Bender Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 My tap water nitrate level is usually around 5ppm, but due to the water smelling more than usual I tested today to find it was up to 10ppm. The only way I can think of to lower it is to use massive tubs with plants in them to age my water. Is there a better/easier way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 I like the idea of a planted tank to deal with it but Seachem's Matrix is also suppose to deal with nitrate. http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Matrix.html http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Matrix.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter16 Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 10ppm is nothing high. A bit surprising for fresh tap water though. some filters remove it, but they are expensive, plants sound like a good idea. bamboo is supposed to do a good job, have the plant emmersed and the roots under water in your aging tub. Alternatively throw in a couple of fast growing stem plants. You could fill up a take away dish with gravel and just plant them in that in your aging tub. hth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 10 ppm isn't high, I wouldn't worry at all until it gets up to 30-40, unless you have fish that are very nitrate sensitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fighter boy Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 j moss, duck weed and elodea densa for me.... never had a problem with nitrates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted June 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 Thank you all for advice and re-assurance. It just seams so counter intuitive to do water changes when your water already has the chemicals your trying to remove! I've been very careful of my nitrate levels since I had curled rays in some of my crowntail spawn, thus the interest in keeping them low to nil. The seachem product sounds good, I think I'll invest in it when I do another crowntail spawn. (May be sooner than I planned if my Plakats don't get it on soon!) On youtube they had a filter system that included a pot of lucky bamboo, which was supposed to remove nitrates. I think the real stuff would look beautiful in a big pot outside. Which other stem plants would you recommend Peter? Fighterboy, those are great plants for nitrate removal, they keep my outdoor goldfish nice and happy, but I can't be stealing all his water, he won't like it! Actually, best not to admit to the elodea these days, it's banned in NSW, and I think Vic may have banned it too. Speaking of weeds, there is a massive crop of water hyacinth in the local park, I wonder if it's ok to put it to good use if compost it faithfully when it's done it's job? Will have to check it out, it's probably illegal to even have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 Ah, the CT's. Yeah, that would be a prob. Fast growing live plants use up nitrate, as already mentioned, duckweed, elodea, hygrophila polysperma, banana lillies etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fighter boy Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 hehe... yep.. sure is. but the aquariums here still sell it. ow well. i think my other fish might get me into more trouble... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergus Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 None of the online stores will sell elodea to you if you live in NSW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter16 Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 On youtube they had a filter system that included a pot of lucky bamboo, which was supposed to remove nitrates. I think the real stuff would look beautiful in a big pot outside. Which other stem plants would you recommend Peter? Just what everyone has suggested. hygrophila, elodea bacopa. stuff like that. where do you keep your aging tub ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted June 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 I don't have one as yet, I age my water in 12 litre water bottles at the moment because I can stack them out of the way easily and they're not to heavy to carry. I'm thinking of using a couple of 120 litre storage tubs, (well at least until I get a nice big planted tank to use instead!) They'll have to go outside though, so maybe not ideal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 outside in the sun is good, but you then have the dragonfly nymph issue (unless it's covered). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 I was trying to figure out how to cover it an still have emergent growth, but it would probably be easier just to collect the water through a fine strainer. I think I'll put a hose/pipe with a tap on it in the box so I don't have to scoop the water out, or start a siphon every time I need water. Then it shouldn't be too hard to sit a sieve over the bucket. Come to think of it, I should probably put the tubs up on bricks or something so it's easy to siphon, would help keep the cane toads out too. Do I need to put a pump of some sort in for water movement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter16 Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 A pump probably isnt a bad idea. keeping them outside is more benifical then keeping them inside fully enclosed. Not sure how you could seal it though. Lots of glad wrap lol ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted June 14, 2009 Report Share Posted June 14, 2009 A piece of tulle and some tablecloth weights Ohhh, this is bringing back memories of that outdoor breeding setup and the pot plant filters. But for the ice cold Sydney winters, that might have been a very interesting system indeed. Anyway, quite off-topic! What about using marginal/bog plants? I'm just thinking that stem plants will be a hassle for pumps and might not cope so well with being put outside in winter (should be fine if they transition through autumn or were outdoors to start with), and the quantity of lucky bamboo you'd need to equal the nitrate-sucking capabilities of standard potplant could get rather exxy. Not sure on the plant type, I'd guess maybe some sort of lily might work, but it could be worth considering. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted December 5, 2009 Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 Nick recently built a coil denitrator along the lines of this: http://freshwatercichlids.com/do-it-yourself-coil-denitrator The idea is that the anaerobic bacteria in the coils consume nitrAtes which are the end result of the nitrogen cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilchard Posted December 5, 2009 Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 Prime water ager is suposed to effectively bind nitrate, and it does work. A few drops in a tank and 1 hour later no readable quantity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted December 6, 2009 Report Share Posted December 6, 2009 That's a lot easier than making a coil denitrator! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainy Posted December 6, 2009 Report Share Posted December 6, 2009 i love prime it dose wonders i wont use anything else now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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