Tap water nitrate levels 80ppm!

[bbay]

Hi All.

My ammonia and nitrite are 0ppm, but nitrate is - difficult to tell actually, my API Masterkit is def red, at a guess I'd say it's at about 80ppm. The instruction manual that came with the tester kit says "a nitrate level of 40ppm or less is recommended for freshwater aquariums" but on another post people were saying it should be less than 20. Anyway, several water changes later I decide to test my tap water - which is ... about 80ppm!

I guess my question is: should I be concerned about the levels, or are the 20ppm advocates scaremongering? The API Masterkit recomends their Tap Water Filter, which at around £60 I'd rather not by unless necessary. Thanks for reading!

 

[LyndaB]

That's crazy high. Are you sure you're doing the test correctly? You need to really smack that test bottle against a counter to break up the crystals inside. Only then, can you get accurate readings.

If your reading is correct, you should contact your water company immediately, because that is not acceptable. Do you get an annual quality report from your water company? If not, you can access it on-line. Mine tells me that our nitrate is 10.

And yes, the vast majority of fishkeepers would tell you to try to keep your nitrates <20.

 

[bbay]

Thanks Lynda, that's very interesting. I'm not at all sure, but it's def 40 at the very least. My wife's had a look too and we estimate from the colour chart that it's around 80. I have watched the you-tube video of the guy smashing bottle number 2 against his leg, and would say that yes I do shake bottle 2 vigorously for one minute as instructed, and then shake the tube vigorously too. I think I will check with the water company as you suggest.

 

[LyndaB]

Don't just shake that bottle for 1 minute. I'm not kidding when I say to smack it against a counter top a few good hard whacks and then shake it for about 3 minutes, especially if it's a) a new kit or b) you don't use it often.

 

[bbay]

Will do. I did check the water company water quality report like you suggested, it was actually really easy to find online, they reckon they tested the water 79 times and it averaged 23 (min 10, max 33) so i guess it must be my testing that's wrong. Hey that probably means my fish are in good water after all!

 

[LyndaB]

could be.....

you can always bring a sample to your lfs and have them test it, too

 

[Terrance]

If your water source does not get better, then look into other ($$) ways to get your nitrAtes down in between water changes.

RI/DO units - most expensive option. your LFS may sell water that has been running through RI/DO units.
Algae turf scrubbers - really effective
Fast growing plants - it could get messy real quick if you keep them in your display tank. I recommend a refugium (HOB fuge if your tank is small).