Nitrates

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melr70

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Hi,
Can anyone recommend a method other than live plants to remove nitrates from the tank? I've ordered frogbit, wisteria and have some duckweed and java fern in there already. Trouble is my tap water is quite high in nitrates. My fish have been doing ok for years in the same water, although they do have many live plants in their tank so that helps, but am a bit worried that my new axies might be a little more delicate. I've read about a product called De*nitrate which goes in the filter, does anyone have any experience of using this?
Thanks
 
high nitrates in the tap is a tricky problem. The only method I've heard of how to lower nitrates besides plants is a denitrator, however I know very little about these. They're supposed to be outrageously expensive. I've heard of people using deep sand beds in freshwater, but those would require plenty of blackworms/malaysian trumpet snails to keep the substrate turned. I also wouldn't feel comfortable with that much anaerobic bacteria in my tank. I've never heard of the de*nitrate but I have no faith in products like those. However, I could be wrong and it might work fantastically.
 
Thanks Carson,
Don't fancy the deep sand bed either and I think the OH might have a coronary if I buy a denitrator :)

Am actually wondering how accurate the test is, although it's well within date. Have ordered a Salifert one and we'll see what that comes up with.
 
There is nitrate filter designs all over the net.some use vodka as a fuel for the bacteria or something mental sounding like that. There is a guy on another forum I go on who uses one on his 10000 gal tank but he uses some form of sugar mix I think to feed the bacteria.

The hardest part if I remember right is keeping the bacteria happy as they take a while to establish and oxygen exposure kills them.
The basic idea on the designs I seen had a large coil which flowed water through at a very slow rate. This alows bacteria to grow in the coil and strip all oxygen from the water. Then it flows into a chamber filled with biomedia were the bacteria you want remove nitrates

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Thanks Frasertheking, it turns out the test was fairly accurate. The Nitrates in my area are some of the higest in the country would you believe? The scary thing is I really had no idea. My tropical tank is quite heavily planted so I didn't realise. You know I'm allowing my kids to drink this water! The waterboard go on and on about the measures they're taking to combat the'problem,' but I bet they're investing heavily on mineral water for their offices. I've ordered a whole load of palnts, hornwort, wisteria and frogbit. I'm hoping it will help. Trouble is with axies not being keen on light I'm going to have a struggle to keep the plants healthy. If it doesn't work it's going to have to be some sort of filter, or RO. :) S'all good fun :)
 
:D Already clocked your post about that Carson. It looks fab. Am thinking I might try it but the thing is the axie tank tank is in a darkish corner and I'm not sure there would be enough light for the plant :confused:
 
get a $10 desk lamp and stick a compact flourescent light bulb with the right spectrum in there. Pothos/peace lilly only need a little light, and will actually do poorly in full sunlight(or at least so i'm told)
 
:D Have just convinced the OH that peace lilys are the way forward for BOTH tanks..... Oh and hun, all you need do is rig up two tiny little lights...oh and some extra sockets.... :D Result. Cheers Carson.
 
hope it works out well for you, remember it takes a couple weeks for the roots to acclimate, and start helping out.
 
I wish I could remember what it was properly called...but on our saltwater tank we have a filter that makes the nitrates 0 all the time.

The kind of bacteria needed to make nitrates 0 like very little oxygen. It's not a good idea to add vodka straight to the tank because if you add too much, the bacteria really blossom and the oxygen in your tank drops to dangerous levels.

The point of this filter is to house the bacteria in a place where they can be fed (vodka) and do no damage to the tank. Water goes into the container and slowly drips out the other end. It needs to drip slowly so the de-oxygenated water doesn't kill your animals in the tank.

This thing has done WONDERS for our saltwater tank...now on freshwater...I have no idea how this would work. I would think it would work the same way. We only have 1 and we only really NEEDED it for the saltwater tank.

The only maintenance it needs is vodka and adjusting the flow that drips back in
 
As soon as I find somewhere that sells peace lilys I'm on it. You'd think that living in a place stuffed full of nurserys they'd have one somewhere but alas.... Might have to resort to ebay. :)
Lizzy, am googling the vodka filter as we speak....
 
My fiancee says it's a denitrator? If you find something and need me to verify just drop me a link an I'll take a look.
 
Thanks Lizzy,
I did see those, but wasn't sure since there weren't many reviews. I'm trying the peace lily thing at the moment but if it doesn't help I might have to think about it. I wonder what the shipping would be to the UK???
 
Good luck with the lily idea :)
And I'll give a review from our own personal experience with it on a more difficult tank set up (saltwater reef)

This filter has been a life saver so far since you need very clean water for coral to really grow and that's what we keep. It's easy to set up and easy to maintain (just some cheap vodka in it once every few days depending on the bio load...and this goes IN THE FILTER not the tank) and it does an amazing job at keeping nitrates at 0. We only do water changes to replenish minerals in the tank since the filter keeps everything else so clean.

Drop an email to the guy who makes them for any shipping questions :) from what I understand he's very helpful and has grown his business a lot since we got the filter a year ago. If my axies tank wasn't as stable as it is and we weren't on a budget, I'd spend the money and buy another filter for their tank as well.
 
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Wow that is scary drinking stuff that could kill small creatures. Why not set up a filter pond. Nothing complex just a big tub filled with plants and light. Then fill it with cherrie shrimp who have pretty much no effect on water chemistry.
Filterd water plus free food sounds a good deal
Fraser

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