Low Nitrates

[Cohenjl13]

I have had my tank going for about 5 months now yet my nitrates sit at near 0, suggestions?

 

[Upstate TBarbs]

Do you have live plants in the tank?

Also might be helpful:
Tank size
Filter(s)
Type(s) and quantities of fish

0 PPM Nitr8 is probably not a bad thing.

 

[Cohenjl13]

It’s a planted 110 with the Ehiem pro 4 I have 15 Rummy Nose, 3 dojo loach 6 oto 6 Cory 5 silver molly and African butterfly and a clown pleco

 

[Upstate TBarbs]

I see 2 possibilities.

1: Your plants are taking care of the Nitr8s. Congratulations!

OR

2: You are doing the test wrong. It has to be done exactly as follows.

Instructions

1. Fill a clean test tube with 5 ml of water to be tested (to the line on the tube).

2. Add 10 drops from Nitrate Test Solution Bottle # 1, holding dropper bottle upside down in a completely vertical position to ensure uniformity of drops added to the water sample.

3. Cap the test tube and invert tube several times to mix solution. Do not hold finger over the open end of the tube, as this may affect test results.

4. Vigorously shake the Nitrate Test Solution Bottle # 2 for at least 30 seconds. This step is extremely important to insure accuracy of test results.

5. Now add 10 drops from Nitrate Test Solution Bottle #2, holding dropper bottle upside down in a completely vertical position to assure uniformity of drops to the water sample.

6. Cap the test tube and shake vigorously for one minute. This step is extremely important to insure accuracy of test results.

7. Wait five minutes for the color to develop.

 

[toolman]

I see 2 possibilities.

1: Your plants are taking care of the Nitr8s. Congratulations!

OR

2: You are doing the test wrong. It has to be done exactly as follows.

Instructions

1. Fill a clean test tube with 5 ml of water to be tested (to the line on the tube).

2. Add 10 drops from Nitrate Test Solution Bottle # 1, holding dropper bottle upside down in a completely vertical position to ensure uniformity of drops added to the water sample.

3. Cap the test tube and invert tube several times to mix solution. Do not hold finger over the open end of the tube, as this may affect test results.

4. Vigorously shake the Nitrate Test Solution Bottle # 2 for at least 30 seconds. This step is extremely important to insure accuracy of test results.

5. Now add 10 drops from Nitrate Test Solution Bottle #2, holding dropper bottle upside down in a completely vertical position to assure uniformity of drops to the water sample.

6. Cap the test tube and shake vigorously for one minute. This step is extremely important to insure accuracy of test results.

7. Wait five minutes for the color to develop.

+1 I agree completely, my planted tanks maintain super low nitrates even when I dont get the water changed on time ( and I dose pps-pro ferts).

Would be helpful to see a pic to be sure.

 

[Cohenjl13]

Here’s a photo, I always thought you wanted you nitrates around 20/30 and not 0?

 

[toolman]

I may have missed it earlier, but do you add any ferts? Looks very possible your plants are just using them.

 

[Cohenjl13]

I use excel and flourish everyday and it’s about time to add new fertilizer tabs. Currently having an algae issue so I’m playing with that right now though

 

[Fresh2o]

Flourish Comprehensive is intended as a source of micro nutrients and as a supplement to a NPK regimen (as per the Seachem site).
For a tank this size you should really consider using dry ferts and dose either using the PPS-Pro or EI method. Inexpensive, flexible, easy to use, and effective.

 

[arnoldndana]

Flourish Comprehensive is intended as a source of micro nutrients and as a supplement to a NPK regimen (as per the Seachem site).
For a tank this size you should really consider using dry ferts and dose either using the PPS-Pro or EI method. Inexpensive, flexible, easy to use, and effective.

I have a planted tank and have never heard of these 2 methods, can you explain them to me? I use all 4 flourishes once a week right now.

 

[Fresh2o]

I am familiar with PPS-Pro (Perpetual Preservation System) so I will describe it, however, both methods have commonalities.
PPS-Pro consists of a set dry salts in which you add water to them and dose a defined amount to your tank each day. I purchased Green Leaf Aquarium’s (GLA) kit which comes with 4 macro fertilizers, 1 micro fertilizer, and 2 500 mL mixing containers. I also ordered a separate 500 mL mixing container. As per the instructions, you weigh out the macro fertilizers (oh, you need a scale that measures in grams) and the micro fertilizers and place them in their respective containers. To each you add 500 mL of distilled water and mix. It can take several hours to completely mix so the solutions will not be ready until the next day. For dosing, you add 1 mL of the macro solution for every 10 gallons of tank water each day. For micros it used to be the same dosage rate but a few years back it was scaled down to something like 0.4 mL per 10 gallons. That’s it! You perform water changes as normal.
I have deviated slightly from the above instructions. I mix and dose the nitrates (KNO3) separately because I found with the standard setup, the nitrates would be a lot higher than I prefer (40-80+). Thus, the extra container. I dose the nitrates 2-3x per week. Also, to combat green spot algae (GSA) I have tripled the amount of phosphate. I try to target 2-5 ppm phosphate.
With EI (Estimative Index) the dosage rate is much higher than PPS-Pro. The idea is to flood the system with fertilizers so that they are not the “weak link” in the Light-CO2-Fertilizer equation. I believe fertilizers are measured and dosed directly to the tank. Water changes are 50% or more per week to help “reset” the system.
I prefer PPS-Pro because it is easy to use and is inexpensive. I measure out and mix the dry salts about 1-2 times a year. I have a 20 gallon tank so I use about 2 mL of macro mix per day (a macro batch should last me 250 days). I bought the PPS-Pro kit from GLA in December 2013 and so far the only thing I’ve had to order was more micro mix (have not opened it yet). In two months it will be 4 years. Not bad for $25-35. Compare that against the cost of the bottled fertilizers and it is not even close.

 

[toolman]

Sorry I was busy yesterday, but it looks like Fresh2o pretty much covered it. The only thing I may add is I also do pps-pro, except I got mine from NilocG and they have a premeasured kit. That being said I'm going to go to measuring my own like Fresh2o does now that I'm comfortable with dry ferts because its even cheaper. That being said my kit with premeasured packets lasted me a year for around $20, still cheaper than bottles.

 

[Cohenjl13]

Pps sounds great. So I can order the mix and put it in a drum umber my tank and use t it my auto dosing system? Do I need to worry about mixing it or the settling of minerals in the drum?

 

[Fresh2o]

Is your dosing reservoir a single container or multiple containers? Reason I ask is that it is my understanding that the macro and micro fertilizers should not be mixed; something about one of the macro components will cause the iron in the micros to precipitate. It is even advised that the macros and micros be dosed separately as in different times of the day to avoid interaction. I dose them at the same time.
Some settling might occur. If the reservoir is a single container then you could probably add either macros or micros to it, but not both.

 

[Cohenjl13]

They will be separate, and I can dose at different times. Thank you very much for the info. Last question, do you know if it’s shrimp/snail safe?

 

[Fresh2o]

Yes, the ferts are shrimp safe.