Cheapest way to get nitrates down

[Ginty]

Hi guys.

I did an api liquid nitrate test on my tap water.
It is 40ppm


I do weekly 40%water changes but i cant get it lower because of my tap water. But the end of the week its aroung 55pmm
I have a 190l tank and i have live plants but it doesnt lower it.

Whats the cheapest/easiest way to get it a bit lower ( i havent got lots of money to spend but i love my tank as it helps with my depression) so id like to get it to around the 30ppm mark.

Thanks for taking the time to read


Ginty



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[AbbeysDad]

Here's my primer on pre-filtering high nitrate source water.
High Nitrates in Source Water

And/or you can use API Nitra-Zorb pouches in your filter. They can be recharged and reused several times in aquarium or non-iodized salt water.

Note if used in your filter, place last after polyester floss to minimize compromising the product with detritus.

Hope this helps!

 

[Ginty]

Here's my primer on pre-filtering high nitrate source water.
High Nitrates in Source Water

And/or you can use API Nitra-Zorb pouches in your filter. They can be recharged and reused several times in aquarium or non-iodized salt water.

Note if used in your filter, place last after polyester floss to minimize compromising the product with detritus.

Hope this helps!

I use juwel nitrax sponges in my filter but they dont seem to do much. I have a juwel trigon 190 and comes with a built in corner filter.

Is the api nitra-zorb similar to the nitrax sponge do you know?

And do you know roughly how much my nitrates will drop if i add this to my filter by a week my nitrates are 55ppm?

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[Munroco]

Water Lettuce

 

[flchamp89]

Water Lettuce

Definitely second floating plants. Pothos is also popular and adds a different element to the tank. Just leave leaves above water.

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[hobby5]

Is the pic in your profil your tank? If yes you need to increase plant mass considerably There is hardly any plant.

 

[StevenF]

Definitely second floating plants. Pothos is also popular and adds a different element to the tank. Just leave leaves above water.

Plants can get the nitrate level down but with nitrate levels that high they will need a lot of fertilizer to do it. If you fertilize right after water change and have good plant growth most of the fertilizer will be gone after 2 days, maybe 3. When the fertilizer runs out the plants stop growing due to nutrient deficiencies. The key to using fertilizer in this case is to apply it more frequently. Instead of fertilizing once a week try 3 times a week or even daily fertilization.

The water change still only needs to be done once per week but you may want to increase o a 50% water change. It might also be a good idea to monitor your water hardness GH, Kh, and PH on a weekly basis.

Note the popular aquarium plant Anubias is a member of the Pothos family of plants commonly sold as house plants Floating plants may not help if you have nutrient deficiencies.

The other issue to be considered is the fertilizer itself. What fertilizer are you using? Most fertilizers are incomplete and are missing ate least one element plants need. Sachem Flourish Comprehensive is the only one I have experience with that is complete. There may be others but they will be harder to find.

 

[flchamp89]

Look like a 55g tank? Its hard to tell. Are those real plants? Im with you on the ferts but... We look for long term solutions.

I think a lot more plants would be a long term solution.

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[AbbeysDad]

I use juwel nitrax sponges in my filter but they dont seem to do much. I have a juwel trigon 190 and comes with a built in corner filter.

Is the api nitra-zorb similar to the nitrax sponge do you know?

And do you know roughly how much my nitrates will drop if i add this to my filter by a week my nitrates are 55ppm?

Nitra-Zorb is a resin that adsorbs nitrates very well but I have no experience with said nitrax sponge so I can't compare the two. Before I switched to the filter, I filled a 29g tank with (60-80ppm nitrates) water and had two Nitra-Zorb pouches in the filter. In 2 days, nitrates were not measurable. Product use life with fresh/clean water (recharging in salt water) is excellent, but the product use life is much less in the aquarium due to detritus coating the tiny pellets.

Although there are many measures you can take to get and keep tank nitrates lower, I feel you really need a way to use nitrate free water for water changes.

 

[Essjay]

This is the nitrax sponge. Juwel says of them
"Nitrax - Nitrate Removal Sponge
The Sponge contains micro-organisms, which will, once developed, reside inside the sponges and in the water. These micro-organisms feed of nitrates and will reduce them significantly."

The majority of comments I've read about these sponges is that they don't work, and to treat them like a blue sponge - that is, wash it in old tank water and don't bother replacing it every 8 weeks as Juwel tells you to do.

 

[StandbySetting]

Personally I wouldn't worry about your nitrate level, I wouldn't call it high personally, you could add fast growing stem plants but again if you have too much light they will be starved of co2 and stand to only make the problem worse, Hygrophila polysperma is a favourite of mine, it grows very quick.

Otherwise remineralised RO water would reduce your nitrates but this would be expensive long term.

It would be foolish to start using fertilisers until we know your lighting levels - could you post these please OP?

 

[Ginty]

Is the pic in your profil your tank? If yes you need to increase plant mass considerably There is hardly any plant.

Nah ive got a new tank now that picture is my old tank. Ill change it very soon.

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[Ginty]

Plants can get the nitrate level down but with nitrate levels that high they will need a lot of fertilizer to do it. If you fertilize right after water change and have good plant growth most of the fertilizer will be gone after 2 days, maybe 3. When the fertilizer runs out the plants stop growing due to nutrient deficiencies. The key to using fertilizer in this case is to apply it more frequently. Instead of fertilizing once a week try 3 times a week or even daily fertilization.

The water change still only needs to be done once per week but you may want to increase o a 50% water change. It might also be a good idea to monitor your water hardness GH, Kh, and PH on a weekly basis.

Note the popular aquarium plant Anubias is a member of the Pothos family of plants commonly sold as house plants Floating plants may not help if you have nutrient deficiencies.

The other issue to be considered is the fertilizer itself. What fertilizer are you using? Most fertilizers are incomplete and are missing ate least one element plants need. Sachem Flourish Comprehensive is the only one I have experience with that is complete. There may be others but they will be harder to find.

Im new to plants if im honest. I dont add nothing for the plants because i wasnt sure what to add and would be ok for my fish. Also i didnt know how to use it.


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[Ginty]

Personally I wouldn't worry about your nitrate level, I wouldn't call it high personally, you could add fast growing stem plants but again if you have too much light they will be starved of co2 and stand to only make the problem worse, Hygrophila polysperma is a favourite of mine, it grows very quick.

Otherwise remineralised RO water would reduce your nitrates but this would be expensive long term.

It would be foolish to start using fertilisers until we know your lighting levels - could you post these please OP?

My lights are on for 5 hours a day. On a timer

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[AbbeysDad]

Personally I wouldn't worry about your nitrate level, I wouldn't call it high personally

High nitrates have long term negative health effects on fish. It lowers their immune system making them more susceptible to a wide range of issues where even slight stress can foster lethal results. It also shortens their life span. We should strive to keep nitrates as low as possible in the aquarium, definitely less than 20ppm. 40-50ppm is unacceptable. Usually, routine partial weekly water changes handles this...except in the more rare cases like this (and mine!).
An RO system is overkill when in-line nitrate filtration is readily available (same as used for refrigerators, ice makers, etc. Alternatively, adding nitrate gobbling plants* and products like API Nitra-Zorb Seachem's Phosguard can deal with phosphates and silicates.
* A heavily planted low tech tank is also an answer to keep tank nitrates low(er) and provide purer water for the fish.