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Nitrate level

Is there an optimal Nitrate level for a low tech planted tank to ensure good growth??
Nitrates plus ammonium should be kept within some zone to keep ratios among nutrients. Therefore, if you seek ideal level of nitrates (nitrogen) for your tank, you need to know the mineral content of your tap water.
Admittedly, most hobbyists, esp. low-tech ones, don't care much for such things, and their plants can still grow quite happily, at least those considered less-demanding.
 
Possibly a lot less is making it's way from fields into drinking water, as agricultural fertiliser prices have gone up.
There's also another possibility. As far as I know modern farmers turn to ammonium injected into the soil together with nitrification inhibitors.
 
Tap water seems to come out pretty much zero,
Best if you add some KNO3 to get the level up to between 15ppm to 25ppm this is the level I prefer!
 
Just throwing my 2p, I had tap spitting out 30ppm N, until it didn't. My plants stunted before I figured out what was wrong.. I got RO unit and dose my own ferts now - not as hard and expensive as I imagined. Out of curiosity checked tap after a year and nitrates are back to around 30 ppm... Would not rely on tap being stable. I'm in quite highly populated area of Kent, don't know exactly how water supply works, but Thames water may be sourcing it from different places at times.
 
Just throwing my 2p, I had tap spitting out 30ppm N, until it didn't. My plants stunted before I figured out what was wrong.. I got RO unit and dose my own ferts now - not as hard and expensive as I imagined. Out of curiosity checked tap after a year and nitrates are back to around 30 ppm... Would not rely on tap being stable. I'm in quite highly populated area of Kent, don't know exactly how water supply works, but Thames water may be sourcing it from different places at times.
This just shows you why you should never take into account your water parameters when working out ferts dosing levels.

I have seen this many many times on this forum, peeps complaining the plants are suffering and you find out they are not dosing EI levels, but some funny version of dosing based on the false assumption that the incoming water contained nitrate and phosphate. Restoring to correct EI levels and plants all spring back to life.

The extra nitrate & phosphate from the water make no difference in the scheme of things.
 
This just shows you why you should never take into account your water parameters when working out ferts dosing levels.

I have seen this many many times on this forum, peeps complaining the plants are suffering and you find out they are not dosing EI levels, but some funny version of dosing based on the false assumption that the incoming water contained nitrate and phosphate. Restoring to correct EI levels and plants all spring back to life.

The extra nitrate & phosphate from the water make no difference in the scheme of things.
I sort of fell foul of this, although I was using RO water and EI levels of dosing my plants didn't do all that well at all ... Algae though had a field day. When I had my water tested, Nitrates, phosphates and Iron were incredibly low, potassium was so-so. When it finally dawned on me that my plants were chewing through all the nutrients I was adding, and wanting more, it was a game changer. As part of my "Remineralisation" process of my water change RO I dry dose a weekly amount of Mid EI levels of nutients, my daily dose then keeps nutrient levels OK for the plants ... and the algae problems, have very much reduced.
 
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