Filter that removes nitrate

[gwand]

I have mentioned on the forum that my well water has a persistent nitrate level of about 30 ppm. My fish appear to be doing well but I am uncomfortable with the situation. You may say, “gwand get yourself a RO system”. Two problems. I am a bit lazy. And once my new 60 gallon tank is running I will need about 50 gallons of water a week for exchanges on multiple tanks. I can’t possibly lug that much water from the basement to my fish room or for that matter from anywhere in my home. How about installing a water softening system? Sounds great. The quotes I received exceed $4000. That’s not gonna happen.

However I may have found a solution or it’s equally possible Water Filters of America has found a sucker. I purchased a 10“ x 4 1/2“ cyclindrical cartridge that contains a resin which sequesters nitrate from tap or well water. The cartridge will be installed under the sink that I attach my python to. Since I use the sink almost exclusively for water, exchanges, the cartridge should last one or two years. It is not a rechargeable system. Once the resin in the filter is saturated with nitrate, you toss the cartridge and buy a new one. I will keep you posted. Water Filters of America make filters great again.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Or you can get what I use and is under $200 delivered. All you need to do is put an adapter on one faucet so it will allow one to screw in a standard FM hose connection. If you prefer you can have a diverter valve setup to plumb into your pipes. I got all the faucet adapters and take my unit with me to fish events where I sold my fish and plants. I mixed hotel tap with my pure water 50/50 and I could batch it in my hotel room. I have all the Pyhon faucet adapters. At home I have a sink able to connect to a Fm garden hose end.

This was my first system which I replaced last year with the second one below

Mikro Omega 3 Stage Portable Aquarium RO/DI System with 75 GPD Membrane​

Mikro Delta 4-Stage Portable RO System PLUS DI with 75 GPD Membrane (Former ​

 

[gwand]

Or you can get what I use and is under $200 delivered. All you need to do is put an adapter on one faucet so it will allow one to screw in a standard FM hose connection. If you prefer you can have a diverter valve setup to plumb into your pipes. I got all the faucet adapters and take my unit with me to fish events where I sold my fish and plants. I mixed hotel tap with my pure water 50/50 and I could batch it in my hotel room. I have all the Pyhon faucet adapters. At home I have a sink able to connect to a Fm garden hose end.

This was my first system which I replaced last year with the second one below

Mikro Omega 3 Stage Portable Aquarium RO/DI System with 75 GPD Membrane​

Mikro Delta 4-Stage Portable RO System PLUS DI with 75 GPD Membrane (Former ​

Don’t you need a storage tank. I thought flow through the cartridges was too slow to hose 30 gallons into my 60 gallon aquarium.

 

[Magnum Man]

I’m not familiar enough with the flow rates, and volume of water that type of filter can handle… I would suspect there is some sort of material in the filter that absorbs the nitrates, and I’m not sure how long that takes ( the time the water needs to be in contact with the absorbing component ) it may require a flow rate as slow as a typical RO, to remove significant amounts of nitrates???
I know there are fixes around the RO units, but unless the Nitrate filters have a much better flow rate, you would end up having to do those on a nitrate filter as well… maybe they can flow 100’s of gallons an hour… posting mostly to learn more if those figures become available here…

 

[gwand]

I’m not familiar enough with the flow rates, and volume of water that type of filter can handle… I would suspect there is some sort of material in the filter that absorbs the nitrates, and I’m not sure how long that takes ( the time the water needs to be in contact with the absorbing component ) it may require a flow rate as slow as a typical RO, to remove significant amounts of nitrates???
I know there are fixes around the RO units, but unless the Nitrate filters have a much better flow rate, you would end up having to do those on a nitrate filter as well… maybe they can flow 100’s of gallons an hour… posting mostly to learn more if those figures become available here…

Yes. You may be right. I’ll let you know.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have tanks in two buildings. I have to batch my RO.DI water in one butr I use it the main house. So when I am making the pure water I t goes into a 20 Gal. Rubbermaid trash can. I need make more than 20 gals/ I have a pump I drop into the 20 gal. can and I use it to fill and assortemt of cntainers:
- 6 gal. water can with pour spout.
- 2 x 5 gal. Home Depot orange buckets with lids.
- 2.5 gal. gas can used only for water.
- 23 1 gal. jugs which originated as cider cans (thouroughly cleaned) and distilled water jugs.

I use 11-12 gals, a week regularly and I also fun some fry rainy seasons where I will use the pure water. I carry the 1 gal. jugs from where I batch the water to the main house where I use it. It is not a great distance and is good exercise.

When the jugs are empty they go back out to get refilled from the bigger cans. I used ti carry in the 5 gal. cans but I gacve that up due to age.

I also batch water for my brother in the winter which he used in a couple of humidifiers.

Drespite the system being a 75 gpd, this is it's max. output and would require a pump to deliver water at the max. pressure. I batch hooked to the sink out put. So, it works more slowly. ALso, the flow rate is somewhat dependent on the water temp going in. During the day or evening before bedtime I will run with the hot water side allowed to contribute. I am looking to get the water temp into the low 70s max, But, when I am running over night, I turn off the hot and use only cold which slows things down and prevents overflowing the 20 gal. can.

Here is some helpful info in general. The deionizing module removes ions and that would mean nitrite and nitrate as well as ammonia/ammonium. My first unit had a carbon module but the 4 stage I now have added a sediment filter in front of the carbon. Over time I test the output water with my TDS pen. It should be close to 0 TDS if not 0. Over time the RO membran will need to be replaced and I can know that because the TDS will start to rise for the output water.

Any of the modules can be replaced and it is pretty simple. Also, I chose the ouput level yhat was right for my needs. The site I linked sells all sorts of units so if one needs bigger output you can get iine. Also, if you need a bigger capacity storage container, look here https://jehmco.com/html/water_storage_tanks.html

 

[Colin_T]

Someone on the forum (@AbbeysDad I think) used a pozzani? filter to remove nitrates. You can also use floating plants to suck the nutrients out of the water and even terrestrial plants that have their roots in the water will remove nitrates.

 

[gwand]

Someone on the forum (@AbbeysDad I think) used a pozzani? filter to remove nitrates. You can also use floating plants to suck the nutrients out of the water and even terrestrial plants that have their roots in the water will remove nitrates.

My tanks are densely planted. I perform weekly 50% water exchanges. So my nitrate levels are never higher than the levels coming from my well water. However the well water has a stable nitrate level of 30 ppm. Thus the necessity for the filter.

 

[Fishfunn]

My tanks are densely planted. I perform weekly 50% water exchanges. So my nitrate levels are never higher than the levels coming from my well water. However the well water has a stable nitrate level of 30 ppm. Thus the necessity for the filter.

The only natural way I found to remove nitrates from my tanks was by floating duckweed variety plants.

If you have a canister filter, you could use a couple of stages filled with Biohome bio-media. Once the anaerobic bacteria are established, they will break down the nitrates in the water.

Seachem also has bio-media products too like like Matrix™ or de❊nitrate™ to house anaerobic denitrifying bacteria that will remove nitrate from your water.

 

[gwand]

The only natural way I found to remove nitrates from my tanks was by floating duckweed variety plants.

If you have a canister filter, you could use a couple of stages filled with Biohome bio-media. Once the anaerobic bacteria are established, they will break down the nitrates in the water.

Seachem also has bio-media products too like like Matrix™ or de❊nitrate™ to house anaerobic denitrifying bacteria that will remove nitrate from your water.

I have de*nitrate. Do you know the difference between matrix and de*nitrate? Why would a company sell two products that supposedly do the same thing?

 

[Fishfunn]

I have de*nitrate. Do you know the difference between matrix and de*nitrate? Why would a company sell two products that supposedly do the same thing?

denitrate is for flow rates less than 50 gallons/per hour. de❊nitrate™ is also an excellent media for aerobic nitrification and it makes an ideal biological filter in drip trays, canister filters, sumps, or even box filters. At high flow rates (greater than 100 US gallons per hour), it will function solely as an aerobic filter. At slow flow rates (less than 50 US gallons per hour), it will function as both an aerobic filter and an anaerobic denitrifying filter.

To lower nitrates you must equip your tank with the capacity to remove them at a rate greater than or equal to the rate of formation. So, if your nitrates are holding steady and you want them to come down, increase the amount of Matrix™ you are using or use de❊nitrate in addition to the Matrix™ (de❊nitrate will more efficiently remove nitrates per volume of product assuming a flow rate of not more than ~50 gallons/hour). If you need to use a higher flow rate, than stick with Matrix™ or try Pond Matrix™, both of which support anaerobic denitrification at higher flow rates.

 

[gwand]

denitrate is for flow rates less than 50 gallons/per hour. de❊nitrate™ is also an excellent media for aerobic nitrification and it makes an ideal biological filter in drip trays, canister filters, sumps, or even box filters. At high flow rates (greater than 100 US gallons per hour), it will function solely as an aerobic filter. At slow flow rates (less than 50 US gallons per hour), it will function as both an aerobic filter and an anaerobic denitrifying filter.

To lower nitrates you must equip your tank with the capacity to remove them at a rate greater than or equal to the rate of formation. So, if your nitrates are holding steady and you want them to come down, increase the amount of Matrix™ you are using or use de❊nitrate in addition to the Matrix™ (de❊nitrate will more efficiently remove nitrates per volume of product assuming a flow rate of not more than ~50 gallons/hour). If you need to use a higher flow rate, than stick with Matrix™ or try Pond Matrix™, both of which support anaerobic denitrification at higher flow rates.

Thank you. Very useful information. What is the downside at running the filter at 50 gallons per hour? I am new at this hobby.

 

[Fishfunn]

Thank you. Very useful information. What is the downside at running the filter at 50 gallons per hour? I am new at this hobby.

It depends on the size of your tank, the bio-load of fish, and saltwater vs. freshwater. I read that it is recommended to have a filter that turns over 4 times the volume of water in a tank, so a 50 gallon/hr flow rate would be a lone filter for a 15 gallon size tank.

So if you wanted to use de-nitrate, then it would be best to use it in a second filter, like an HOB in conjunction with another filter.

 

[glyn]

Intrigued by this thread. A nitrate level of 30ppm is giving you cause for concern. What problems is that nitrate level causing?

 

[gwand]

No discernible problems yet. But the cognoscenti on this forum recommend levels less than 10 ppm.