# so whats the deal with NITRATE



## mashunter18 (Jan 2, 2004)

My typical water perimiters

ph-6.6-6.8
ammonia-0
NITRITE-0

weekly 20% water changes,this is 5 tanks.They have been running anywhere from 8 monthes down to 2 monthes

I bought this NITRATE test kit,had to order offline to,none around here only NITRITE available at my lfs.

2 weeks ago all tanks had some NITRATE ranging from 5ppm-50 ppm.

changed water in all tanks 4 times,usual 25% .

Again today test results

ph-6.6-6.8----------
ammonia-0
NITRITE-0
NITRATE--5 PPM-50 PPM

ALL my fish are fine,should of never done the tests,or is it even possible to get nitrate to zero??

add aquarium salt at every water change.

any thoughts


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## rufus (Jan 6, 2004)

plants will generally lower nitrates in the water, as will consistent water changes.


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

Nitrates are the end product of the nitrogen cycle. Thus, it's almost impossible to achieve 0 nitrates since nitrifiers are constantly breaking down ammonia (from fish respiration, poop, food, etc.) to nitrites and then nitrates. You can achieve close to zero nitrates by having a large, very understocked tank and a lot of live plants. Also, your water source has to have 0 nitrates.

BTW, for a freshwater aquarium, it's fine to keep nitrates under 40 ppm (although under 20 would be ideal).


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## mashunter18 (Jan 2, 2004)

> BTW, for a freshwater aquarium, it's fine to keep nitrates under 40 ppm (although under 20 would be ideal).


thats great,Im right on target then except one tank.thanks for the info.That makes sense.


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## trick095 (Aug 26, 2003)

Yeah just stick to those water changes and you should be fine. Nitrates cause a algae spike but if you got a Pleco he will appreciate it. A little is ok but too much Nitrate is bad.


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## BanditBrother (Nov 8, 2003)

Too many people rgourously stick toi set values!! No water is the same so will always have differing factors!! I never used to test my water and my Ps were fine and very active!! But i bought a test and now i get paranoid when levels aren't exact!! But now theyve sorted themselves out!! Just make sure ur Ps are ok!!


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