ammonia on freshwater tank??

[mattt6511]

hello, well i have 2 saltwater reef tanks and i completly understand the cycle and all that, but in saltwater you have your liverock and livesand that converts ammonia into nitrates but what converts it in freshwater??? the reason i ask is just for the heck of it i tested my roommates freshwater turtle tank and his ammonia was off the chart at 8.0 dark dark green... my ammonia in both sw tanks is 0.0 so basicaly im asking what converts ammonia to nitrate in a freshwater tank??

 

[rich311k]

Bacteria converts the ammonia just like in a saltwater tank. Your friends turtle tank probably has all the water change with non dechlorinated water since the turle breathes air. Also turtles are huge waste producers.

 

[mattt6511]

hah water change he has done one water change on it in the past id say 4 months, my sw tanks i do weeklly or biweekly water changes..

 

[rich311k]

Then its just the turtle waste. It really doesnn't matter much for a turtle. I have never tested my turtle tank. I change the water 100% every week. Maybe I will just for fun. That tank must be dark green and smelly.

 

[mattt6511]

yeah well he just bought a new 75 gallon acrilic tank for them and a undergravel filter hooked up to a magnum 350 pro with biowheel and some maxijet powerheads so hopufully there new home will be a little better

 

[Blazeherd2306]

You can use live rock to lower nitrates in freshwater, but you would use something porous like lava rock.

Most people don't use live rock for freshwater because it is so easy to do water changes and plants can be used to help lower nitrates.

HTH

 

[mattt6511]

hmmm i didnt think of that so its the same as my saltwater liverock sorta, or can i just buy the big lava rocks that are dry i c for sale

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Lava Rocks reduce Nitrates?

 

[Blazeherd2306]

Well, I got that from the new TFH issue in the Q & A section.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I haven't picked up this months issue yet. Does it give an explanation? I would really be interested to see if it does infact help with Nitrates. We have lava rocks in the 55 and 150 gal tanks and haven't had any nitrate reduction. Maybe the bacteria lives in the crevices similar to live rock? but even then, it wouldn't be substantial.

 

[Blazeherd2306]

It says,

"As for freshwater live rock, porous rock like lava placed in a freshwater tank will eventually be colonized by various types of bacteria and become 'live.' The extent to which this will help with nitrate reduction is not documented as it is with marine setups, but it probably contributes significantly."

I think live rock may have some effect in freshwater tanks, but I'm not sure how much. This is something I've often been wondering.

HTH,
Justin

 

[Fishyfanatic]

That would be an interesting experiment to do if someone has the time and tanks for it. So far we haven't noticed reductions in Nitrates in the 150 since putting it in, but I can understand the concept of the bacteria forming in the crevices and thus helping like a filter. Doesn't live rock for saltwater tanks need salt to stay alive? Or does it just need water?

 

[Blazeherd2306]

I think it needs saltwater to stay alive. I've read that the saltwater bacteria is different from freshwater bacteria, so matbe LR only works in marine tanks?

If I had the time, tanks, and money, I would try it, too.

 

[mattt6511]

liverock in my saltwater tank needs to be kept in the water to stay alive, but iv you take it out and it dies over time when u put it back into water it will turn into live rock again.

 

[Blazeherd2306]

And he also said,

"Finally, you could add nitrogen-removing media to your outside filter. In addition, there are specialized devices that house anaerobic bacteria outside the tank for removing nitrate. Most people feel it is easier to simply do the water changes"

So maybe only anaerobic bacteria removes nitrate? I'll look that up.

 

[Blazeherd2306]

Okay, from what I have gathered, anaerobic bacteria needs carbon dioxide and no oxygen to convert nitrates into nitrogen gas. So, the only effective ways of reducing them are by water changes, live plants, and plenums.

 

[mattt6511]

oky i havea question what types of live plants would be oky in a turtle tank?? or would they all get eaten also if i got say 9 or 10 plants would that help the water quality a little in the tank and did water changes every 2 weeks.