That's the one I have. Shake the bottle for at least 1 minute before adding it to the tube, hard enough so that your arm aches afterwards
So it's all clear as mud then!It is possible for your tank to have lower nitrate than your tank!
Plants soak up some nitrate and filters MAY remove nitrate if you have nitrate reducing bacteria in there. My tap water is 30ppm whereas my tank is 10ppm. I get nitrate problems if I do water changes much above 15% per week as I am adding nitrate rather than diluting it.
What this thread shows is that every tank is different!
Although I always remove the brown gunk from my filter every 4 weeks, it is possible that leaving it in place could slow down the water circulation and thus enhance the nitrate reduction ability by creating anerobic areas. So the answer as to whether it increases or reduces nitrate if you remove it could be that both are right depending on circumstances!
In my case I have a Juwel internal filter at present which is specifically designed to divert water and create a slower flow though the lower part to encourage nitrate reducing bacteria. I also use media designed for the purpose in that area so I believe nitrate is being removed that way, however, as I am also heavily planted I can't say for sure which is doing the most.
Change a tank for tap in your first line.?It is possible for your tank to have lower nitrate than your tank!
Plants soak up some nitrate and filters MAY remove nitrate if you have nitrate reducing bacteria in there. My tap water is 30ppm whereas my tank is 10ppm. I get nitrate problems if I do water changes much above 15% per week as I am adding nitrate rather than diluting it.
What this thread shows is that every tank is different!
Although I always remove the brown gunk from my filter every 4 weeks, it is possible that leaving it in place could slow down the water circulation and thus enhance the nitrate reduction ability by creating anerobic areas. So the answer as to whether it increases or reduces nitrate if you remove it could be that both are right depending on circumstances!
In my case I have a Juwel internal filter at present which is specifically designed to divert water and create a slower flow though the lower part to encourage nitrate reducing bacteria. I also use media designed for the purpose in that area so I believe nitrate is being removed that way, however, as I am also heavily planted I can't say for sure which is doing the most.
I'm in a semi-rural area (just south of Gatwick) so I imagine that would mean slightly higher nitrate due to the agriculture going on around me?I’m just north of the M25 and my tap water tests read:
Nitrate 10ppm
Ammonia 0.25ppm
Which means if my tank water reads the same then my plants-filter-snail-shrimp combi is spot on though even better is possible. Id still change 50% a week though as I personally wouldn’t want to live surrounded by my own pee n poo.
How some fish keepers don’t get this is beyond me.
There are two units of measurement used in fish keeping. One is mg/l calcium carbonate (though it's called ppm) so yours is 134 ppm. This converts to 7.5 dH, (the other unit). This is softish water and is suitable for soft water fish except for those few species which must have very soft water.my water supplier's annual report says calcium=54 mg/l, calcium carbonate=134 mg/l. What does this mean in terms of the hardness of my water?
I do get the theory of this, however, I've kept fish for 45 years, most live to ripe old ages, spawn regularly and grow to good sizes. My water is clear (no yellowing), I'm heavily stocked and plants grow well (since I started using CO2 at least!) In the past if I've increased water changes above 15% per week I have run into difficulties. It took me a while to work it out - I was raising nitrate levels and at over 30ppm plant growth slowed, which compounded the problem.I’m just north of the M25 and my tap water tests read:
Nitrate 10ppm
Ammonia 0.25ppm
Which means if my tank water reads the same then my plants-filter-snail-shrimp combi is spot on though even better is possible. Id still change 50% a week though as I personally wouldn’t want to live surrounded by my own pee n poo.
How some fish keepers don’t get this is beyond me.