Nitrates in the Aquarium
As those of you who have been around for a while know, I do not put much emphasis on the level of nitrates in freshwater systems. Over the last few years, there has been an increasing emphasis on reducing nitrates as much as possible in the freshwater aquarium. I do attribute this to the emphasis of very low nitrates in marine and reef aquaria, which is necessary to the health of the various critters found within, especially corals and anemones, and the EPA issuing regulations declaring that no public water supply should have more than 10 ppm of nitrate in the water they supply. I have seen many people come here frantic to reduce low amounts of nitrates (less than 60 ppm) because they thought they had a problem when they really did not.
The fact is, that despite the EPA, many local water supplies have higher nitrate levels than the EPA claims to allow, which is then added to the aquarium during a water change. The nitrogen cycle in the aquarium also produces nitrates as an end product (not really the end of the cycle, but considered to be so for the aquarist).
I have just finished reading an article by Tony Griffitts, which can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/33see9 (using TinyURL due to the length of the original link), that, more or less, backs what I have said here before, and will, undoubtedly say here in the future. His recommended limit is 100 ppm, while I go a bit higher.
Given, in our imperfect world, we will always be faced with some amount of nitrate in our tanks, what can we do about it?
First, let us take a look at where nitrate comes from. The two major sources have already been listed above. The major source should be your tank itself and the nitrogen cycle. An ancillary source would be your own tap water, hence one of the reasons we ask to get a baseline of your tap water with the test kits you are using. If you water is high in nitrates, you will immediately know that the tap water may be part of your problem.
Once a tank is established, you should still be taking water tests, although at much longer intervals. If your nitrate is rising, the reason why it is so will need to be determined. Have you added more fish to your tank? Has a fish gone missing, and cannot be found? Has there been any other change in your aquarium? Has there been a change in your tap water? If you have a planted tank, are your plants no longer growing as they had been? Once the source of the increase has been found, a course of action can be determined. There is no real rush to fix this immediately, depending on the fish you are keeping–some are more sensitive than others to levels of nitrate, and their behavior should be a clue as to whether they are being affected or not.
Unless your tap is the source, the remedy would be to do more frequent water changes, which should slowly decrease the amount of nitrates in your tank. If your tap water is the source, you will need to find an alternate source of water. If your tank does not have live plants, you can consider adding plants to your tank. It will take the plants a bit to become established and start using the nitrates in your tank as part of their diet.
If the problem is a death, finding the remains will stop the nitrates from increasing, and the water changes will help bring it back to normal.
If there was an increase in the population of the tank, whether it be fry that were born or an introduction of your own, you will need to make the determination if your tank can handle the additional load or if you need to move some fish to another tank.
Just remember not to panic, take your time, and go through things in a logical manner to resolve your issue. And, as always, you can come here looking for further advice and counsel.
\Steve//
Category: AquaticLife
