My tap water contains nitrates!

[FishHobby99]

I have never been nitrate free. No matter how many water changes. It stays ~5.0 ppm.
So belatedly tested the tap water. 5.00 ppm. Previously tested (api) for ammonia. Tested pH with meter. Both good. Goggled & stumbled into another fish forum & joined. Guys there all said my tap water reading is fine. Such a relief! Hope you guys agree.

 

[Avel1896]

Hi
If I'm not mistaken, 5.00 ppm = 5 mg/l ?
Not a concern at all.

 

[Avel1896]

ammonia. Tested pH with meter. Both good.

In numbers ?

 

[Fishmanic]

20 ppm and under….I wouldnt be concerned

 

[FishHobby99]

Hi
If I'm not mistaken, 5.00 ppm = 5 mg/l ?
Not a concern at all.

I think so. I checked municipal standards and they all said up to
10 mg/l is standard and not a problem. I may have misunderstood, but thought ppl here said they were getting 0 and I never could. The techniques for lowering/removing nitrates were scary. Distillation and reverse osmosis and other things I don’t understand. Probably t
for wells etc with creepy hI levels.

 

[Byron]

Nitrates are detrimental to fish but the extent depends upon several factors. I agree that 5 ppm is nothing to worry about, but as this is in the source water it is possible the tank itself may add more, so keep monitoring. You can reduce nitrates that occur in the tank (from the biological processes) by not overstocking, not overfeeding, regular substantial water changes with a vacuum of the substrate, keeping the filter clean, and having live plants, especially floating and other faster growing plants.

 

[FishHobby99]

Thanks I’m working on the live plants.
Do you prefer a certain type of filter?

 

[Byron]

Thanks I’m working on the live plants.
Do you prefer a certain type of filter?

The filter should always be selected based on the needs of the fishes with respect to water current. All filters will do mechanical filtration (= clear water, different from clean water), and most will naturally do biological filtration. Larger tanks need larger filters generally speaking. But the flow a filter creates is the most direct impact on the fish (and plants if these are included in the tank). Some fish need strong currents, some need no water movement or as minimal as possible, and some are fine in the middle of these two extremes.

 

[Essjay]

I checked municipal standards and they all said up to
10 mg/l is standard and not a problem.

As a matter of interest, according to this website https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/national-primary-drinking-water-regulations the USA permitted maximum for nitrate is 10 mg/l Nitrate (measured as Nitrogen). This uses a different scale from our test kits.

10 mg/l or 10 ppm on the nitrate-N scale as used by the link is roughly 45 ppm* on the nitrate-NO3 scale used by our test kits.


UK water companies use the nitrate-NO3 scale, the same one as our test kits.



* it's actually 44.268 ppm

 

[FishHobby99]

The filter should always be selected based on the needs of the fishes with respect to water current. All filters will do mechanical filtration (= clear water, different from clean water), and most will naturally do biological filtration. Larger tanks need larger filters generally speaking. But the flow a filter creates is the most direct impact on the fish (and plants if these are included in the tank). Some fish need strong currents, some need no water movement or as minimal as possible, and some are fine in the middle of these two extremes.

I have 2 sponge filters & an Aqueon QuietFlow E. The sponges are for the betta (housed alone) and a few small Cory Cats that live with a bristlenose. The Aqueon is for my gold fish.

Due to ease of cleaning & lack of replacement cartridge/filters I’m thinking of losing the Aqueon & getting another sponge filter.

Does all this sound ok?

 

[Byron]

I have 2 sponge filters & an Aqueon QuietFlow E. The sponges are for the betta (housed alone) and a few small Cory Cats that live with a bristlenose. The Aqueon is for my gold fish.

Due to ease of cleaning & lack of replacement cartridge/filters I’m thinking of losing the Aqueon & getting another sponge filter.

Does all this sound ok?

I would probably recommend staying with the Aqueon, or something similar, for goldfish. Their waste is significantly greater than small tropical fish. And the increased flow around the tank would better suit goldfish.

I don't know the QuietFlow E, but I have two of the Aquaeon QuietFlow internal filters, pictured below. I really like this filter, as it has an adjustable flow so you can increase or decrease the current, and it takes up little space in larger tanks by which I mean a 3-foot 33g and 40g. The latter houses my group of cories, 40 of them, and I changed the dual sponge for the QuietFlow to increase surface disturbance and move the oxygenated water down the tank, and it helped. The cories had previously shown increased respiration in the early morning (due to increased CO2 and less oxygen from the plants overnight) but this filter change resolved that. Like I said previously, filters should always be geared to the needs of the fish; flow/current is more important than the actual "filtration."

I have never replaced the internal carbon cartridge. I find that the "sponge" part of the QuietFlow really catches debris, so I just rinse the filter every water change. It is only needed as mechanical filtration, and water movement, and I probably could buy some foam and cut it to fit and that would be just as good and maybe easier to rinse out.

 

[FishHobby99]

Yakoke! Terrific informative post. I copied it into an email which I sent to the printer so I can have a hardcopy. Hate wading through forum posts.