Nitrate issues revisited

[gwand]

This is a post for those of you who have municipality water or well water with detectable nitrate levels that could be deleterious to your fish. OI would like to share a solution that has worked for me regarding my well water with a nitrate concentration ranging from 25 to 30 ppm. My tanks are well planted and I do water exchanges religiously every week So the nitrate level in my tanks is rarely above my baseline of 25 to 30 ppm. However this level of nitrate was unacceptable to me. I invested in a nitrate filter that I plumbed into one of my sink lines and that cost me about $200. It did an outstanding job of bringing my well water nitrate level down to undetectable levels . However, the major downside was the filter became saturated after about 100 gallons of well water pass through it. The filter is not rechargeable. So it is too expensive for me to be replacing this filter multiple times per year. So here was my solution. After I do a water exchange I place a bag of API NitroZorb into my filter apparatus and leave it there for 48 hours. The tank nitrate levels have fallen into the 5 ppm range which I can live with. The NitroZorb was not in the filter apparatus long enough to inhibit denitrifying bacteria. I then recharge the NitroZorb in salt water, and it is ready to be deployed again following the next water exchange.

 

[GaryE]

Does the recharging add sodium the way softening pillows do? I can see where you have little choice though.

Is it run off from agriculture?

 

[gwand]

After the sodium recharge I rinse the resin bag in a gallon of spring water to help flush away the loosely bound sodium. I monitor the TDS and haven’t noticed an increase yet. But point well taken. I have not figured out a way to discharge the tightly bound sodium in a safe manner before placing back in the tank. Yes the nitrate is from several large farms about 1/2 mile from me and a small farm next door to me.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Just as an FYI- the 10 ppm limit for Nitrate-N is there to protect infants and pregnant women especially.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for nitrates in drinking water at 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L). This means that drinking water with nitrate concentrations below 10 mg/L is considered safe for everyone.

High levels of nitrate in drinking water can pose a health risk, especially for infants and pregnant women:

Infants
High nitrate levels can cause methemoglobinemia, also known as "blue baby syndrome". This condition can lead to coma and death if left untreated.

Pregnant women
Pregnant women are susceptible to methemoglobinemia and should ensure their drinking water has safe nitrate levels.

Other health effects of long-term exposure to high nitrate levels in drinking water include: Diuresis, Increased starchy deposits, and Hemorrhaging of the spleen.

People with heart or lung diseases are also more susceptible to the toxic effects of nitrate.

 

[Essjay]

And a further FYI - our test kits use a different scale from the one in TwoTank's post. That 10 ppm on the nitrate-N scale is roughly 45 ppm on the scale our test kits use (which is the nitrate-NO3 scale).

Our American members are often horrified that while the US has a maximum of 10 ppm in drinking water, the UK has a maximum of 50 ppm. The reason is that the US and UK use the two different scales to measure nitrate.

 

[Colin_T]

And I'm horrified they allow any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate in tap water because they all cause cancer

 

[Back in the fold]

And I'm horrified they allow any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate in tap water because they all cause cancer

The politicians and businessmen in this country do not care about people . Money is their only concern . If anything to benefit the people could cause some money bloated fat cat to lose a nickel they will jump to make absolutely sure that it won’t happen . Money , money , money ! Always more money and the people be damned .

 

[Magnum Man]

I don't test, since switching to 100% RO... the RO filter does remove Nitrates... Correct???

 

[Colin_T]

I don't test, since switching to 100% RO... the RO filter does remove Nitrates... Correct???

Good quality reverse osmosis units will remove nitrates but you need to monitor them because the filters eventually clog up and then you get chemicals and nitrates and minerals in the water.

 

[gwand]

I have to be especially careful with the nitrate filter I plumbed into my fish sink. Once it gets saturated with nitrate it can suddenly dump it all in one fell swoop. Catastrophe!