Nitrate In Water

[Apistogramma]

Hiya,

I have a 3g nano with live rock and a flourish community of tiny cirtturs, snails, coraline algae and even a little pink coral
The nitrate level in the tank is almost 0 but I'm concerned that we have nitrate in the tap water (about 5ppm) and I don't want it in the tank. I don't have an ro unit - I was wondering if there are any other options? (Bottled water, rain water?)

 

[Musho3210]

5ppm from tap is perfectly fine, the pink coral could be a soft coral that actually wants the nitrate in the water.

 

[andywg]

Do any corals want nitrates that are detectable to us? The levels detectable on the reef are in parts per billion.

 

[Maximus]

Most LFS in England sell RO water per the litre or gallon, have a look at your locals...

 

[Brichardi]

Most LFS in England sell RO water per the litre or gallon, have a look at your locals...

Also most LFS sell ready made SW , my local one sells it for 20p per litre .

 

[Musho3210]

Do any corals want nitrates that are detectable to us? The levels detectable on the reef are in parts per billion.

but have you considered the fact that it is in parts per billion is because the corals are using it? Similar to testing for phosphates when your tank is covered in GHA. That could be the explanation why the tank water is near 0 nitrate, but the supply water is 5.

 

[Apistogramma]

Don't scare me by talking in ppb!
I assumed my live rock was doing the job with the nitrates and the little coral was utilising the teeniest amount of nitrate. I may just go on as I am for the time being then and see how the coral gets on...I'm very proud of it...it's proves I'm not a total waste of space.
They do sell SW in a local store but during the recent flooding they stopped for quite a while. I've also seen them run out for longer than is helpful and it's the only place I know of that does it, truth be told I don't want to rely on them.

 

[Musho3210]

it is a small tank, not much live rock, very very little anerobic, i doubt its your rock. Of course, i could be wrong.

 

[andywg]

but have you considered the fact that it is in parts per billion is because the corals are using it?

I have, but considering how many corals perform badly when nitrates are present I doubt there are any corals which will want a level up in the levels we can test for.

Similar to testing for phosphates when your tank is covered in GHA. That could be the explanation why the tank water is near 0 nitrate, but the supply water is 5.

but that is algae using it, not corals. I'm sorry but I don't really understand your point here.

 

[Musho3210]

my point was an example, hence me saying similar, rather than... well you tell me since you have jumped to that conclusion. Seeing that you can reply so well to many of the topics here, i thought you would have been smart enough to know that. Would it be better if i didnt add examples?

 

[steelhealr]

See the recent post on water changes in our section. Do the math if you add 5ppm per week into your tank and then change 10% per week.

Honestly..with a pico....the water changes are so small..just buy a gallon of distilled water from the grocery store. $0.95 per gallon here. SH

 

[dilbert]

I had the problem to get some cheap water canisters as one LFS sells 25-liter canisters for GBP 7.99 and other people talked always about breweries.

At Wilco Motosave I found a 25-liter canister with DI water already in it for GBP 8.99. So I used that water for top ups and then went with the canister to buy RO water for GBP 2.00 from an LFS.

I had also 0 nitrates when I had only the live rock in it despite I threw always way too much food in it. So I guess the live rock alone consumed it.

And remembering from Goldstein Marine Reef Handbook there is said that corals consume nitrate and even ammonia but no figures or further explanations if I remember aright.

 

[SkiFletch]

@ Musho and Andy:

I think the point is, the natural reef exhists in an environment that is naturally nutrient poor. As Andy said, Nitrates are merely detectable in parts per billion. Reason being is that the natural reef is exceptionally competitive. Once any organism dies to produce food/waste, that is immediately gobbled up by the myriad of organisms living there. A fish dies, and its immediately eaten in a frenzy by whichever others are closest. Those fine particulates released in the frenzy that get away are quickly gobbled up by filter feeders and microinvertebrates. Dead organisms never really get the chance to undergo the nitrogen cycle like they do in our tanks.

If you want to look at what animals/corals/algaes thrive in nutrient rich waters, your best bet is to check out whats happening at the edges of the Mississippi River Delta... There, nutrient laiden runoff is promoting thick mats of cyanobacteria which in turn is gobbling up pollutants from the river effluent and making a sort of toxic soup. Yum. What you don't find in those nutrient rich waters is a ton of corals because nitrate use just is not their Forte. Further out where nitrates are lower (after the cyano's had it's fill) yet still detectable, some soft coral growth can be found.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread

 

[andywg]

my point was an example, hence me saying similar, rather than... well you tell me since you have jumped to that conclusion. Seeing that you can reply so well to many of the topics here, i thought you would have been smart enough to know that. Would it be better if i didnt add examples?

My confusion was that I was asking whether any sfot corals actually want nitrates in the water and will actually use them. You then started to talk about measuring for phosphates in a tank with GHA. I don't see how the two are linked. You have given no example to back up your original inference that there are corals that want nitrate levels.

Do you have a source for any information suggesting that there are soft corals which prefer a level of nitrates around 5ppm (or even at a level detectable by us)? Skifletch's point is a good one, but are those corals flourishing because of nitrates, or in spite of nitrates? I feel it is most likely the latter.

I recall someone recently posting that almost all corals want some nitrates as a nitrogenous compound will be required by zoothanellae. They did not, however, address my point that the idea of a symbiotic relationship is that each gets benefit from the other, and any nitrogenous demands from the algae will probably be satisfied by that produced by the coral it is with.

 

[Apistogramma]

If I were to use distilled water only in the tank will that be removing anything else that the nano need, any minerals etc?