NItrates. I'm baffled...
- Thread starter slf125
- Start date
jillbuus
New Member
I just want to note that I use my bathtub city water. The hardness will be lowered if you have a softwater system for your house but I live in an apartment so its not bad. I have always tested the parmaters of my source water and have never had an issue doing 12g changes per week in my 55g. I maintain 15 ppm and the tank is 3 years old. Has the original issue been solved yet? Are you still having problems?
jillbuus
New Member
Trust me, dilution is the solution to your problem with nitrates. Think about it, if you are at 100 ppm in a 125 gallon tank, and you do a 10 gallon water change every 2 weeks you are only lowering your nitrates by only 8%, or 8 ppm at 100ppm at your initial level. The thing is you are multiplying by a smaller divisor each successful water change so 8% of 92ppm is 7.5 so when you finally get your nitrates down to 50 and do another 10g water change you'll only decrease them by 4 ppm, half, at 25ppm you would only decrease by 2 ppm and so on. Do a LARGE water change but not to large, you can shock your tank by changing the parm so much.!~
florida joe
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by jillbuus
http:///forum/post/2926403
Trust me, dilution is the solution to your problem with nitrates. Think about it, if you are at 100 ppm in a 125 gallon tank, and you do a 10 gallon water change every 2 weeks you are only lowering your nitrates by only 8%, or 8 ppm at 100ppm at your initial level. The thing is you are multiplying by a smaller divisor each successful water change so 8% of 92ppm is 7.5 so when you finally get your nitrates down to 50 and do another 10g water change you'll only decrease them by 4 ppm, half, at 25ppm you would only decrease by 2 ppm and so on. Do a LARGE water change but not to large, you can shock your tank by changing the parm so much.!~
With all do respect “dilution is not a solution to nitrates” IMO. Water changes are a method of replacement of water that contains nitrates with nitrate free water. Lowering the nitrates but not addressing the issue of the lack of natural nitrate reduction cycles . A solution to the problem has to be found via a continued denitrification process involving dissimilarly and or assimilatory nitrate reduction
http:///forum/post/2926403
Trust me, dilution is the solution to your problem with nitrates. Think about it, if you are at 100 ppm in a 125 gallon tank, and you do a 10 gallon water change every 2 weeks you are only lowering your nitrates by only 8%, or 8 ppm at 100ppm at your initial level. The thing is you are multiplying by a smaller divisor each successful water change so 8% of 92ppm is 7.5 so when you finally get your nitrates down to 50 and do another 10g water change you'll only decrease them by 4 ppm, half, at 25ppm you would only decrease by 2 ppm and so on. Do a LARGE water change but not to large, you can shock your tank by changing the parm so much.!~
With all do respect “dilution is not a solution to nitrates” IMO. Water changes are a method of replacement of water that contains nitrates with nitrate free water. Lowering the nitrates but not addressing the issue of the lack of natural nitrate reduction cycles . A solution to the problem has to be found via a continued denitrification process involving dissimilarly and or assimilatory nitrate reduction