Nitrates

[FishGuest5123]

From Fishlore: I think you mistyped..
the beneficial bacteria( which converts your ammonia into nitrite then nitrate) is mostly in the filter media with some in the substrate. you should only rinse off your filter media gently in used tank water not tap water as the chlorine may kill the good bacteria.
i usually rinse off the filter every couple of weeks with my water changes.

I really encourage you guys to read more on this. I crashed a cycle in 55G in my early days by rinsing in tap water. Learned my lesson then.

 

[Byron]

Bacteria is another of those subjects in the hobby around which there is a lot of differing opinions and much of this is myth. More recent studies have shown this to be the case.

I have been rinsing my sponge filters weekly (during the partial water change) under the tap for years and years. I don't advise this in a brand new tank, just to be safe, but in an established tank (meaning, one that has been running for several months) this is not going to do any harm whatsoever. For one thing, there is more bacteria (including the nitrifying species) in the substrate and elsewhere, and second, chlorine doe snot kill these bacteria as readily as we once believed. It somewhat depends upon the strength of the chlorine, or if chloramine is also used, and the exposure time, but the bacteria or most of them will survive rinsing under the tap.

As for nitrates, yes, zero wold be ideal for our fish, but keeping nitrates as low as possible, and certainly under 20 ppm, is important. Nitrate is toxic to fish just as ammonia and nitrite, but not so rapidly. Fish are slowly weakened by nitrates over time, some species more than others, and depending upon the level. Disease and other problems down the road might well be due to nitrates over time. Cichlids are now known to be particularly sensitive, and on the cichlid site Malawi bloat is now deemed to be caused by nitrates as much as by diet.

 

[NickAu]

the beneficial bacteria( which converts your ammonia into nitrite then nitrate) is mostly in the filter media with some in the substrate.

Well I guess it shows how much they know.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I’m sorry but I have to disagree on this subject. I’ve seen too many people go into mini cycles or crash by cleaning in tap water. I’m really amazed that ya’ll are doing this as it’s basic tank cleaning 101. All I can do is tell you and then drop it. Oh, and as far as substrate goes, there is actually very little beneficial bacteria in the substrate and on ornaments. The largest percentage grows in the filter media so you need to protect that. Happy fish keeping!

 

[Colin_T]

According to my 5 in 1 API test strip chart zero nitrates is "ideal" for freshwater fish. Is this incorrect?

The ideal ammonia, nitrite and Nitrate levels are 0 for all fish in any water. However, most aquatic organisms will tolerate low levels of nitrates but you want to keep the level as low as possible. If you can keep it on 0 that is great. But some countries have nitrates in the water supply and this will be introduced into the aquarium unless you remove the nitrates before adding them to the tank.

Ideally try to keep the nitrates at 0 but realistically try to keep them below 20ppm.

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re: washing filter materials under tap water.

If you have a new filter (less than 2 months old) you do not want to rinse the filter media under tap water because the bacteria won't have established a good foothold on the filter materials. However, once the filters have been established for a while, the bacteria produce a biofilm and become attached quite strongly. So unless you have high levels of chlorine/ chloramine in the water, or you leave the filter material soaking in chlorinated tap water for a couple of minutes, or you vigorously squeeze out the sponges when washing them, you are unlikely to wipe out all of the bacteria. You will remove a lot of it when you wash the materials out but they reproduce rapidly (double in number every couple of hours) and quickly rebuild their numbers after being washed.

If you have lots of plants they will use ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and this means there is less chance of having a wipe out from cleaning the filter under tap water.

Having said all this, it is preferable to wash filter materials in a bucket of tank water to minimise the number of filter bacteria that die. If you want to wash them in clean tap water, dechlorinate it first. You never know what the water company has done and they might have increased chlorine/ chloramine levels after working on the pipes in the area and the extra chlorine could kill the filter bacteria.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Well I guess it shows how much they know.

So how do you determine who is correct? You won’t learn if you don’t keep an open mind and research your info. Just because a person says what you want to hear doesn’t make it correct. All I have asked you to do is read up on it. It’s so easy to do with search engines these days. It isn’t old info at all. It’s current info. I just want the best for everyone and their fish. To tell someone their tank is fine with 0 nitrates is a little presumptuous without getting more details. That’s risky for the OP’s fish. Take the time to get all the info before popping out a reply. Let’s be careful with the info we share with one another. You know a lot and I respect you but sometimes you gotta slow down a little.

 

[NanaWells]

@Deanasue Ok let’s go over this I started with a 1.4 tank almost cycled then into a 3.5 fully cycled tank bringing the filter with me to the 3.5 later I went to this 15g it’s been about 2.5 weeks I have both the other filters from the other tanks. Plus all the gravel wood etc. I had minimal amount of ammonia no nitrates and 5 ppm nitrates for about 3 or 4 days after that it went back to where it was before I moved to new Tank

only difference is the nitrates went down to 0 for the first time ever during this time I had added 4 plants 1 Moss all a piece of wood and an almond leaf hammock, also started using bottled water to help the nitrates due to tap water having 5ppm in it my tank is doing well nothing has changed since I think it will be fine I’m new to the Hobby but smart enough to know some things.

I’m sorry your worried about my tank and fish but I assure you I take really good care of Sid and his tank and if I thought for one moment that something was going wrong I would rectify it quickly. Thank you for being a caring person for the fish I won’t let anything happen to him that is preventable [emoji3531]


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[FishGuest5123]

I’m sure you are a good fish mommy. I didn’t realize you ever had nitrates at all. You simply asked a question and I feel we need to know all facts before replying with an educated answer. I hope you understand my concerns. It’s not you, I would want the info from anyone asking about their tank. Glad all is working out for you!

 

[NanaWells]

I’m sure you are a good fish mommy. I didn’t realize you ever had nitrates at all. You simply asked a question and I feel we need to know all facts before replying with an educated answer. I hope you understand my concerns. It’s not you, I would want the info from anyone asking about their tank. Glad all is working out for you!

No worries whatsoever I just wanted to clarify