newfish Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 Ok what does it mean if you have traces of Nitrate in your tank?? tanks a 215ltr (note different one to one in another post - with sick fish) Ph 7.6 (ph from tap) Ammonia 0ppm Nitrite 0ppm Nitrate 5.0 - what does this mean?? Should I be concerned?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 Your fish will be fine as long as your NITRATE is 20 or under. 0 ppm nitrate is unheard of :lol: Some people run tanks with higher nitrates, even up to 40-60 and the fish are fine, just depends on the other levels. 5ppm is nothing to be afraid of. NITRITE is different, and should be 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 No, you shouldnt be concerned at all. A nitrAte reading of 5ppm is good if thats where its usually sitting NitrAte is the last step in the cycle (ammonia turns into nitrite which turns into nitrate put simply) and it is removed mainly by water changes but plant can absorb a little also. It depends on what you are keeping as to what nirAte level your fish can handle and how much maintence is needed to keep it where you want it, discus keepers for example like to keep it as low as possible so have to do extra water changes but most community fish are happy with a reading below 40ppm (though they can often tolerate higher, its just not reccomended). In a normally stocked tank it shouldnt be getting excessively high on a weekly w/c schedule anyway. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfish Posted November 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 Thanks guys!! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: thats cool then!!!!!!!!!!! this tank has my baby danios in so I REALLY want tank to be in the best condition I can get it!!!!! plus lets face it I'm just REALLY fussy about getting things right :roll: :roll: (you should have seen me when I had horses! - drove my horse mates mad :roll: :lol: :lol: but then I am the only one they would trust with theres.) thank you so much....really grateful for the help and advice!!!!!!!! 0 ppm nitrate is unheard of Really?? cool other tank IS 0ppm I had even had Dad check my reading..... Thats why I was so concerned about this tank being 5.O Go plants and air pumps!! :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 Really?? cool other tank IS 0ppm I had even had Dad check my reading..... Then the other tank cant have many fish in there... Once the fish and filters take off the Nitrate WILL go up. Then you start doing water changes. Lower you can keep it the better, but anything under 30 is probably fine. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 Really heavily planted tanks often maintain 0ppm of nitrate. And also those who like doing water changes :lol: As long as it is well established then it shouldnt be a problem to have no nitrate reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfish Posted November 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 Thanks guys!!! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: Tank with 0ppm has my Adult Danios all 20 of them, plus 2 Borneo Suckers and 4 other suckers I can't rememeber the name of :oops: and dear say a few hundred or so baby fry that I can't see :roll: :roll: Yea its got a dozen or so plants so.... plus an air pump 8) and a well maintained filter 8) other tank as said has Baby Danios (don't know how many :oops: :roll: ) air pump, filter, and a dozen or so plants as well.... Me like plants :lol: :lol: I have live fish plants in all my "tanks" ....I now have two holding "tanks" outside.. :oops: :lol: Theres that MTS going on :lol: :lol: Yes one does those water changes weekly with out fail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 Also, when you say 0 Nitrate, you actually mean less than the test kit can measure. It could actually be 1 or 2 and not show on the test untill it gets closer to 5. I know our tap water here has 0.5 nitrate built in, but you need a much more sensitive test to pick that up. Anyway, lower is better, but dont sweat it if you have 20-30. If you get into bigger fish that can eat in one mouthfull what all your danios eat in a week, then nitrates become an issue. With small fish, light stocking and plenty of plants it's easier to keep them low. Also, nitrate is one of the main fertilisers that plants need to grow, so if you are growing plants you may actually want some nitrate reading to encourage the plants. http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 Read my signature! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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