Fed up with nitrates in my well water

[gwand]

My well water has a steady state nitrate level of approximately 30 ppm. When I do a water exchange I dilute my well water with nitrate-free spring water that has a similar GH. But this getting old. And soon with the addition of a new 60 gallon tank the volume of my weekly water exchanges will approach 50 gallons per week. I could install a RO system but then I will have to mix in salts and pump the water into each tank. I am too lazy to do that. Instead I will bite the financial bullet and install a resin system that will extract the nitrate from the well water leaving me with water with a nitrate level of <5 ppm. Then I can continue to use only my python system for water exchange.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello gwand. There are a lot of tank keepers that would love it if their water nitrates were as low as yours. Nitrates aren't going to even begin to harm most fish unless they appraoch the 60 to 80 parts per million (ppm) range and stay there long term. I don't worry about the water chemistry in my fish tanks. Never have. I just treat the tap water with a standard water treatment and remove and replace at least half the water every few days. This establishes a steady water chemistry and this all the fish need. Trying to change your tap water is the quickest way I know to fail in this hobby.

10

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Research veggie filters. In our tanks the plants cannot be feed ammonia as it would not be good for the fish. So the most frequent was we see Nitrogen being supplied in tank ferts is often potassium nitrate. The plants can use nitrate. They do so less efficiantly than ammonia but they can get the notrogen they need from the notrate.

You do not have to have to have the plants in the tank when kkeeping fish that would eat them, You can make an external veggies filter .

https://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/water-filtration/veggiefiltersrtr/#more-157

 

[gwand]

Hello gwand. There are a lot of tank keepers that would love it if their water nitrates were as low as yours. Nitrates aren't going to even begin to harm most fish unless they appraoch the 60 to 80 parts per million (ppm) range and stay there long term. I don't worry about the water chemistry in my fish tanks. Never have. I just treat the tap water with a standard water treatment and remove and replace at least half the water every few days. This establishes a steady water chemistry and this all the fish need. Trying to change your tap water is the quickest way I know to fail in this hobby.

10

You may be correct about nitrates and fish, but I also keep shrimp and dwarf crayfish. They are exquisitely sensitive to nitrates. Also, as you know, your opinion on the safety of nitrates at the 30 ppm level is the minority viewpoint on the forum.

 

[Fishfunn]

My well water has a steady state nitrate level of approximately 30 ppm. When I do a water exchange I dilute my well water with nitrate-free spring water that has a similar GH. But this getting old. And soon with the addition of a new 60 gallon tank the volume of my weekly water exchanges will approach 50 gallons per week. I could install a RO system but then I will have to mix in salts and pump the water into each tank. I am too lazy to do that. Instead I will bite the financial bullet and install a resin system that will extract the nitrate from the well water leaving me with water with a nitrate level of <5 ppm. Then I can continue to use only my python system for water exchange.

Can you have floating plants in your tank? I found floating plants or duckweed varieties work great for absorbing nitrates, and all that is required is skimming off overgrowth every few weeks or so. I always have 0 nitrates in my tank with floating duckweed.

 

[gwand]

Can you have floating plants in your tank? I found floating plants or duckweed varieties work great for absorbing nitrates, and all that is required is skimming off overgrowth every few weeks or so. I always have 0 nitrates in my tank with floating duckweed.

Yes my tanks are heavily planted and I have floating azolla too. My nitrate level never goes above the baseline value of 30 ppm which is exactly the level in my well water. So the plants are dealing well with fish derived nitrates but cannot seem to deal further. I guess the plants ability to metabolize nitrates has a limit. Maybe the addition of more plants is the answer. But the tank is already heavily planted.

 

[Tyler777]

Yes my tanks are heavily planted and I have floating azolla too. My nitrate level never goes above the baseline value of 30 ppm which is exactly the level in my well water. So the plants are dealing well with fish derived nitrates but cannot seem to deal further. I guess the plants ability to metabolize nitrates has a limit. Maybe the addition of more plants is the answer. But the tank is already heavily planted.

Ok so I guess duckweed could help with the nitrates I think I have duckweed in another tank so as a back up plan if I use salt what kind of salt should I use ? N how much should I pour for a 36 gallons tank ?

 

[Essjay]

Salt is not for nitrate with an 'a' - it's for nitrite with an 'i'. Nitrate and nitrite are different things.

 

[10 Tanks]

You may be correct about nitrates and fish, but I also keep shrimp and dwarf crayfish. They are exquisitely sensitive to nitrates. Also, as you know, your opinion on the safety of nitrates at the 30 ppm level is the minority viewpoint on the forum.

Hello. Yeah. I'm likely in the minority. But, I'll wager you won't find a fish tank with a more consistent water chemistry.

10

 

[Colin_T]

If you have nitrate in the well water, you could have other harmful substances too. I would get the well water tested for everything to make sure it's safe for the fish and you, and go from there.

If the water does contain other harmful substances, then a reverse osmosis (r/o) unit would be a better option because it will remove virtually everything including the harmful/ toxic stuff. The other option is to run the water through a big carbon filter before or after it goes through the nitrate removing filter.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Usually, nitrate in tap water is the result of fertilizer runnoff locally. If one lives near agriculture, it is cpommon to see it. The faster a plant grows, the more nitrate it will consume. Try adding faster growing plants and floaters as mentioned if possible. Most stem plants can also be floated.

When I used to keep a high tech planted tank using pressurized CO2 I had to add potassium nitrate to the tank as it burned though notrates easily. This is usually not needed in most tanks, however.

edited for typos/spelling

 

[Fishfunn]

Yes my tanks are heavily planted and I have floating azolla too. My nitrate level never goes above the baseline value of 30 ppm which is exactly the level in my well water. So the plants are dealing well with fish derived nitrates but cannot seem to deal further. I guess the plants ability to metabolize nitrates has a limit. Maybe the addition of more plants is the answer. But the tank is already heavily planted.

I measured the nitrates in my tank with the floating duckweed variety, and it is consistently 0 ppm. I only have a HOB filter on it with a large Amazon sword in it. The only fish I have in it are 6 cardinal tetras.

A lot of nitrates come from how much food we feed and the number/size of the fish that are generating the waste.

I still find the duckweed to be the best scrubber of nitrate.

Do you have a picture of the tank that is giving you the consistent 30 ppm of nitrate?

 

[gwand]

I measured the nitrates in my tank with the floating duckweed variety, and it is consistently 0 ppm. I only have a HOB filter on it with a large Amazon sword in it. The only fish I have in it are 6 cardinal tetras.

A lot of nitrates come from how much food we feed and the number/size of the fish that are generating the waste.

I still find the duckweed to be the best scrubber of nitrate.

Do you have a picture of the tank that is giving you the consistent 30 ppm of nitrate?

Now that I plumbed a nitrate filter into the sink I attach my python to I no longer have a nitrate problem. I only feed my fish Monday, Wednesday and Friday.