Plants

[plecoperson]

my nitrate and nitrite are a little high. what I want to know is, will my plant absorb some of the nitrate from the water, as land plants take it from the ground, wondered if it was the same I have done a water change too.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

They should suck some up, though not enough to lower the levels significantly.

Some plants, such as java ferns, soak it in through their leaves and only use roots for anchoring. Most plants suck nitrates in through the leaves and only a little through the roots.

What plants do you have? How many? What are the levels?

 

[Lateral Line]

Plants can help by absorbing some nitrogen from your tank, but should not be used as a justification for reducing water change frequency. If you have nitrites, you need to find out why and fix that. Nitrates are the end product of the nitrogen cycle and accumulates until you change the water.

You may want to test a sample of your tapwater, some areas have an amount of nitrogen pollution straight from the tap.