# Nitrate



## amingra (Oct 2, 2005)

Hi, this may be a stupid question but I have a two month old freahwater 20 gal tank and I've been doing a lot of reading. People are always talking about "high" nitrates. What are high nitrates. I keep mine below 40 ppm and usually around 20 ppm with weekly water changes, but what if I want to change the water less often? I keep mollies, african dwarf frogs, an apple snail and a clown pleco. If you need more info let me know. Thanks


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## hogan7 (Sep 21, 2005)

you should probably actually get them lower if you can. Also id keep up with your weekly water changes if you dont it wont b just the nitrates that are high


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## amingra (Oct 2, 2005)

Hmm. I guess I better get a plant in there or something. I thought i was doing well with 20 ppm


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

If youre having trouble lowering your nitrates with water changes you may have nitrates coming from the tap.


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## amingra (Oct 2, 2005)

good thought but i tested the tap. no nitrates. i think my test kit sucked. it was a five in one and it was givin me incorrect ph readings. whats a good nitrate test kit?


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## solar-ton (Aug 15, 2005)

dunno i think the fish doc test kits are good but nitrates are good for plants too


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## amingra (Oct 2, 2005)

do u really think 20-40 ppm is too high? should i do more frequent water changes? Any advice u guys have would be great. By the way, I love this website! u guys rule! I think I already know what I'm going to do, but I like to hear lots of opinions first before i change anything in the tank because a LFS screwed me when i first got this tank so now i do my homework. that sticky is good advice, I learned it the hard way


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## cucci67 (Aug 3, 2005)

Plants suck up nutrients like ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. IF you get soem fast growing plants, they will take most of the ammonia, and therefore you will not have that high level of nitates. Plants like anacharis,watersprite, or anything else that grows fast.


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

I think between 20-40 ppm is fine. It is normal for a well stocked tank, as far as I know.


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

20-40ppm is fine. Anything above 40ppm is overdoing it. As for a good testing kit, I reccomend Aquarium Pharm. Freshwater master Test Kit, the dip-test's aren't as accurate as the liquid kits are.


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

Oops I forgot to add, glad to hear that you find this site useful! We hope you'll stick around :-D


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

If you want a good test kit, get a LaMotte. You will shell out a couple of hundred for it though. AP test kits are good but not reliable for testing nitrAte or KH. And 20-40ppm isn't bad at all.


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## amingra (Oct 2, 2005)

Thanks for the help!


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## 83turboranger (Jan 18, 2005)

shev said:


> If youre having trouble lowering your nitrates with water changes you may have nitrates coming from the tap.


I think thats my problem. Is there a solution to this? A nuetralizer? Or something. I prefer not to have to buy water everytime I want to change the water. How do I handle this?


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

There are comercial products out there that claim to reduce nitrates, like nitrazorb, but I have no idea how well, or if they work. I stay away from anything that even deals with the natural cycle of your tank, but in a FW tank I dont see many choices. I have nitrates from my tap, so i have plants in all of my tanks.


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## 83turboranger (Jan 18, 2005)

Alright, thank you very much shev. I do have one plant in my 20 gal. Maybe I'll get another.


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