Nitrates

[Andi]

Found this William, not sure I can do anything about it tho?

In 1980 the European commission ruled that drinking water could not contain more than 50mg/litre of nitrate. In 1984 the World Health Organisation produced evidence of clear links between nitrates and the Blue Baby Syndrome (Methaemoglobinaemia), a condition which reduces the oxygen in the baby’s blood. Nitrates have also been linked to stomach and intestinal cancer.

full article here

 

[semper fi]

that is true in the usa also. the amounts are not excessive but if you start out with nitrates and the cycle adds more they can accumulate excessively. also it is only for what we call here city water. well water is untreated straight out of the ground. this doesn't apply to well water which is untreated. well water can be affected by the ground around the well. my inlaws had a well at their old house. the gas company make a mistake and dumped 500 gallons of propane into the neighbors house. big oops. they live out in the country and some of the people out there still have propane. the neighbors had propane but switched to natural gas a few years ago. after that spill they condemned the house and had to test all of the wells before they could be used safely. well water in the states is very dangerous. have talked with others who keep fish in well water and they are always having problems with it. one guy i know buys water to do his water changes.

maggie

 

[Andi]

ok, next then. whats an RO filter do? (other than remove nitrAtes?). Is it an investement I should be thinking of?

 

[semper fi]

an ro will filter wqter to make it pretty much pure. absolved of all trace elements from what i understand. they are a big investment though. you should contact great lakes. he seems pretty handy in the diy area. he may know of how to make one yourself.

i think you could also try putting the water in plastic jugs in the closet for atleast a day before the water changes. not sure about that one though. never had a problem with my water having high levels of nitrate. try putting some in a dark closet for a day and then checking for the nitrates see if they go down.

depending on the size of the tank that you have, another option is to have a wet dry filtration system for all of your tanks. fill the sump with plants just make sure that it is well lit for the plants. that way the herbivores do not make a salad bar out of your plants. also helps with the diggers. swordplants are a good choice for this as they are fast growing and use alot of nitrates for food. just like house plants help with the quality of air by turning carbon dioxide into oxygen. aquatic plants can feed on the nitrates. if you put them in the sump make sure that you keep them well away from the pump so as not to bog up the pump. depending on the size of the sump and pump you could run all of your tanks on the same filtration system and be able to increase your number of tanks in the future by increasing the size of the sump and pump.

maggie

 

[Andi]

thanks maggie, but how do I heat the water up again? - not sure warming up to 90ltrs on the stove is viable

 

[semper fi]

by keeping the water in the closet it will reach room temperature. heat a small amount of the water to bring the temp up to what is already in the tank. another nice thing with the wet dry is that you can put your heaters in the sump and keep tehm out of the tank. i keep one in my tank and one in the sump. that way if one fails then there is always a back up one. the only thing that i would suggest with the wet dry is to drill the tank and connect the hoses with bulkheads. do them at the top rather than the bottom though. if the pump fails you do not want to drain your whole tank. you can purchase the whole wet dry system or make your own just buy the hoses and pump.

i think it would be best if great lakes took over on that one though. i am not all that great at explaining things.

rose would be better at suggesting plants also. probably would know what is available to you more so than i. i never have to worry about plants dying the fish usually eat them first!

i also looked it up. in the usa the nitrates cannot exceed 10 ppm at the treatment plants. that does not apply to well water which is untreated.

maggie

 

[Andi]

hmm maggie - I think thats a little out of my league at the moment maybe something for the future? B)

 

[semper fi]

pretty simple. if i could do it, you can do it. does take alot of patience which i am short of since having two kids! just build it out of an aquarium. i got a used 40 gallon for mine.

maggie

 

[Andi]

hmm, putting a sump in a tank sounds scary . I think i'll try some less drastic measures first - like moving

 

[semper fi]

here is a good link to how to construct a wet dry.

www.thekrib.com/Filters/wetdry.html#5

instead of using the rubbermaid tub for the sump you would want to use the aquarium. that way the plants could get as much natural light as possible.

maggie

 

[Andi]

thanks maggie - have put it in my 'read on a rainy day folder' B)

 

[Andi]

ok, now I think I've got to the bottom of my high nitrate probs. If I have understood correctly, nitrAtes are the last 'high' reading sin the tank 'cycle' - caused by the breakdown of nitrItes which in turn are formed when ammonia is broken down. (hope thats right) So, the cycle 'peaks' ammonia then nitrIte and finally safe(er) nitrAtes.

When I set up the tank I put in a rather nice piece of bogwood (been in my hex for 2 years). I gave it a decent wash and popped it in. Whilst I was doing my last test (100+mg/ltr) I noticed the bogwood seemed to be darker than normal. It was covered in what I hope was nitrate deposits. So a good 30min scrubbing session and 5 brown sinks of water later it looks cool again.

Oh, my questions is - was the bog wood creating my problem with the hight nitrAte? (tap water is still aroung the 40-50 mg/ltr)

 

[wetwetwet]

I don't think bogwood would contribute or if it does a negliable ammount.

High nitrAtes in the tap water are also a problem for me as said. The readings can vary throughout the day/week - so you could check at different times/days to see if you get a lower reading and do your water changes then or store the water till needed.

Standing your water wont lower the nitrate readings so you will be unlikly to get the aquarium water below your tap water levels unless you do something else.

RO water is an option but like you I'm also restricted on storage space to fill the from th RO unit which needs plumbing into the mains. - not cheap either

I think it unlikly that nitrazorb was the problem with semper fi fish - but who knows maybe. Anyway as said works for, is cheap and rechargeable.

 

[Andi]

I didnt mean the bogwood was leaching nitrAtes, just that there was a nasty slime all over it and the grime wasn't reaching the filters. sheesh and I thought I'd nailed it Not gonna change any water tonight, will test it tomorrow - its costing me a fortune on nitrAte tests

 

[wetwetwet]

I use the eSHa quick test strips - cut into 3 makes them good value about 9 quid on-line and your doing 5 tests. quick and easy. And use liquid tests if theres a problem or to double check.