In fish cycling, tap water has natural nitrates

[jlieu]

Starting some new tanks after several years of being 'retired' from the hobby. A lot has changed in 5+ years!

So I finally tested the tap water today and it seems there may be natural nitrates in it and I was not quite sure how to interpret my test results given that. Apparently in the country, the county has some hard water compared to the city (municipal)! In addition, with red clay being the natural soil around here, I am pretty sure carries tons of minerals with it which may explain the nitrates. In any case, I was hoping to get some help on how I should interpret the results.

The tap results were as follows: Ph 8.0, Ammonia ~0.10ppm (in between 0 and 0.25), Nitrite 0ppm, and Nitrate ~7ppm (in between 5 and 10).

In any case, as title stated, I have been cycling two 10-gal in-fish tanks for the last week or so. One traditional gravel (#1) and one 'Walstad inspired' (#2) with hand-filtered regular Earthgro (no unnecessary additives as far as I can tell) topsoil. Both are moderately planted with a variety of low-light and floating plants.

I am using the API Freshwater Kit for testing and Kordon Smart Start (Amquel Plus and NovAqua Plus). Little did I know about Seachem Prime/Safe until yesterday...so I'll be transitioning to that soon. Added Tetra Safe Start after the test results on 6/12.


Here are two results of the tests (6/12 and 6/14). I have two more before that written somewhere (probably lost atm) before I started to just log it on my phone. Ammonia was a bit hard to tell for me since there is a bit of a gray area (at least to me) between 0ppm and 0.25ppm...results was mostly yellow with a hint of green so I just assumed it was in the 0.1ppm area.

Tank #1 @ 6/12
Ph 8.3, Ammonia 0.1ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 5ppm

Tank #2 @ 6/12
Ph 8.3, Ammonia 0.25ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 5ppm

Tank #1 @ 6/14
Ph 8.2, Ammonia 0.1ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 10ppm

Tank #2 @ 6/14
Ph 8.0, Ammonia 0.25ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 5ppm

Thanks in advance!

 

[jlk]

Hi! The nitrates in your tap are nothing to be concerned about. Many of us have nitrates in our tap, some us with quite a bit higher levels than yours. Are you doing fishless cycles on these tanks? If so, what are you using as an ammonia source? The bottled bacteria products do not contain ammonia which is a necessary requirement to establish a cycle/grow & feed your good bacteria. Heres the fishless link with some more info:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

 

[jlieu]

Awesome. Thanks, just want I wanted to know about the natural nitrates.

I am actually doing fish in (typed title in backwards). It's going on two weeks now with two platies in each. The males have always been very active (exploring and swimming about) since day 1. Females were rather shy (sitting on gravel, hiding in plants) initially but has been more lively lately. All have always came out and ate whenever food is put out.

 

[jlk]

Ok! Just keep an eye on your toxin levels while your tanks cycle. Ammonia is more toxic at high phs so you will need to do water changes to keep your levels at (preferably below) .25ppm. The bottled bacteria products do not eliminate the need for water changes during a fish-in cycle to keep your guys healthy. The nitrates are of no concern as long as you know they are already present so you can gauge the rate at which they increase. Good luck!

 

[jlieu]

Yup! Been checking it frequently, thankfully nothing crazy yet so I've only changed water 3-4 times a week. I think it may be due to all the plants.

One thing though, it seems water off the tap also has traces of ammonia. Given that chemicals like Seachem Prime/Safe (and I assume Amquel Plus as well) simply renders ammonia into a harmless form to fishes, it will still show up in tests (although it is no longer harmful). How should I be interpreting it? Well aside from if it goes beyond 0.25ppm (excess ammonia) or down to 0 as nitrite or nitrate rises (therefore sign of ammonia eating bacteria increasing).

 

[jlk]

Amquel Plus works in basically the same fashion as Prime by converting toxic ammonia to ammonium (not as toxic). The API test checks for the presence of both NH3/NH4 & dosent distinguish between the two. The best guideline to go by while cycling is time. Prime/Amquel Plus are only effective for @48hr period of time. So, if its been 2 days (or longer) since a water change, you can assume the ammonia level you are seeing on your test is ammonia (and not ammonium). Basically, if you have any doubt what so ever, its always safer just to do a water change. Once your tanks are cycled, the ammonia in your tap will be devoured by good bacteria within a few hours of a water change & Prime/Amquel Plus will keep it bound until its gone. No worries!

 

[jlieu]

Great! Thank you very much jlk!

Easy, fast, and straight to the point. Exactly what I was looking for! Lol.

Also, I have been hearing a lot about Seachem Prime/Safe. If I switch over to that, it would pretty much be a 2-in-1 replacement for Amquel Plus and Novaqua Plus right?

 

[jlk]

Correct!