Search results for query: nitrate toxic

Thank you, Darrel, for your opinion, Java Ferns was in a closed bin bag for 2 days, so it might be it. I am more worried for bucephalandra. My water is from RO because in the building where I am living, they are adding salts to remove hardness, but it is not ok for an aquarium, so I have to do...

Hi all, The damage to the Java Ferns (Microsorum pteropus) looks like drying damage, either from drying out during the tank move? or being "burned" by an <"oxidising agent"> like hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), <"sodium hypochlorite bleach or glutaraldehyde">? That could also account for the white...

documenting my progress to keep myself accountable Tank: 266 litre Rena, 120x40x60cm (ext.) Occupants: synodontis ocellifer (George) synodontis nigrita (Talbot), synodontis petricola or lucipinnis (2), Congo tetra (3m 2f) Day 5475(ish)/Day 7 - The Story So Far The tank has been looking very...

Ok after Before reading your last post, I decided to perform some test (before changing water) and the result came as a shock to me. First I performed test for PH, Nitrite and Nitrate test. the result was surprising. Momentarily I thought that my tank isn't cycled so performed Ammonia test...

Yep I wouldn't dream of pouring it into my aquarium no matter how dilute. So we basically agree. Andy I am not a scientist, and certainly not a chemist, that I concede right away. But honestly I wouldn't think about using it if livestock is present or some species of plants, glutaraldehyde is...

A quick update. New fishes brought ich. The blue acaras are noticeably distressed, even though there are very few white spots. I actually only noticed the ich spots when looking for what was wrong with the acaras, which were acting weird. I'm not sure how to address this. Medicating the tank...

Thank you Sir... I love heavily planted jungle and river style aquascape with pressurized CO2. So the plants keep ammonia and nitrate in check and CO2 keeps PH low.

I am not a chemist or biologist and as far I understand urea is not, in sensible amounts toxic, all fertiliser can cause huge problems if used in large quantities. Nitrate for fertiliser is, my PhD, chemist friend tells me, essentially either derived from animal waste or created using the...

It's natural to have bubbles built up in thick substrate due to anaerobic condition. The composition of the bubble gases vary depending on the amount of organic matter. If the gas doesn't smell, it is harmless nitrogen gas from anaerobic denitrification of nitrate. Bubbling occur when I...

Hi all. I'm pleased you've enjoyed UKAPS. It was the relationship between leaf growth & colour and fixed nitrogen levels that directly led to the development of the <"Duckweed Index"> and subsequently the "publication" of the <"Leaf Colour Chart"> that led me to write about the underlying...

...that just measure the total NO3 as a whole, inflating the number. Which is another layer that I find to be important when determining nitrate toxicity. Ive been digging around this forum trying to find any mention of this variable, but I'm surprised to say I have not found any talk about it...

Hi all, What @keef321 says. I'll add in his tank pictures, as they may be of interest - <"Cloudy Water Hazy Water and Algae!">. Again what the others have said. Nitrate (NO3-) levels will rise, but NO3 isn't actually toxic to fish until you get to <"very elevated levels"> & <"Nitrates">. It...

Hi all, Welcome to UKAPS It is literally just the ammonium (NH4) content. I haven't looked, but I'm guessing ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) isn't listed either and for the same reason. If you didn't have any livestock? Either would be fine If you take the best case scenario of monoammonium...

Hi all, It just meant that there was always enough oxygen to allow the complete microbial oxidation of ammonia (<"TAN">) (NH3 / NH4+) to nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-). As you say one molecule of TAN will end up as one molecule of NO3- (unless taken up by a plant). During the oxidation...

Thanks, Darrell. Something else to learn about! :D But just a few questions I have in the back of my head: What is a nitrate factory? Turning Ammonia into Nitrate is a 'process' - i.e., ammonia goes in, and nitrate comes out - assuming any filtration is doing its job properly. So, what is a...

Not sure if anyone noticed this above, but even a TAN at 2.0 ppm with a pH at 6 (assuming 24 C) the free un-ionized ammonia (NH3) would only amount to 0.001 ppm. - ways below lethal levels. Other possible causes for this could be release of buildup of certain traces in the substrate such as...

It's a very unusual thing to happen in an established planted tank that's getting regular maintainance. In old tank syndrome you build up nitrate/ammonia and a lack of kh becomes an issue, ph drops - then if you do a sudden water change shoot up the ph and turn ammonia from ammonium (less...

all I know is that if one can control the N, P, Fe level and their ratio's in the water, they can Hinder the growth of the algae. in order for the algae to grow properly it will require all the same nutrient that the plant will require, if you were to reduce P and Fe in the water Colum and...

Don't sweat it... your plants are not very demanding. You just want to make sure you get enough of NPK and Micros (Iron in particular which is already covered with Plantex CMS+B). Yes, that would work for batching. Are you using tap water? What is your water like in terms of KH, GH (Ca/Mg...

Hi all, That is the problem in a nutshell, we can't easily measure the <"level of dissolved oxygen in the filter body">. In terms of the <"amount of dissolved oxygen">, it is <"dependent upon the temperature">, but as near saturation (100%) as possible. All we can do is put mechanisms in...

Hi all, I think you probably would get issues. I think both microbial ammonia oxidation and the conversion of nitrite (NO2-) to nitrate (NO3-) would be compromised. Have a look at <"Joe's tank">, that has a reasonable fish load, personally my version of "over-stocked" is if you can...

Hi all, Yes, this is just back to the <"advantages of plants">. Reef keepers use algal scrubbers mainly because there are <"very few marine angiosperms">. Synergistic "plant / microbe" nitrification is potentially about <"an order of magnitude more efficient"> than "microbe only" nitrification...

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652622025227 There has been quite a bit of research done on filter media efficiency for aquaculture. K1's good performance is validated in this survey but what is interesting is coconut shells as a possible sustainable alternative to plastic.

pH is the big multiplier here... an increase in pH by 1 - say going from pH 6 to 7 increases the Toxic Free ammonia by a factor of 10 for any level of Total Ammonia Nitrogen (TAN)! (following the log10 of pH). A 1 pH spike is quite common for CO2 injected tank during gas-off hours. The...

50% water change in the morning. 1.5ml for 10l. I know and I have been trying to figure out what is the issue with my tank. Perhaps I may have to reset my tank entirely after the Christmas holidays. Something is certainly wrong with this tank. Water tests done showed no ammonia or nitrite...

Testing for fixed nitrogen, the elephant in the room. The obvious questions are: Why don't we just measure the amount of ammonia / ammonium (TAN) NH3 / NH4+, nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-) in the tank water? and Why do we need a visual method (like the LCC) to estimate their values? It is...

Hi all, What @X3NiTH says, you also have the nitrite ion (NO2-) to consider <"Nitrite Toxicosis In Freshwater Fish or Brown Blood Disease">. We know more about nitrification now than when that article was written and subsequently COMAMMOX Nitrospira have been found to be common in aquariums -...

Diary of an anxious shrimp watcher Day 48 : Shrimp sightings are getting fewer and further between. I am lucky if I spot one more than once every 24 hours, and never more than one at a time. I sit staring glumly at the tank, willing them to appear. When supposedly watching TV I have one...

Hi all, I think that Pontederia (Eichornia) crassipes (Water Hyacinth) is the ultimate "turned up to eleven" plant. Basically it can utilise <"all the nutrients and sunlight you can throw at it">, but it needs plenty of everything, including temperature <"Implications of global climate change...

Hi all, This comes up quite a <"lot as a question">, but there <"isn't a single answer">. Taken at its base level, the nitrate ion (NO3-) is <"many orders of magnitude less toxic"> than either nitrite (NO2-) or ammonia (NH3)...

Agree with the above, not an issue. To me it sounds like one of those that need to spread fear and worry to feel important. Chlorine is dangerous because it is a reactive oxidizer, thiosulfate or another reducing agent is added as the dechlorinator to ’neutralize it‘, at the end of the process...

Its pure speculation but my guess is that the pumice could be at fault. I bet your pH is mostly below 7.... While generally considered inert, nothing is really truely 100% inert especially in an acidic environment - even tiny trace amounts of metals over a longer period of time (say several...

Hi all, The nitrate ion (NO3-) can have an organic origin, but plants can only take up nutrients as "ions" and there is no difference between the NO3- derived from a salt like potassium nitrate (KNO3) and the nitrate ion derived from the the microbial oxidation of ammonia, <"they are exactly...

Firstly - filters normally do NOT remove nitrates. They may or may not help nitrification, which is a microbial process during which toxic ammonia is converted into non-toxic nitrates. Secondly - see my signature: I don't use any filters. All the biofiltration is running within the tank itself...

I think I kinda know this but was hoping for a solution, it took so long to get it soaked and the design around it :( Any suggestions of what to do with it after removing it? Any treatment that may help to get it back in there? Many thanks thank you for that! Funny you should mention the water...

Hi all, I'm sorry to hear about your fish losses, however long you keep fish for <"it never gets any easier"> when this happens. This is going to sound a bit strange, but do you have an alternative source of water for water changes? Making the assumption that you are using tap water? I would...

Hi all, Sort of, but all the nitrate ions (NO3-) are the same, it doesn't matter where they came from, but it does matter where they came from in terms of their usefulness as an indicator of organic pollution. Oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N) are both <"highly reactive elements"> and have been...

Great news @bazz - that will make sure the 600 is not slowed down and the sera reactor works fully - thank you. As of day 21 of the tub of sludge experiment (officially now called the filter-prep project), here's a graph. Nothing happened for the first 7 days so I compressed that into one...

Hi all, You don't need a bacterial supplement, although <"Secret Ingredient Soup"> would probably be useful. This was what Ryan Newton said in <"Correspondence with Dr Ryan Newton - School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee">: Even by bacterial supplement standards...

Hi all, It is like @John q says, the two fertilisers do different things. Plants need all of the <"~fourteen essential mineral nutrients"> for plant growth, just in widely differing amounts. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), are the macro-nutrients, the elements that plants need...

Hi all, Probably, if you used it very sparingly. You would really need to know what the nitrogen (N) source is, because you have 17% N and if that was mainly ammonia (NH3) you could end up with toxic levels, if you have livestock in the tank. If we assume that nitrogen is all as nitrate...

I still need to go back and read some of the links but two quick questions - if i am using liquid (i am currently using api but could switch) and not salts (i.e, el dosing); should i increase the amount i use and conversely could i increase the amount of root tabs i put around the plant and...

Hi all, Basically we don't know how toxic the nitrate (NO3-) ion is, because we only have values from a few studies where nitrate has been added from a salt. <"This study">* used sodium nitrate (NaNO3) and the Zebra (Danio) fish (Danio rerio)...

I'm having a bit of a problem following this - after i have a time to read through all the links i will comment further. I will note that i'm dosing liquid fertilizers and root tabs. Also i'm a bit surprise the plant in question would care that much bout the water column i would think the...

Hi all, When you add nitrate (NO3-) from a salt like potassium nitrate (KNO3), the <"nitrate ion itself isn't toxic to fish"> until you get to quite high levels. Have a look at <"Nitrate tests?"> for a bit more discussion and some references. If you haven't <"added NO3"> (either via a salt or...

Hi all, This is probably the bit that will interest most people. AOA and comammox Nitrospira in aquarium biofilters and aquaculture operations AOA in aquarium filters COMAMMOX Nitrospira RAS Aquaponics cheers Darrel

Hi all, I'll continue in a new post, so that the original isn't too text dense cheers Darrel

From old to new... Back then my setup was as follows: 1.3 x 0.5 x 0.5 tank - 325L, 10mm glass, one center brace at the top. I didn't want braceless because it would be too expensive due to the thicker glass and pointless with a wood cover, and I didn't want euro-braces (if that's what they are...

Hi Darrel, Regarding nitrate levels, could you review these two papers and see if they are any different from the papers you have cited in your links? This paper suggests that High nitrate nitrogen (80–100 mg/L) was related to chronic health and welfare impacts to juvenile rainbow trout...

Hi all, Unfortunately <"I don't know">. I'd guess that it isn't important in planted tanks, but we are back into <"unknown unknowns"> territory. I think you could definitely "design" <"a system where it occurs">, if you had a lot of very carbon rich material in a deep substrate with limited...

Do you think DNRA (dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia) occurs in our tanks or in canister filters? I'm more concerned about sulfate reduction to sulfide - H2S, HS- - or incomplete degradation of sulfur containing organic compounds - organosulfides. Unlike ammonium, these are toxic to all...

Hi all, No, and if you could? It would be a <"ludicrous idea">. I really don't understand why it <"continually pops up"> as a tenable argument. Nitrate (NO3-) isn't toxic until <"you reach very high levels">, but <"ammonia (NH3) and nitrite are toxic"> at below 1 ppm (mg / L). Why would you...

Generally non aquatic fertilizers user ammonia based salts, doubt will be ammonium nitrate (as this is strictly controlled) but things like urea, calcium ammonium nitrate, ammonium citrate and other ammonium compounds. These ammonium based compounds are toxic to aquatic life, which is why they...

Thank you for this, I understand a bit better what you mean now I have recently acquired both Calcium Nitrate and Magnesium Nitrate, so I have a few more options now. Would using it as a part of a macro fertilizer not add too much Mg? I guess it would depend on the total dosage eh.. Hmm, I...

Deficiency symptoms... huh... that's a broad topic. Well, when it comes to chlorosis, you must distinguish one thing: whether it's most pronounced on new leaves, or on the older ones. Magnesium is a mobile nutrient. When in short supply, the plant takes Mg from older leaves, and moves it to...

Hi all, Yes, I wouldn't worry too much what form fixed nitrogen takes, basically plants take up all forms. We are interested in ammonia (NH3) and nitrite (NO2-) because they are toxic to livestock, while nitrate (NO3-) isn't. If you are a plant, it doesn't matter, <"they are all "food">...

Hi all, Sorry to hear about your losses. Can you get some floating plants? They aren't CO2 limited and will <"rapidly improve water quality">. Another thing is try not to make any decisions based on the test results. I'm <"not anti-testing">, but the tests available to us <"aren't reliable...

Hi @Hanuman In the UK, sale of antibiotics is illegal without a veterinarian's prescription. In my tank (and Tom Barr's customers' tanks), we are not seeing Anabaena. Instead, it's a different Genus of Cyano known as Oscillatoria. Hi @tigertim It's not so much the nitrate itself but the...

Hi @FrankR May I suggest that you search UKAPS for "autotrophic", "nitrifying bacteria"and "Archaea"? Then, search for "heterotrophic bacteria". The first of these convert toxic ammonia to non-toxic nitrate. The second (heterotrophic bacteria) convert organic waste into minerals that fertilize...

Hi all, I think that is a good summary and personally I'd be very wary of dosing ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) containing fertilisers in anything other than very weak doses (see @Zeus.'s post <"above">). The advantage of NH4NO3 would be that you only add nitrogen (N ~ 33%), from both the anion...

It seems that plants prefer to uptake nitrogen in ammoniacal form, from what I understand it is more energy efficient for them since otherwise they would have to convert nitrate to more preferred form internally. However, too much will be toxic to plants as well as livestock, so anyone using...

Totally agree with you mate, I think that TSN does have Nitrogen in ammonium form but it could be in the form of some complex compound ....since ammonium ion breaks down into ammonia in an aqueous solution , so it's very unlikely that Tropica purposely uses ammonium salts in their normal form...

Hello @ElleDee My knowledge about plants is quite limited. Although I have been growing flowering plants and vegetables for quite long time (more than 25 years) but I was never interested in understanding about how they work on a molecular level (I still regret that, I could have learned a lot...

I was approached by @swyftfeet for some help with the IFC calculator. The calculator is not really intended for the newest newbies, but if you know what you have in mind for a fertilizer, or have been told by someone what you need, you may be able to get by :thumbup: This little tutorial aims to...

Hi all, Just get accurate figures from your water supplier (<"Anglian Water?">). They have an analytical lab. so should be able to give you <"an accurate range of values">. Having said that I wouldn't worry about nitrate levels, <"NO3- isn't toxic to fish"> until you get to high levels <"and...

Fish are transported in air tight bags, which were deflated and filled with oxygen prior to sealing the bag. This process saturates the water with dissolved oxygen. If oxygen is not added to the bag the fish would only manage to survive a couple of hours. During transport, fish generate...

I suspect there is either water quality issues at play here or too much CO2, possibly both. I would advise you to do a water change of 50% as soon as possible today, and keep this up every day until we have this figured out. It can be considered first aid at this point. Make sure you treat the...

So you posit that the CO2 leaving the water via exposure to normal air contributes more than adding fluid with higher pH? I am definitely not a chemist ( I honestly struggled with it in both grade school and at university, my brain just does not want to get to that epiphiny point with any of...

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/ammonium-nitrate-toxic-or-not.37495/ This thread seems to suggest that Tropica uses Ammonium Nitrate

...between the nitrate test is night and day (we don't even need to talk about whether the tests are accurate down to a ppm level). Nitrate toxicity Regarding the toxicity of nitrates to fish, your paper recommends no more than 10ppm for low flow systems which most of our aquariums would fall...

Hi all, It almost certainly isn't the nitrate (NO3-). The <"nitrate ion isn't toxic to fish"> until you get to <"very high levels"> and plants are very effective at depleting all forms of <"fixed nitrogen">. Have a look at <"Need advice...."> cheers Darrel

I haven’t used rainwater, but I’ll look what you shared. I just assumed I probably shouldn’t as I live in London and because of all of the pollution etc 😅 That’s really interesting to know, thank you for sharing those links! I hadn’t heard of using the leaf colour to compare before, but I do...

Hi all, I don't know if it is a possibility for you, but <"using rainwater"> gets around a lot of the issues with tap water. The problem with nitrate (NO3) is that <"you need to differentiate"> between the nitrate that has always been nitrate (in drinking water and added as potassium nitrate...

Well they have Oxygen in abundance during the day. Plants may only use the N, but when we eat Carbs ( and protein when diet is low in carbs) for energy all we are after is the release of energy from the electron change in orbit in the mitochondria within cells, there is normally a convoluted...

Just like to say excellent post above by darrel. I don't think there's much debate as to whether aquatic plants will uptake ammonium in preference to nitrate, the real $64,000 question is whether or not they grow any better when exclusively fed NH4, Diana walstad also concedes this. There's...

Hi all, If you look at aquaculture systems, where they are looking for both maximum bang for their buck and efficient nitrification, they overwhelmingly <"use floating cell media"> in <"moving bed bioreactors (MBBRs)">. <"Aquarium Science"> is also a fan. Kaldnes media was developed in Norway...

Well this sounds like a lot of twisting to me. Are you claiming that Amazonia does not leach nutrients into the water? Are you also now hiding behind twisted words? No one claims that NH3/NH4 doesn't fertilize. When we say that nutrients do not cause algae we are specifically referencing NO3...

Hello, It's a good idea to stop worrying about nitrates. Nitrogen is the second most important element (second only to CO2) and nitrate is not toxic at these concentration levels. I do not think it is a good policy to omit nitrate dosing at the beginning. The best practice is to add...

Hi all, So do I. No, that is entirely correct. It is just that in this case you have a very low bioload for the volume of water, so you have the <"advantage of dilution">. The ammonia (NH3), that diffuses continually from the fishes gills, is going to be diluted by the very large...

From that link, Biological filtration is the critical filtration component in every aquarium. Whether the biological filter is live rock, trickle media, a sponge or any other substrate, the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate is necessary to keep these substances from reaching...

Hi all, Yes, it is an interesting table. I'll ignore the "but what happens when the pH rises?" argument, other than to <"say your fish die">, but I'd agree these aren't the sort of water parameters that many of us would be happy with. He actually <"acknowledge this">. When I first read...

I've always run about 40ppm on average without issues. I started to use Nitra Guard which brings it down to zero or .5ppm. I'm just weighing up wether the cost outweighs any disadvantages.

Rather an emotive subject and the answers you'll get will vary greatly. As pointed out above nitrate itself isn't overly toxic to fish, the toxic part comes via ammonia and nitrite ( the nitrogen cycle.) If you surf the Web the figures for safe nitrate levels accumulating via this cycle will...

If you intend to dose the water column, especially using the EI method then I would advise against using osmocote, which is extremely high in toxic ammonia. You never really need to spend more money on root tabs as all you need to do is to prepare small ice cubes using water that you have added...

Hi all, It looks to be nutrient issue. Plant growth is <"like an assembly line">, adding more of any nutrient doesn't help if that nutrient isn't the one that is limiting plant growth. I don' t test for NO3, it isn't that I don't want to know the level of nitrate, but measurement <"is...

Hi all, It isn't true. I know what they mean, but whoever has told you that just doesn't fully understand nitrification. <"Plant growth is the easiest way to maintain water quality"> and <"plants need nitrogen (N)">. The "no nitrates" comment comes about because if you have an unplanted tank...

Thanks for the welcome :) I do have five Amano shrimp in the tank, along with six fish (danio's). Isn't the only difference between TNC Lite and TNC Complete the nitrate levels? If so, would it likely be a nitrate related issue causing these holes in my leaves? I had read that it could be a...

Hi all, Welcome to UKAPS. Do you have a Bristlenose (Ancistrus) catfish or Amano shrimps? I'd try a complete fertiliser, <"TNC Complete"> perhaps? I wouldn't worry too much about the nitrate (NO3-) or phosphate (PO4---) levels in your tap water, plants are <"pretty efficient at depleting...

Hi @anewbie I would not worry about intentional high levels of NO3 (Nitrates) through dosing in a planted tank, unless close to toxic level (say if your tap water is already extremely high on Nitrate or the tank is really polluted). Following El dosing you will routinely add 25-30 ppm of NO3...

@Leepants Yes, and there is (usually) no conflict between a beautiful planted tank and happy fish - you just have to be mindful of what you put together. Nitrate (NO3) is plant food - and don't worry about Nitrate (NO3) levels in a planted tank... just make sure you have enough of it with your...

Unless you tested the pH immediately before the addition of Ammonia then the observation and correlation you made is null. You say you tested the day before but a lot could have changed in that time due to the action of many things most notably the substrate which has a Cation and Anion exchange...

:Dhaha first I need to find a publisher who is convinced that nutrients don't cause algae... Hi Fluke, Well this get very deep so I'll describe in general terms. Nature always has techniques to clean up. On the open plains/savannah for example there are vultures who eat carrion...

Hi all, Yes. Nitrate (NO3-) is a funny one. We don't know at what levels it becomes toxic to fish, but it is <"probably in the hundreds of ppm range">. I'd <"recommend it if you can">. It is free and a "blank slate". It is always much easier to add things to water than to take them away...

For what it’s worth I think I most definitely had anaerobic denitrification occurring in this tank. My hypothesis is that, since according to the ‘Ecology of the Planted Aquarium’ by Diana Walstad, hydrogen sulphide production occurs at a much lower redox potential than denitrification and the...

Hi all, There are a number of issues that can occur with nitrate (NO3-) testing. These can affect both <"test kits and ion selective electrodes">. I use this approach, but recommend Amazon Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum) as my nutrient indicator. It has the advantages of: Growing over a <"wide...

I'm pretty skeptical this ever actually occurs in any type of real-world aquarium set-up. Denitrification in the substrate would result in production of gas bubbles exiting the substrate, but I have not observed this or seen any credible reports including from people marketing substrate that...

Hi, Yes, Erythromycin is very effective, however it's use is typically frowned upon. Really it's unnecessary as all it takes is to keep the tank clean with regular water changes and to consistently dose the tank with KNO3. Nitrate, Erythromycin and peroxide all damage BGA, but that's not...

That's interesting, thank-you. I don't mind clearing out the mulm, though I suspect a simple sponge filter or even a fine mesh filter would deal with much of that and be easy to hide. I agree, then seeing the fish is a real treat. Though I do like the personality of some of the small ciclids...

Maybe, esp with the increase flow and surface agitation there should be and increase in [O2] at night and during photo period as plants growing faster so more O2 again which in turn help with the detox processes and conversion of potentially toxic Nitrogen compounds concentrations to the safer...

Thank you. That sounds like it's worth a shot. A few weeks back the tank was balancing out at 180 TDS so it is slightly creeping up. I'll try just dosing traces for a while. The shrimp are happy and my nerites are always active. The bigger rabbit snails aren't that active though, although one...