How to reduce nitrate?

[ColemAnthony1]

Hey all,
So I know that to reduce nitrate you don't over feed, you keep your filters clean, and do weekly water changes. I do all of this and I still have nitrates in the 20-40ppm zone. I think I discovered why. I tested my tap water (I have well water) and it turns out that my tap water that I replace the old tank water with has nitrate in it! The test read that it had in between 20 and 40ppm. Now water changes seem a bit silly because I'm just dumping water that already has nitrates in it back into the tank... Is there some kind of chemical I can put into the well water to reduce nitrates? I really don't know what to do. Please help!
The test on the left is my plain Jane tap water and on the right was bottled water. They're both testing nitrates. As you can see, my tap water definitely isn't reading yellow like it should be.


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[Kwakatoo]

Gosh that high for tap water. Do you have ready access to tank water for water changes? I'd be going that way if possible.

Edited, sorry just read your post properly. I'm not the best to advise on what you can add to water for fixing this. Apologies

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[ColemAnthony1]

No worries. I just hope somebody can help because I have no idea how to fix this...


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[54seaweed]

If you maintain nitrate levels between 25 to 30 ppm (parts per million) you will basically be in the safe zone for most freshwater fish .

if your water has lots of nitrates present you may want to consider using distilled water

to drop high nitrates large water changes will help but since your water has them present I'd use distilled water

 

[ColemAnthony1]

I do two separate water changes weekly each about 10.5 gallons. Combined is about 21 gallons a week. Could I do one water change with regular well water and the other with distilled water and still see a lower nitrate level? I can't imagine that buying 21 gallons of distilled water a week would be very cheap...


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[54seaweed]

if you have high nitrates in your water it's just a waist of your time doing a water change , your best bet would be find a better source for water
that is why I suggested distilled , another choice would be a ro/di system but those cost a few bucks or maybe you have a friend who has better quality water ,

 

[54seaweed]

once you rid the tank from nitrates you wont need to do 2 water-changes per week

 

[ColemAnthony1]

What is a ro/di system?


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[VTfishguy]

Tank chemical

Seachem prime will reduce nitrites

 

[gilpi]

Seachem prime will reduce nitrites

OP is asking about nitrates.

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[mambee]

Add more plants. They will use the nitrates as food. You can also have pothos or other houseplants growing out of your tank.

 

[Fresh2o]

What is a ro/di system?


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Here is a definition of an RO/DI from Reefkeeping.com:
What is an RO/DI System?At a minimum, an RO/DI system consists of a reverse osmosis membrane through which the water flows (and is purified), followed by a deionizing resin that removes any residual charged compounds. Typically, other necessary parts ensure that these two main parts function properly. These other parts may include sediment filters, activated carbon filters, pressure gauges and conductivity or total dissolved solids (TDS) monitors...


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[Brookster123]

Where you at colem? Big farming going on around you?

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[ColemAnthony1]

Sorry, I was at work. I found this stuff called Kordon Amquel plus. It's suppost to remove nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, ect... It had good reviews, so I'm going to try it out. Fingers crossed that it works. I will probably add it as I'm doing a water change and just add it to the well water before I put it into the tank so the fish can have a nice gradual change.

As far as plants, I have a ton of water lettuce floating at the top of the tank. I cant seem to keep any other plant alive lol...

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[TMaier]

Sorry, I was at work. I found this stuff called Kordon Amquel plus. It's suppost to remove nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, ect... It had good reviews, so I'm going to try it out. Fingers crossed that it works. I will probably add it as I'm doing a water change and just add it to the well water before I put it into the tank so the fish can have a nice gradual change.

As far as plants, I have a ton of water lettuce floating at the top of the tank. I cant seem to keep any other plant alive lol...

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I have read about the Amquel Plus. It supposed to detoxify the nitrates but you will still get nitrate readings in your tests. That would keep me up at night worrying I had bought a bottle of tap water. Lol

 

[ColemAnthony1]

Well that's wierd... I will have to just test it out and see!


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[Chest Rockwell]

Get some nitra-zorb. 1 bag is good for up to a 55G and last about 3-4 months. The cheapest I have found them is on amazon

 

[rlederer]

Hey all,
So I know that to reduce nitrate you don't over feed, you keep your filters clean, and do weekly water changes. I do all of this and I still have nitrates in the 20-40ppm zone. I think I discovered why. I tested my tap water (I have well water) and it turns out that my tap water that I replace the old tank water with has nitrate in it! The test read that it had in between 20 and 40ppm. Now water changes seem a bit silly because I'm just dumping water that already has nitrates in it back into the tank... Is there some kind of chemical I can put into the well water to reduce nitrates? I really don't know what to do. Please help! View attachment 288327
The test on the left is my plain Jane tap water and on the right was bottled water. They're both testing nitrates. As you can see, my tap water definitely isn't reading yellow like it should be.


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I would get a reverse osmosis setup. You can get one for about $200 and will give you distilled water. Much cheaper and easier in the long run than buying distilled water. I've had an R/O system for years with great success.

 

[ColemAnthony1]

Where can I find an R/O system?


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[rlederer]

Where to get Reverse Osmosis system

Fish Tanks Direct, Amazon, Dr FosterSmith, Aquatic Life all carry them