Nitrate

[robert clements]

done all water changes since i had the fish tank for about three months now the nitrate has been 40ppm and the same as the tap water 'the ph and and that ave been fine

 

[Blubble37]

40 ppm? thats no reason to worry! you ought to start worrying when the levels reach at least 80ppm... nitrate is plant food... and is virtually not harmful to fish... a ppm to kill would be around 300-350ppm!

and is virtually nigh-on lethal to fish

did i really type that? man, i must be mad *changes sentence...* i was thinking of nitrite when i wrote that bit... GRRRRR

 

[StandbySetting]

40Mg/L is fine but try and keep it below 50 if possible, the long-term effects of high nitrate are not fully understood yet, they definitely have a negative impact on fish growth but other than that a lot is not known.

 

[fishface:D]

done all water changes since i had the fish tank for about three months now the nitrate has been 40ppm and the same as the tap water 'the ph and and that ave been fine

If your tap water is 40ppm, it may be difficult to significantly lower it. Plants will absorb it, though unless the tank is heavily planted I wouldn't expect to see a huge difference in levels. S'pose you could try using RO water, but that could get expensive.

 

[robert clements]

thank for your help