Nitrates in tap water?

[alli.knight]

Hey everybody. I haven't been able to get my nitrates under 40-80 ppm (I have a really hard time telling the colors apart. They look so similar...) so I decided to test my tap water. It tested the same 40-80 ppm. What am I supposed to do about this? Am I just testing wrong? I follow the instructions exactly and bang the second bottle again my palm while I shake it for a long time. If the nitrates in my tap water really are that high, then what?

[Terrance]

I would setup an algae turf scrubber. It's very good to reduce all your nitrates to 0. You will have to go longer without water changes, so add supplemental minerals to the water for your fishes health.

An easier alternative would be putting fast growing plants in your tank to reduce nitrates. It will get messy though. You could also use pond matrix as part of your filtration.

Your area got some serious problems.. Find a way to fix it.

[blert]

Do you have access to a well?

[adadkins1]

I'd recommend putting in some good plants like Hornwort and Dwarf Water Lettuce. They would help in reducing the nitrates.

By the way, I don't see how using plants is going to get "messy".

[alli.knight]

Originally Posted by blert

Do you have access to a well?

Nope. Just city water.

[alli.knight]

Originally Posted by adadkins1

I'd recommend putting in some good plants like Hornwort and Dwarf Water Lettuce. They would help in reducing the nitrates.

By the way, I don't see how using plants is going to get "messy".

I like the look of the dwarf water lettuce. It's a floating plant, right? I've never had live plants before and for some reason they intimidate me. I'd love to give it a try though.

[blert]

Originally Posted by alli.knight

Nope. Just city water.

I think that is way out from EPA regs. Maybe call your water company and see what's up.

[Terrance]

Fast-growing plants simply grow too fast. Hornwort in particular will start losing its leaf (not sure what the plant terminology would be here) as it grows longer. Many Other fast-growing plants are similar. These tend to make the display tank look rather messy since substrate will be covered with pieces of hornwort.

Natural floating plants like water lettuce are not messy IME. It's easy to own, but my HOB filter killed them and they kept clogging my filter intake.

The faster they grow, the more plants you will have. The more plants you have, the more you will need to maintain. These plants are better suited inside a refugium for their purposes.

[alli.knight]

Originally Posted by Terrance

I would setup an algae turf scrubber. It's very good to reduce all your nitrates to 0. You will have to go longer without water changes, so add supplemental minerals to the water for your fishes health.

An easier alternative would be putting fast growing plants in your tank to reduce nitrates. It will get messy though. You could also use pond matrix as part of your filtration.

Your area got some serious problems.. Find a way to fix it.

I just looked that up and it looks quite complicated. I think I'll just try plants first. Thanks!

[Terrance]

Oscar tank, correct?

[alli.knight]

Originally Posted by blert

I think that is way out from EPA regs. Maybe call your water company and see what's up.

It's weird. I just looked up a water quality report for the city and according to it the MCL for nitrite+nitrate is 10000 ppm. The report was from 2010. Apparently the 2011 one isn't up yet. That's seems crazy high. I wonder if the units are wrong somehow...

[jlk]

The EPA only allows nitrates to be at a max of 10ppm for city/state regulated drinking water sources. You can contact your local water authority & explain your situation. They will come out & test your water for free. You can also check online for water testing reports for your area. The EPA's safe drinking water hotline is #800-426-4791. As a last resort, you can consider an under-sink RO unit but these are not cheap. Good luck resolving this issue!

[alli.knight]

Originally Posted by Terrance

Oscar tank, correct?

Yes. It just has one little guy in it. He's about 2 inches right now. I just got him last week.

[alli.knight]

Originally Posted by jlk

The EPA only allows nitrates to be at a max of 10ppm for city/state regulated drinking water sources. You can contact your local water authority & explain your situation. They will come out & test your water for free. You can also check online for water testing reports for your area. The EPA's safe drinking water hotline is #800-426-4791. As a last resort, you can consider an under-sink RO unit but these are not cheap. Good luck resolving this issue!

That seems like a good idea. I'll give the city a call. Thanks!

[alli.knight]

Originally Posted by alli.knight

It's weird. I just looked up a water quality report for the city and according to it the MCL for nitrite+nitrate is 10000 ppm. The report was from 2010. Apparently the 2011 one isn't up yet. That's seems crazy high. I wonder if the units are wrong somehow...

Maybe the units are supposed to be ppb?