitrates.

I get your point but the bioload vs nitrate is very dodgy... The only way to lower ammonia is to reduce feeding since it's the primary source of energy added to a tank. And that isn't always practical for some with growouts or needy fish.

 

[Coryloach]

Nitrate depends on many things. I have a well-stocked tank that receives monthly water changes and has <10 Nitrate because of planting. So in my tank, the bioload is manageable but without plants it isn't? Or maybe just more water changes will level that out.

Plants have a preference for ammonia and nitrite and the least preferred nitrogen compound is nitrate. In a planted system nitrification is out-competed by plants which take up ammonium from the water directly.

All my tanks have some sort of plants and I also have very low nitrate levels. One thing to note is that nitrate is just one of many pollutants. There are many more and testing just for nitrates isn't a good way to evaluate water quality. Get a TDS meter and see how much your tank's TDS has shifted from your tap one used for water changes. A TDS meter is a conductivity tester and any dissolved ions from fish food, organics, anything dissolved in the water column really due to the many chemical processes going on, will be detected. So you'd be surprised that what you think is a good water because of low nitrate levels, is actually quite polluted.

As for lowering ammonia, one shouldn't keep that much stock in a sub optimal size tank to compromise fish. But if one has a heavily planted and matured tank, they can get away with a lot more than a standard filter only tank.

 

[Coryloach]

So in my tank, the bioload is manageable but without plants it isn't?

The answer is yes as per the above. They don't just take up ammonia without compromising oxygen levels, they produce oxygen....

 

[BMG94]

Nitrites are at zero but nitrates are still high between 10 and 20 ppm.
Waiting for the ammonia tube I'm soaking it right now

 

[BMG94]

Ammonia is neutral as well so honestly idk why the nitrates are high...

 

[Hendre]

Ammonia is neutral as well so honestly idk why the nitrates are high...

Nitrates accumulate over time. If you have zero Ammonia and nitrite that simply means your cycle is working properly and spitting out nitrate at the end

 

[BMG94]

Nitrates accumulate over time. If you have zero Ammonia and nitrite that simply means your cycle is working properly and spitting out nitrate at the end

I get confused lol half the time I feel like I'm more of a chemist than a fish keeper although it does go hand in hand

 

[pacu mom]

Congratulations on successfully lowering your nitrates from the red zone to between 10 - 20. How low are you trying to go? More and/or larger water changes could help you achieve your goal.

Seachem Denitrate, Seachem Matrix, Seachem Pond Matrix (same product, different sizes) are media that anaerobic nitrate consuming bacteria can colonize in. People have found that these products can keep nitrates lower, once the anaerobic bacteria are established. These three products do not have to be regenerated like Seachem Purigen (which is regenerated by soaking in bleach).