Nitrate in Aquariums: What You ACTUALLY Need to Know
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- čas přidán 29. 04. 2022
- Nitrate in aquariums is confusing because the Internet seems to have varying opinions of how much is considered “dangerous” in fish tanks. Let’s talk about what the science says, how to lower nitrate, how to raise nitrate, and what I personally do to keep it under control.
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*How do you control nitrate in your aquarium, and what range of nitrate do you feel comfortable with?* And if you want more info on nitrate as part of the nitrogen cycle, don't forget to check out my video here: czcams.com/video/D2rxFNM8sDA/video.html
I think the most challenging things for beginner and intermediate fishkeepers to understand about nitrates (or any potentially dangerous nutrient) is that 1. we are taking static measurements of a dynamic system and 2. we often use nitrate as a proxy for all macro and micronutrients.
If you read 0 ppm nitrates that means they are being consumed as fast as they are produced. If you read any amount over 0, then your tank is producing nitrogenous wastes faster than it is consuming them and water changes will be necessary. This dynamic changes as more plants grow (more consumption) or as fish population or feeding increases (more production). You need to re-revaluate your fertilizer dosing periodically.
Also, when we are using nitrates as a proxy for all plant nutrients, we might misdiagnose poor plant health as low nitrates when in fact it could be low light, potassium, phosphorus or a micronutrient. Adding nitrate heavy fertilizer might improve plant health at the expense of fish or invertebrate health.
There’s just no safe “lazy” way to dose fertilizer.
my plants thrive on a nitrate level of 20 - 40ppm, and my fish seem happy with that :)
If you watch older video's or read older article's they would tell you at 20 ppm you better do at least a 50% water change right then before everything is dead.
my tabs leeched and my nitrate went to 90🥰🥰🥰 plants were loving it though and also the tank was cycling
old answer: i don't worry about it. i find plants that work with my water and keep them. i'm a pretty lazy aquarist, so path of least resistance is good for me. new answer: i've learned a lot the last couple of years, and am getting to move my 55 to a 75 and set up all that i have learned in the last couple of years. this was good info, and even with many decades of fish keeping experience, i learned something for this video. looking forward to your next.
I’ve given up completely on submerged plants and gone with plants grown out of the water with their roots in the water (pothos, philodendron, monstera). I don’t need to add co2 and can keep the light off most of the time on the aquarium itself, so no algae problems. They handle nitrates better than submerged plants ever did for me.
have you tried spider plants, they seem to do well as a semi aquatic plant
@@apss5736 I have not! I'll check them out. Thanks!
I have had great luck with lucky bamboo!
My no filter+no water change planted setups have nitrates constantly 10-15ppm. Haven't done a water change in a very very long time 🤣
I can't have plants in my display tank as my sevrums destroy them, even pothos grown out of tank they eat the roots. Only way is using a cage.
It's a good series. And you're doing a fantastic job of hitting the primary points at an approachable level of detail.
You are correct, research is conducted (in this regard) in either recirculated aquaculture or in the study of natural systems (limnology). Very, very, very few studies actually focus on an aquarium; and the few that do are often focused on coral due to how threated coral has become. Due to this, it's hard to find specific's on something like a toxicity level of a nutrient on an aquarium fish. You did a good job of trying to run that down. There are also related fields that have an even better understanding of specific areas; such as nutrient management being another agricultural field which is entirely dedicated to understanding nutrient cycling, feralization, inputs and outputs/uptake. Or pedology's (soil science) understanding of both natural soils and sediments, and artificial substrates. And they often usually have a well developed understanding of the microbial communities which inhabit them. Two areas of research you may want to draw off of for other future video's. Then of course theirs's horticulture and botany for anything plant related. Those are most of the applied sciences most related to this hobby.
Also, while easy green is a fantastic product. And I know you're linked to aquarium co-op, which is a good company and a great educational source for new hobbyists. Hobbyist's should not really start with an all-in-one fertilizer, until they have enough plant bio mass which requires it.
Cory should have gotten his act together years ago and had a second product line which lacks both N & P in the formulation. Why? If you expand that nitrogen cycle even further, macro molecules in fish feed are chalk full of nitrogenous compounds and a fairly high phosphorus load. They are in forms such as protein and nucleic acids (which get broken down and become available through different bio-process's in the aquarium). In that early phase of the hobby, where even you admittedly struggled to reign in Nitrate: the last thing you want to do is dump in more Nitrate. It's pouring gas on a fire.
N, P, & K are the often dubbed the "primary macro nutrients" because plants (and most life) needs them in large quantiles; alongside C, O, & H which are either found in carbon dioxide or water. If you don't yet have a large plant load but do have too many fish, you'll get all the N & P you need from the conversion of fish food to waste. In this earlier stage, something like Brightwell's FlorinMulti is a better option. I really don't care about a specific brand, they just happen to have a product which fits the discussion topic.
Once you hit the point you're at now, where the plant uptake exceeds the available N & P from feeding: now is when an all-in-one is advisable. (also, Plants will use ammonia as often as they will use nitrate. don't dos ammonia, but understand that point, as you won't catch it if your only testing for nitrate)
That's why so many call it a "balance", you're balancing input against uptake. And it's is a moving target, which can swing the other way as well. For instance, if you don't provide the plants enough nutrients to allow them to grow, they will die off and you will go back to having to many nitrates again. Or if you have a large fish loss, you may start out with a algae bloom from to much nitrate, but over time you may starve out the plants if you don't increase the fertilizations or replace the fish load. Hence, a balancing act. It's almost impossible to perfectly match input to uptake in a system, as everything is growing and changing. But it's certainly a fun challenge try try.
And for that reason, I'm happy to see you and the Co-op push testing. Strips take only a few second, and we a hobbyist's have no way of knowing (with any detail) unless we test. It's a great "best practice" to raise hobbyist's success rates. It's a good series.
You have been a huge help to make my first planted tank enjoyable. After shutting my 7 year old Cicilid tank down I started watching your videos because I wanted to change to planted tank with nano fish. THANK YOU for sharing your experiences!!!
Irene I love your videos and the style that you explain things. A lot of people don’t understand nitrates and live plants. I still feel that I have a lot to learn.
Awesome video as always! I love how you make sure to address things in a way that doesn't assume every viewer is familiar with fish keeping. Can't wait for the next video! I just started keeping plants so looking forward to it!
Had this same problem, I hadn’t tested my 25g pea puffer tank in a few months after I had all my plants explode/ kept doing my regular cleaning (I would do a weekly 10% and be typically 20-30ppm) but suddenly I tested and my nitrates were 0! I decided to see how long it could go and I think without even doing water changes, it would never go up. I started using some liquid C02 and feeding a little bit heavier, which is doing great! I want to get into a whole c02 set up, although until I have the money it has been great!
Straight to the point video! Nice one Irene!!!
Hello my aquarium has a mix of 14 fish and 25 or so cherry shrimp,mostly planted with low to medium light plants with full spectrum led lighting which mimics sunrise to sunset all in 8 hours, plants are growing and algae has not been as rampant since thankfully.
Enjoy your videos thanks for your advice.
It's even more complicated for plants as they need a ratio of macro nutrients Nitrate, Phosphorous and Potassium/Sulphur (Potash) which Aquarium Ferts typically provide. Out of ratio plants suffer and algae increases, tank sourced Nitrates from fish poop throw the ratio off. Then there's the micro nutrients / minerals. Glad you're preparing another video about it. (Easy Green has macro and micro nutrients).
Very informative and helpful! Nice video!
Wow the coincidence! I did the nitrate test today and it was very high too! Just what I needed
I LOVE ACO's test strips and Easy Green, as well as the occasional dose of Easy Iron where applicable. No longer need any other brand fertilizers. I even use EG on my houseplants!
I decided to keep plants in my first fish tank and was able to succeed thanks to mostly Irene, along with some other CZcamsrs. The battle against algae was a bit tough, but nothing floating plants and a cleanup crew couldn’t fix! Thanks for sharing your stories, including your failures. In fact, I think those were the most helpful!
Yes! Floating plants and algae eaters are the best! Glad you decided to make the leap into the planted aquarium world. 🌿
Shrimp!!!
Can wait til part 3! Thanks for your videos!
Thanks for this video on nitrates! I needed it, I have struggled also!
Thanks for posting this. You’ve got a new subscriber.
Thank you. I am so looking forward to the next part.
Now that’s the way to explain nitrates! NEW SUB!! And thank you🙂⭐️💯⭐️
Hi, I absolutely love your videos! I was hoping you could answer a question I have. I have a 10 gallon planted tank with red cherry shrimp and one large zebra Nerite snail. I had a bloom of detritus worms--the kind that live in the substrate and the kind that live on the glass. There are way too many for my taste, despite having cut back on food and doing thorough cleanings. What fish would you recommend I put in the tank to help eat the worm population?
My experience has been somewhat different from yours, Irene. I have a 29 gallon community tank, which is moderately planted. I have never gotten a nitrate reading exceeding 5 ppm. My aquarium bioload is lower than the maximum recommended using AqAdvisor. The only macronutrient fertilizer I have ever used is root tabs, and I haven't used them for a year. My gravel is inert. I change 10-20% of water, vacuum the substrate, and clean the glass weekly. My plants are all fairly easy to grow, and they have never done poorly, despite the low nitrate concentration. I did have a blackbeard algae problem in the past, but I have largely solved it by cutting down on the number of hours of light (now 6-7 hours per day). I assume that I have somehow lucked into a nitrogen-balanced aquarium where the nitrate produced in my system is close to the amount of nitrate taken up by the plants.
Any recommendations for plant species you've had good success with?
I love your videos, good Job !
My tap water is hard and has at least 40ppm nitrate (hard to tell exactly with the test kit), my fish have never had any issues with it and I do a 25% water change weekly regardless. All the forums online saying you should water change to remove all the nitrate surprise me, I really don't think it matters if your fish are used to it.
most fishes are actually hardy... my tap water is around 80-160 ppm, and i've been fishkeeping for 25 years already...
the only way to get rid of nitrate from tap is thru distillation and reverse osmosis
How many nitrate per pump does easy green supply?
I literally was just thinking about this a day ago! Thank you!
With every tank I try to achieve a balance and keep it very simple. I stopped chasing plants that require too much work and embrace the ones that thrive but every tank is different. I have easy green and potassium but I don’t even dose those on a schedule. I’m not lazy necessarily but I hate over working to the point I don’t enjoy my hobby. So I do take the “lazy” approach but I’ve just never been extra. I prefer simplicity and in nature things balance themselves out. I feel balance is always the best starting point.
Great video as always! Thanks so much 😃
My pleasure and welcome to the Members Only family!
@@GirlTalksFish thank you! Glad to be here :)
This video was very useful.
Great video, as always. There is so much bad information out there on nitrates. You have to know what kind of setup before you tell someone how much they need to shoot for.
Note that the mg/L (ppm) values quoted in scientific literature are generally done with a NO3-N ("nitrate nitrogen") test (like the Hach test). The test in the standard API kit is straight NO3 (nitrate alone, not NO3-N). The equivalence is about 1 (NO3-N) : 4.4 (NO3). Thus, if a research paper gives a value of 100ppm, then the equivalent value on the API test is about 440ppm. Unfortunately, above 40 on the API test it gets very difficult to tell what the value really is. That is just to say that most people stress WAY too much over this number.
We use potted plants underwater for easier substrate cleaning. Then plants on top by replacing the lid with chickenwire. Use the stainless wire, usually coated with green plastic. Cut neatly to fit with all sides folded over an inch or two. I also block my top light at a 40 degree angle towards the plants..
Thank you so much for this video!! I have been wondering why the live plants I've had were dying, and now I know it's because my nitrates were consistently low! I feel more confident for my next tank now. My next step is finding a spot to put the tank at and the layout lol.
How's it going? It's been a month; are your plants alive?
I like the logic.
The discussions on the salt water/ reef side of the aquarium hobby has also spurred a ideal of near zero nitrate & phosphate.
Going to try your method,
Jim
PS: Ever noticed that parents are better at and more relaxed at “poop” discussions? 🤔
Lol, it's so true! After taking care of babies, I have a much higher tolerance for handling waste. 😉
@@GirlTalksFish Yup,a definite sign of parenthood & fish guardianship.
When one realizes that map directions are given in youth landmarks, “Turn left at the playground, right at the school, right at the town pool, ……,” you’re a seasoned parent. 🤓
Thanks for the video
How do you judge it the other way around? A planted tank with bigger fish that always sits around 40ppm nitrate? Would you say that’s too much as the plants don’t seem to consume enough?
I have a planted tank. My tap water naturally has around 10-15ppm of nitrates. I do add some fertilizer too though. I actually just added plants last week & some are already pushing out new growth
Hi Irene :) thanks for the great info. Question for you: when I dose my planted tanks with Easy Green my nitrates spike significantly in the following days. This leads to more frequent or larger water changes. Any recomnendations on how to balance this?
Nitrate is one of the primary ingredients of Easy Green (and most fertilizers). The nitrate “spike” you detect is your fertilizer. If you do a water change after fertilizing, you are pouring money down the drain!
Do a water change before adding fertilizer. Also, if adding fertilizer is increasing your nitrates beyond safe limits, then don’t add fertilizer. If your plants are healthy, you might not need fertilizer. Or maybe you need a micronutrient fertilizer or a nitrogen-free fertilizer (0-5-5).
I've just started using pothos cuttings, just with roots sitting in the tank. I was losing fish due to high nitrate.
My struggle was very similar to yours, Irene!
I just started using the co-op test strips. Could you tell me why my Hardness/GH is testing pink? There is no pink on the chart.
I noticed in the video yours was too.
I always enjoy my aquarium, but thanks to you and Aquarium co-op I enjoy it so much more, thanks a bunch!
I see you also use the test strips , how accurate are they compared to the chemical tests??
Thank you!
Part 3 can't come fast enough! I've been struggling to keep enough nutrients, and eliminating deficiencies, for months on my new tank setup! I know I have something out of whack because I continue to have algae growing rampant
I have a 5 gallon(betta, mystery snail, cherry shrimp) and a 16 gallon tank(betta, 3 kuhli loaches, mystery snail, amano shrimp). Right now I just check for nitrites and ammonia.
I’m curious how my experiences will change once I move from Germany to Idaho. I have Anubias and Crypts in my 20 gallon and I really haven’t had any issues.
Hi need your advise
I just setup my new tank 1 week ago and cycling the tank
Do a water change 40%
After few days my nitrites are 5mg at max toxic level
My ph is 7.6 and ammonia is zero
Any advice how to lower the nitrites
we have a 4ft tank with loades of plants out nitrates are highish we are doing 50% water change twice a week to get them down but its not really changing plus some plants are going yellow and others are brown i have root tabs and putting in fert occasionally its an undergravel filtration we crashed it by cleaning the gravel a lot in one go
So I’m currently creating a tank for a betta with silk plants and some moss balls. I am hoping to add in live plants later on but for a while it will just be the moss balls and the betta as the live things in the tank. Any suggestions on what ppm I should keep the nitrates at?
If it's just moss balls, as in marimos, then probably keeping it fairly low will be fine. Marimos are actually an algae, not a moss, so they're pretty good at taking in everything they need. The worst that could happen with low nitrates is they just don't grow as fast, as far as I know. The beta should easily produce enough waste to keep a few healthy. Just keep it above zero and worry more about how the betta likes things :)
love the earings😃
I've done some reading and as far as I understand, in unpolluted waters in the nature nitrate levels rarely exceed even 10 ppm. Yet plants have no trouble growing.
I think people overestimate how much nitrate plants need and even can use. An abudance may not only harm the plants but the aquatic animals as well.
I had a quick question, I've been going back and forth on heaters for a 5 gallon Betta tank I'm going to be getting, and every review of every heater I've looked at has had overwhelming amounts of people reporting heater failures. I was wondering what heater you would recommend for a 5 gallon? Thank you:)
This is way late but if you haven't figured it out some fish can live in cold water without a heater. The temperature you keep your house will be the temperature your aquarium is. Study cold water tropical fish and you should find many. Hope this helps.
I'm a newcomer and bought a 200L tank and put lots of plants in a 3 to 4 inch deep soil capped with sand substrate. Then dosed it with ammonium chloride drops. I used those dip strips and it registered zero ammonia. So the next day I put more ammonia in, still those strips registered nothing. After repeating this for several days I bought the API test tube kit and the ammonia was high off the scale, but the dip strips now only registered one grade up from zero. It took three 50% water changes just to get the ammonia within measurable range and it killed several plants. I will not be using those strips again - and yes, they are in date etc. Fortunately no fish in the tank yet.
HELP! STUMPED. I have a three month old planted tank. Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 160+. It has no fish. Occasionally, I will see a wilted leaf and remove it, but most of the plants are growing. My floaters have multiplied so much that they would cover the entire surface it I didn’t corral them. The lights are on 15 hours a day. There is not a spec of algae in the tank. The substrate is gravel. There is no organic material in the tank except the plants. Tap water has minimal nitrates. I do not fertilize the tank, except I broke one root tab in half and buried in under two rooted plants. I can’t figure out where all the nitrates are coming from. Advice?
I love your videos 😊
OK I am very confused about all this stuff because I’m planning on getting a fish tank and I’m a beginner and I’m trying to still figure out how to keep that my treat and ammonia levels and pH levels low and all of the stuff is kind of confusing and I’m wondering if the moss balls would be OK and maybe you can help me also is like the black Gravel OK for like plants to put in because I’m just worried that I’m not gonna be able to take care of them
Fish produce ammonia when they breath or you can use a media that supports anaerobic bacteria
I still have high nitrates and nitrites in my plant filled tank..
Okay, so my plants are growing great! But I noticed something the other day. The leaves of my plants are growing, like, roots? on the leaves. I pick them off, but I have NO idea what this is. Could it be a parasite? They are really embedded in the leaves. I pulled all my plants out (they can float and still grow. But I have no idea what this is. I can’t find anything on it! Who I take them out and start over. They are only a month off. I noticed it yesterday! Help!!
when are you going to try breeding hillstream loaches?
Does anyone have any recommendations on some of the best online sites to order betta fish? Thanks
I am also interested in this, as well as neocaridina shrimp and ramshorn snails.
Ill get my first aquarium in a week or two. It will be 105L tank. I will have this fish 1 betta,6 danios,1 dwarf puffferfish and 4 kulli loaches. I will get plants. I rlly wanted to know if plants help and I saw it in video, tysm. Ill get filter,heater and air pump. Is this good tank, let me know I dont want fish to suffer or die. I have one more problem I need to get fish and aquarium on same day. I thought about when i get home to let aquarium cycle for 4h before fish get in. Btw how long can they be in bags? Will they be ok? 🥺
My problem with all in one fertilizers is the phosphate. My nitrate is always low, so I manually add it weekly, but my phosphate is always high, 2 ppm or higher. Have you any idea why it's always so high? I never add it myself.
Thanks for the video 🙂🌷.
Hmm I usually have low phosphate, but my current theory is that I usually feed a lot of low phosphate foods, like frozen and live foods (versus flake foods). I also keep a ton of plants, which probably helps.
I suspect the difference in "how much is too much" recommendations is largely because of OTHER water parameters affecting how toxic nitrate is as well as some species of freshwater inhabitants being more sensitive than others (and some bloodlines are hardier than others, too!) . For example, I've seen some platies and guppies tolerate up to 200 ppm and still reproduce and grow like crazy. But then I've also seen other platies and guppies only thrive if nitrate stays below 100 ppm. At the same time, I've seen in my own tanks that my shrimp suffer if I let nitrates top 50 ppm. They seem to be the most sensitive occupants on my current tanks, so that's my own cutoff point.
That research article in the description also seemed to show higher sensitivity to nitrate in invertebrates, so you're probably right!
HELP! Not sure if you are still monitoring this article. I have a three month old planted tank. Ammonia 0, Nitrates 0, Nitrites 80-160. It has no fish. Occasionally, I will see a wilted leaf and remove it, but most of the plants are growing. My floaters have multiplied so much that they would cover the entire surface it I didn’t corral them. The lights are on 15 hours a day. There is not a spec of algae in the tank. The substrate is gravel. There is no organic material in the tank except the plants. I do not fertilize the tank, except I broke one root tab in half and buried in under two rooted plants. I can’t figure out where all the nitrates are coming from. Advice?
can the easy green be used in aquaponics
My tap water is loaded with nitrates. It reads 40.5 ppm. I even had a lab test it in case kit was wrong. I have plant submerged and grew sweet potatoes on the top of my tank. Lots of roots! But nothing has brought down the nitrates. I started out with a forty gallon; my water tested great in the beginning. I bought a 75 gallon and all that was needed. I really want to have a cichlidtank, but then my water has went to heck, so it has sat empty. Broke my heart💔
Excellent explanation. I thought zero was better too.
Do these test strips read ammonia?
what is the appropriate Nitrate Level for Axolotls?
My 6 month old lightly planted 10 gallon betta tank has never had nitrates in it, the weekly api test always reads 0. Even after moving half the plants to a new tank my levels still read 0. I have a betta, a snail, and a amano pooping in there I don’t understand how my nitrates AND nitrites are always 0 and my ammonia is always 0.25.
The nitrate problem can be can be further complicated by your tap water if you're using decorated tap water for your water changes. It's always worth testing your tapwater nitrate levels: mine are 20ppm (the UK and EU legal limit that water companies should not exceed is 50ppm!)
Nitrate removal is far harder than ammonia and nitrite removal - there are no quick, simple, cheap methods to get rid of it.
Balance is the best solution.
Plants need nitrate to grow.
Aquarium inhabitants produce nitrate as the end result of the nitrogen cycle.
Balance the amount of plants with a sensible stocking level effective lighting and good water filtration/circulation.
I have an aquarium with this balance established. It has barely recordable nitrate levels; good plant growth and minimal algae. The nitrate only enters the aquarium via the water top ups (20ppm going in - but the plants remove it quickly... hence the barely recordable nitrate level)
I have an non stop nitrate problem for years even tho I do a WC weekly religiously along with my planted 75 with a big canister filter has like 15 big plants and no matter what I do I just can’t get rid of the nitrate. Starting to think the API nitrate test is wrong. Even tho I have multiple nitrate test kits
Perfect timing cause some of my plants started to die and I wondered what's going on.
I have a tank that has high nitrogen levels I don’t know if it’s safe to just place my Anubias plant please let me know
Spectacular
From my experience ammonia binding dechlorinators, and bottled bacteria, along with a fair amount of plants and a hang on back filter, along with three do it yourself filters in a moderately overstocked 10 gallon tank(12 fish including an 8 inch growing common pleco) has kept my fish healthy and happy for the last almost 6 months, even though most fish Karens on the internet say I should keep them in a no less than a THOUSAND GALLON tank for 12 fish, or I’m a fish racist! I don’t do the tests anymore until I start losing fish again.
Btw I’m using Excel by seachem for the plants…is that recommended?
Is the 200 ppm figure talked about actually NO3 ppm as we measure it with (for example) an API test, or nitrate-N ppm? Did you check for that? Because the latter needs to be multiplied by 4.4 for a conversion to NO3.
Actually, I'm not sure. Link is in the description if you want to check out the research paper yourself.
It’s in NO3-N. But the authors of the paper concluded that US Federal NO3-N safe level should be reduced from 10 ppm to 2 ppm (or from 44 ppm nitrate to 8.8 ppm nitrate).
@@Dylan-ok6ft Translation for non-chemists? Instead of saying 200 ppm is toxic for guppy fry, I should say _____?
@@GirlTalksFish well, it’s complicated. One piece of information in that study included in the review was that the lethal dose of nitrates as measured by an aquarium test kit for guppy fry is about 875 ppm. However, the overall conclusions of the review of lots of toxicology studies is that the safe level of nitrates as measured by aquarium test kits for freshwater systems is 8.8 ppm.
@@Dylan-ok6ft That 8.8 ppm nitrate number doesn't seem to reflect my personal experiences at all it comes to common aquarium fish and aquarium water test kits. 🤔 Do you mind linking the studies you're referring to?
Do you think that works in monster tanks?
Would you do a more indepth video about the different parts of, & how the python works.
I caved into peer pressure from my coworkers and removed the algae to please their aesthetic needs.
I fullt regret removing the algae. The nitrates and nitrites were stable and under control until I removed the algae. Now, I gotta do a 20% water change every other day. Yes the tank is over stocked, slightly, and yes I am working on cycling a new tank to remove some of the fish, but everything was A-OK until I removed the algae to please some amateurs 🙄 NEVER AGAIN.
I run aquarium at 0ppm and another at 50ppm. Both are okay, but the 0ppm tank have better looking plants and no algae despite lack of co2.
The 50ppm tank have co2 and if nitrate drop below 20 I get cyano.
I've had a 10 gallon tank with a betta in it for about 9 months now (my first tank), I planted heavily from the start and I've always struggled with getting above 0 ppm nitrate because 1) my single betta doesn't create enough waste on his own and 2) my plants consume any that does get created. After a few months I added 3 nerite snails because I wanted the extra waste in my tank for nitrate purposes and because I'm in a constant battle with algae and I needed them to help clean it up. Even dosing the single pump of easy green there's at most 5ppm if I test the water after a couple of days. I've never had my nitrate go over 10ppm and it's a constant struggle trying to keep it up and keep my plants fed. I feel like balancing my tank shouldn't be this hard!
Do you use any co2? I've found this makes a huge difference on algae when I started on my fertiliser journey :)
@@Raevarie I'm well aware of the benefits of co2 and would love to try it out but keeping aquariums is already an expensive hobby and unfortunately co2 is far outside of my budget.
@@TamAnds I said co2 because there are co2 gas canisters and also co2 liquid that comes in a bottle, it's chemical that breaks down harmlessly and also into co2 within the next 24hrs. They're relatively cheap to buy in comparison and I only dose every 3rd day (so about twice a week) and I find that's enough for a heavily planted and stocked aquarium for balancing algae, especially if you have algae cleaners like shrimp or snails etc :)
@@Raevarie I use the aquarium co-op easy carbon, I don't know if it's the same as other brands or not but I find it hasn't really done anything for me. Do you have a brand you prefer?
@@TamAnds yep! I use 'Seachem Flourish Excel' and it's done well for me, and I just did a quick google, the Aquarium Co-op one contains glutaraldehyde as the ingredient and the Seachem one contains polycycloglutaracetal. They seem similar but yet different so maybe give the Seachem one a go and see if it makes a small difference :)
just like everything in life, it's all about the balance and inevitable entropy 🙂
My fish tank water levels for no2 and no3 are very high, I’ve done many water changes and the levels stay the same, I’ve put in a live plant but still isn’t doing anything, all my fish seem fine but, no signs of stress, what do I do?
I have a 76L fish tank with 7 fish, everything was good when I got the fish until I started feeding bloodworms and the water went all weird and start getting brown algae on the glass, tested the water level and no2 and no3 are very high, I am really concerned
I dont see any replies to anyones questions on here
What levels is it reading>?
So when I was freaking out about 20-40ppm (API liquid) of nitrate in my planted aquarium.....I was over-reacting. Makes me feel better.
Dont discount floating plants for nitrogen processing. Coontail and duckweed both grow like nuts on the surface. They provide a food source for fish, shide, cover for fry, clean the water very quickly. And are super easy to remove fron tanks to keep just the right ammount. I grow nicer plants but still keep these as a buffer to get nibbled on and easily change plant load to keep water where it needs to be.
Hey Irene (or any other aquarium keeper seeing this), have you ever considered making your own fertilizer with powder sources of nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, etc.? I've been considering it since Green Leaf Aquarium has an available kit for sale and it's more cost effective and customizable for each tank. I'm open to any advice so feel free to give me any of your opinions/experiences/advice.
THIS is the video I needed. I have gotten to the point where I have zero Nitrates and Nitrites. Who knew that was even possible?? haha
Nitrites should always be zero😉.
How many ppm per squirt from the easy green?
www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/faqs/easy-green-nutrients-per-pump
Good morning
I control my nitrates by using a slow moving plenum or anoxic filtration. these systems keep nitrates low because the bacteria that grows actually feeds off it, it also keeps your phosphates low which is the main cause of algae. Nitrates are not just a bi product from fish, its anything that is rotting in the aquarium that is causing ammonia. eg rotting plant matter, or sludge on the bottom of the tank. dirty filters will also contribute to nitrates. Plants are a great way to keep nitrates down, however you will need to use fast growing stem plants. Slow low light plants will not consume nitrate the way fast stem plants do which means that if your not using anoxic filtration than water changes will need to be done frequently.
Ever since I started owning pet fish (3 years) I have always had problems with nitrates. All other parameters were basically at 0 but nitrates was always a issues for me. Even right after a water change the API nitrate test tube will turn red. Wth? And yes I am doing the rest right. So after a while I got busy and had very little time for my tank. All I can do was add water to replace evaporated water. Well guess what? I would go months without Changing water or cleaning my tank and my water was crystal clean and fish never got sick or died. With all that said no trait test tube was still dark red. What's up with that? Should I be concerned? I mean these fish have been in this water for 4 months without a water change and they look as happy as a clam.
Lol...I didn't know "omazing" was a word. 2:40....
Thank you so much!
Great video!!! Can you tell me any plant my silver dollars won't eat?!?
My nitrates will not go down! I'm doing water changes every other day & they're back up to 100ppm by then!!! I have 2 adult Guppies about 20 guppy fry lots of mosses & plants with a sponge filter, air stone & a Stingray filter with sponge & media in that's used every few days plus a hygger full spectrum light that's on for 8-9 hours a day in an 11 gallon tank set up about 10 weeks ago. I was feeding too much because the fry but I'm not now. I just cannot get the nitrates to stay down!! Nitrites & everything else is fine, pH is quite low at 6.2 - 6.8. My first tank a 5 gallon one is & was very shortly after starting up perfect. I don't know what is going on...
You got that right about $$$$$$, that’s trigger for almost every thing!
Deep substrate helps the conversion of nitrate because of the anaerobic bacteria
Omg did that fish have spiral poop? I’ve never seen that
I saw that too! I was afraid it was dragging a “Screwcumber” (vegetable weight) at first 😳
I always find this Nitrates thing so funny