My tap has 20ppm nitrates!?

[Maridia]

Is this normal??? Is it safe for humans to drink this? I thought I wasn't doing enough water changes, but then tested water right out of the tap, and was surprised to see 20ppm nitrates. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites. Will my fish be ok? I do weekly 50% WC's. I also tested weekly on my 55g, usually 40ppm nitrates. My tank is about half stocked. Please advise.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

My tap is actually higher but my planted tanks keep it way lower. The only other ways would be to get an ro/di or use spring water with some tap water to lower it some. The fish shoukd be fine but some are sensitive to a higher nitrate level. Usually at 30-40 you want to do water changes

 

[Maridia]

So this normal then. And I do not want to do an ro mix since I want hard water with high ph. Will this hurt humans?

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Not to my knowledge. I was drinking it but stopped eventually because we have floaty things in our well water.

Sent from my VS950 4G using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Maridia]

I plan on keeping cichlids, so I hope they're strong enough.

 

[Maridia]

*whew! Upon further review, my water is 5-10ppm on nitrates. I retested in a more well lit room. My numbers were wrong before.

 

[BBradbury]

Your Tap Water

Is this normal??? Is it safe for humans to drink this? I thought I wasn't doing enough water changes, but then tested water right out of the tap, and was surprised to see 20ppm nitrates. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites. Will my fish be ok? I do weekly 50% WC's. I also tested weekly on my 55g, usually 40ppm nitrates. My tank is about half stocked. Please advise.

Hello Mar...

Aquarium fish have been adapting to public water supplies for decades. Just treat it to remove chlorine and chloramines with something like Seachem's "Safe". Small tanks up to 30 gallons, really need half the water replaced weekly. The larger tanks can generally go 2 weeks between those 50 percent changes.

You can add some floating plants like Hornwort. It will reduce the nitrates naturally or use a nitrate removing medium like the products from Acurel.

B

 

[meegosh]

Mine fluctuates throughout the year. Typically mine average around 10-15 from the tap. Nothing to be concerned with, been drinking this water all my life.

 

[Delapool]

Is this normal??? Is it safe for humans to drink this? I thought I wasn't doing enough water changes, but then tested water right out of the tap, and was surprised to see 20ppm nitrates. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites. Will my fish be ok? I do weekly 50% WC's. I also tested weekly on my 55g, usually 40ppm nitrates. My tank is about half stocked. Please advise.

I believe state levels are often 10ppm. Got a link on the desktop but the main issue I understand is for infants.

 

[Delapool]

For information.

http://www.public.health.wa.gov.au/cproot/1805/2/Nitrate in Drinking Water.pdf

Basic Information about Nitrate in Drinking Water | Basic Information about Regulated Drinking Water Contaminants | US EPA