Best products for keeping nitrates under control?

[KFav93]

Hi everyone,
I just lost a fish today, the first time in a long time, and I tested my water and my nitrates were pretty bad. I already have 10/20 nitrates in my source water, so their waste and uneaten food probably made it rise. I do weekly partial WCs, I just preformed one today. I also have 3 plants in my tank. Basically what I want to know, is there anything I could get for my tank that will help control the nitrates? Whether it's a plant, or something for the filter anything. I'm making a trip to the petstore in a few hours so I want to get some ideas of what to get.

 

[ImACoolguy]

For freshwater the best thing IMO is get a bunch more plants and you can "half-cut" your water change with RODI water to reduce the nitrates going into the tank. I don't favor extra chemicals so that is my recommendation.

 

[KFav93]

For freshwater the best thing IMO is get a bunch more plants and you can "half-cut" your water change with RODI water to reduce the nitrates going into the tank. I don't favor extra chemicals so that is my recommendation.

I don't favor extra chemicals I agree. The less the better. I was looking into marimo balls? Have you heard of them? And what's RODI water?

 

[ImACoolguy]

I don't favor extra chemicals I agree. The less the better. I was looking into marimo balls? Have you heard of them? And what's RODI water?

Marimo balls are actually a ball of natural algae and not a plant.

RO/DI. Stands for Reverse Osmosis/ Distilled water. an RODI unit can be attached to your water line and acts as basically a super filter that polished your water to pure cleanliness. It is a bit expensive depending on the unit, but would solve your nitrate issue. You can also look in places like Wal-Mart that sell distilled water by the gallon. The RODI unit would pay for itself though compared to buying water.

 

[BBradbury]

KF...

Nitrates have to extremely high and remain high for some time before most aquarium fish are affected. Floating plants, that take in nutrients through the leaves are helpful. Hornwort, Water sprite and Anacharis are good. Nitrate removing filter media will work too. HBH and Acurel are a couple of companies with good products. Large, frequent water changes are best. Work up to the point you change out most of the tank water every few days and this alone will guarantee a steady water chemistry. This is the most important to the health of the tank.

B

 

[KFav93]

Marimo balls are actually a ball of natural algae and not a plant.

RO/DI. Stands for Reverse Osmosis/ Distilled water. an RODI unit can be attached to your water line and acts as basically a super filter that polished your water to pure cleanliness. It is a bit expensive depending on the unit, but would solve your nitrate issue. You can also look in places like Wal-Mart that sell distilled water by the gallon. The RODI unit would pay for itself though compared to buying water.

I heard the marimo balls work as a filter and help filter nitrates. And oh man, I don't even know where to start with the RODI unit.

 

[KFav93]

KF...

Nitrates have to extremely high and remain high for some time before most aquarium fish are affected. Floating plants, that take in nutrients through the leaves are helpful. Hornwort, Water sprite and Anacharis are good. Nitrate removing filter media will work too. HBH and Acurel are a couple of companies with good products. Large, frequent water changes are best. Work up to the point you change out most of the tank water every few days and this alone will guarantee a steady water chemistry. This is the most important to the health of the tank.

B

What kind of filter media would you suggest?