getting nitrates down (artificial tank)

[Luananeko]

Use whatever water you can get with the lowest nitrates to start. If that's the main tap, use that. You might have to buy water or get an RO unit like some folks in AZ and southern cali often have to do.

 

[ginty]

Use whatever water you can get with the lowest nitrates to start. If that's the main tap, use that. You might have to buy water or get an RO unit like some folks in AZ and southern cali often have to do.

what an ro unit? if i have to do all this i may give up. i cant afford to keep buying water for the tank.
if i use water from the main tap do i add a little bit of hot water to it ? otherwise it may be too cold because my water temperature is always between 24c and 27c

lava rock? what do i need to keep one of these? do i need to add stuff to water or just put it in and thats it? and it breaks nitrate levels down?

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[Luananeko]

what an ro unit? if i have to do all this i may give up. i cant afford to keep buying water for the tank.
if i use water from the main tap do i add a little bit of hot water to it ? otherwise it may be too cold because my water temperature is always between 24c and 27c

lava rock? what do i need to keep one of these? do i need to add stuff to water or just put it in and thats it? and it breaks nitrate levels down?

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Here's a good FAQ about RO:
Proper Aquarium Water Quality: What is Reverse Osmosis Water? Basic FAQ's

Yes, you will need to temperature match your water using hot water or leaving the water out overnight before adding it to the tank.

Lava rock can be purchased from any garden landscaping place, just rinse it and stick it in the tank. It will take around a month for the nitrate eating bacteria to populate the rock, but give it time and you should notice the nitrates lowering.

If you're hesitant about using random lava rock, there's a company that modifies them and swears that they work better than a regular lava rock... I have no idea if they actually work better or not, but at the very least they're guaranteed not to have any contamination: https://www.onedersave.com/

Ignore their sales pitch about it eliminating the need for water changes; a water change does far more than just lower nitrates and toxin levels and they're missing the point... Ignoring that bit of false advertising, their description of what the rocks are made of and their purpose does sound solid and matches my own research about regular lava rocks. So even if they are just overpriced/overhyped lava rocks they will still help.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

am i fighting a losing battle? the water out of my tap read about 30ppm for nitrates.
i donot no what to do now. ive had stress with cycling and now this
these are the substances im using.

just done a test
ammonia: 0.25ppm
nitrite: 0ppm
nitrate: 20ppm

i still need to get a ph test kit. but every time ive had it tested in a shop its been between 7 and 8

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Are you using test strips or a liquid test? The strips are notorious for being inaccurate. If your tap reads 30ppm, you could not have less than 30ppm in the tank.

The nitrate reactors require low oxygen (slow water flow) as far as I understand.

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[Delapool]

Plus 1 - the readings seem a little odd. Is the test kit new?

Even still - my tank is normally about 40ppm nitrate. Sure I'd like it lower but I'm not overly limited in fish types I keep.

 

[ginty]

Are you using test strips or a liquid test? The strips are notorious for being inaccurate. If your tap reads 30ppm, you could not have less than 30ppm in the tank.

The nitrate reactors require low oxygen (slow water flow) as far as I understand.

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im using api liquid tests.
to be honest i did think it was odd. i brought the api nitrate on ebay. it is still in date.
to be honest the nitrate looks different under different lighting. maybe im wrong in my results.
i only get to do the test when i get home from work. its dark then.


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[ginty]

Plus 1 - the readings seem a little odd. Is the test kit new?

Even still - my tank is normally about 40ppm nitrate. Sure I'd like it lower but I'm not overly limited in fish types I keep.

i got it on ebay. it was still in date. the person had only used a couple of times.

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[Delapool]

Perhaps a lfs will do it for free to check? I can't tell the colours at all really. I only know it goes down when it really changes colour.

 

[Caliban07]

im using api liquid tests.
to be honest i did think it was odd. i brought the api nitrate on ebay. it is still in date.
to be honest the nitrate looks different under different lighting. maybe im wrong in my results.
i only get to do the test when i get home from work. its dark then.


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It's the colour after 5 minutes that you read according to the instructions. I would add a couple of floating plants. I'm not a plant expert so I can't give names. With respect to the other advice given. Me personally I wouldn't use product like de-nitrate. If they were really that effective everyone would be using them.

To be Honest you need a larger tank at least with 30ppm nitrates going in it will take a little longer to build up and you can fit more plants in. Plants are easy to keep if you stick to beginner plants. Even more so with lots of nitrates.

You could buy yourself a reverse osmosis unit. It would be a one off purchase but you wouldn't have to keep buying water from the LFS.

Don't worry too much. Lots of people have high nitrates in their tap water. There are ways round it.

Bigger tank and more plants would be my first steps personally.

 

[ginty]

Perhaps a lfs will do it for free to check? I can't tell the colours at all really. I only know it goes down when it really changes colour.

i dont suppose you no a small easy plant i can get for my 28litre tank? a d how to care for it?

it will only be for a few weeks until i get my bigger tank.

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[Caliban07]

Like is said I'm no plant expert but I have heard pennywort is a good floating plant that many use in refugiums as a nitrate absorber.

 

[Luananeko]

Frogbit is good one too. Great nitrate absorber and the fish seem to love foraging in it's roots for any leftover food. Water sprite, water lettuce, hornwort, and anacharis are other ones commonly used.

 

[Plantaholic]

Id say get 2 Moss Balls. Around $5 each, no planting, no ferts or root tabs, no special lights, drop it in the tank and your done.

 

[ginty]

Id say get 2 Moss Balls. Around $5 each, no planting, no ferts or root tabs, no special lights, drop it in the tank and your done.

thankyou. see im finding it hard enough sorting my tank water. i dont want to have to care for plants too.
will moss balls reduce nitrates?

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[Plantaholic]

Most all plants will consume nitrates. The key here is to not add more issues to the tank, as part of the soloution. Moss balls, anubias, and Java fern are three examples of low care plants. Good luck!

 

[venymae]

opps. ignore this post

 

[ginty]

opps. ignore this post

??

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