oops, nitraban

[joannde]

I always test my tank right before a PWC to make sure that I'm not letting things go too long (I do a PWC once a week) and my nitrates are only about 7 (closer to the 5 color on the AP kit chart).

SO now I'm worried that any plants I put in there will starve !

When I filled the tank in Mid April I used Nitraban (newbie error - what can I say). I used ONE capful (instead of 4) in Mid May.

Questions:
how long will this stuff l(nitraban) work ???? I know the bottle says "reduces water changes to once every 6 months" but that's with regular dosing, which I've stopped
is there a way to dose for nitrates once I get the plants ? will I need to ??

pps: is there a way to change my name to "Worry Wart Elvis Fan" ?? <<kidding>>

 

[Purrbox]

It's common to have to dose Nitrates in planted tanks, especially those with high light. Some popular options include Flourish Nitrogen and KNO3.

 

[joannde]

Thanks - at least there's a solution LOL. The tank is low light. Is there a "target level" of nitrates I should be aiming for ?

 

[Purrbox]

You might want to read or reread the Fertilization Sticky. There's lots of great info in there including where to obtain ferts and dosing targets. It's more important to make sure that Nitrates don't bottom out and in the correct 10-20:1 ratio with Phosphates, than to maintain a specific level of Nitrates.

 

[joannde]

Thanks - I'm on my way to the sticky right now !

 

[7Enigma]

joannde,

Please also make sure you are doing the nitrAte test properly. You can have high nitrAtes and the test will show very little if the proper amount of mixing/shaking is not performed. I think it is 30sec before adding bottle #2, and a full 1 minute of vigorous shaking after adding.

 

[fish_4_all]

Just to add to the shaking thing. I didn't once and tested. 5ppm. Then I saw on here the same day to shake bottle #2 and shake the living daylight out of it. I did so and retested. 20+ppm.