High nitrate levels in tap water

[Jlinzmaier]

Hello everyone.

I have a 425 gallon tank that has been running for a few weeks with some basic community fish. I hope to be ready to convert to discus next spring. I'm an experienced aquarist and ran this tank as a reef tank for a many years.

Im tackling the nitrate management plans recently and found my tap water to be around 30 with numerous tests from a new tropic Marin kit. I also did some dilutional testing and confirmed a reading of around 30 with each test.

I hope to have a planted tank to I'd like nitrate around 5 but starting with tap water at 30 is counter productive.

I see two options:

1) start with ro water and remineralize

2) filter my water with nitrasorb by api as I'm aging the new water for water changes. One bag of nitrasorb should lower a 50 gal bin of tap water to 5 to 10 in 24 to 48 hrs - based on the description details of nitrasorb.

Anyone have thoughts on these two options or any other suggestions?

I'm thinking of going the ro water route to start with pure water that I know is remineralized to ideal levels.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Jeremy

[Sandip]

Hello everyone.

I have a 425 gallon tank that has been running for a few weeks with some basic community fish. I hope to be ready to convert to discus next spring. I'm an experienced aquarist and ran this tank as a reef tank for a many years.

Im tackling the nitrate management plans recently and found my tap water to be around 30 with numerous tests from a new tropic Marin kit. I also did some dilutional testing and confirmed a reading of around 30 with each test.

I hope to have a planted tank to I'd like nitrate around 5 but starting with tap water at 30 is counter productive.

I see two options:

1) start with ro water and remineralize

2) filter my water with nitrasorb by api as I'm aging the new water for water changes. One bag of nitrasorb should lower a 50 gal bin of tap water to 5 to 10 in 24 to 48 hrs - based on the description details of nitrasorb.

Anyone have thoughts on these two options or any other suggestions?

I'm thinking of going the ro water route to start with pure water that I know is remineralized to ideal levels.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Jeremy

With that high level of nitrate, I think starting with RO/DI water is your best bet. It also gives you more control over the water since you decide how and what to use to remineralize. With RO/DI water you can precisely control pH and every other parameter. It is more work. But it's worth it if you can do it.

[brewmaster15]

HI Jeremy,
Welcome to SimplyDiscus!

Where is your water sourced? Is it well water? Those levels are not safe for human consumption.

How did you deal with 30 ppm Nitrates when you had this set up as a Reef tank?

Al

[Jlinzmaier]

HI Jeremy,
Welcome to SimplyDiscus!

Where is your water sourced? Is it well water? Those levels are not safe for human consumption.

How did you deal with 30 ppm Nitrates when you had this set up as a Reef tank?

Al

Thank you for the reply.

The source is my well water and I'm out in the country so it may be fertilizer run off contributing to the nitrate levels.

For my reef tank I only used rodi water so I never bothered to test my tap.

Jeremy

[brewmaster15]

Jeremy,

The levels you have in your water are definitely not safe for drinking...less than 10 ppm is whats recommended.

You can certainly use R/o for Nitrate removal on that tank but its a bandaid for a bad source water issue. A better solution would be whole house filtration using anion resin...Id look into something like this...

https://www.freshwatersystems.com/pr...-resin-1-cu-ft

A water filtration company might be a good starting point.

Nitrates are not easy to remove from water.. .. R/O and Resins are really the two most practical options.
More info..
https://www.freshwatersystems.com/bl...tes-from-water

Al

[Jlinzmaier]

Jeremy,

The levels you have in your water are definitely not safe for drinking...less than 10 ppm is whats recommended.

You can certainly use R/o for Nitrate removal on that tank but its a bandaid for a bad source water issue. A better solution would be whole house filtration using anion resin...Id look into something like this...

https://www.freshwatersystems.com/pr...-resin-1-cu-ft

A water filtration company might be a good starting point.

Nitrates are not easy to remove from water.. .. R/O and Resins are really the two most practical options.
More info..
https://www.freshwatersystems.com/bl...tes-from-water

Al

Thank you Al!

I'll call my culligan guy on Monday and try to figure out what we can do about these nitrate levels.

Appreciate the help!

Jeremy

[brewmaster15]

You are welcome. Please keep us posted how you make out and definitely hit us up with any discus questions.

Al

[Jlinzmaier]

Well, I guess I'm questioning the accuracy of the test at this point. I just spent an hour testing all kinds of water. To preface, I'm quite experienced with use of test kits. With the reef tank I tested everything under the sun with every brand of kit on the market. Im confident I'm not making an error with testing technique or interpretation.

Tap water showed nitrate at 30 again with a dilution of 3 and a dilution of 15. It's a low range kit so it maxes at 20, thus the need for a dilution for higher levels.

My current tank thats had fish in it for about 3 weeks is now testing at 600 with a dilution of 15 and 30.

Right now there's a bit of cyanobacteria on the sand bed that I've been siphoning, but I expected the usual cycle of different algae as the tank ages. Water is very clear and fish are all happy and looking great. 2 beginner plants look good. No obvious growth yet but no decline either.

In a few hours I'm heading to town and I'll take some water to a lfs to have them test my tap and my tank water. Ill let you know if their test results coincide with mine. I sure hope they dont!!!

[Willie]

FDA limits for nitrate in drinking water is 20 ppm, so the problem would be you - not your discus. Until you figure it out, I would strongly recommend that you drink and cook with R/O water. For infants, 20 ppm would produce the classic 'blue baby' symptom from nitrate poisoning.

Much more likely is that your test results are wrong. (Lots of people get really mad when I suggest it.) Nitrate tests that come from aquarium manufacturers are notoriously subject to noise. Your idea of going to a LFS to have them test it is a good one. They run tests all the time and their reagents are fresh. In fact, I suggest you go to more than one LFS and compare their results.

Good luck, Willie

[Jlinzmaier]

FDA limits for nitrate in drinking water is 20 ppm, so the problem would be you - not your discus. Until you figure it out, I would strongly recommend that you drink and cook with R/O water. For infants, 20 ppm would produce the classic 'blue baby' symptom from nitrate poisoning.

Much more likely is that your test results are wrong. (Lots of people get really mad when I suggest it.) Nitrate tests that come from aquarium manufacturers are notoriously subject to noise. Your idea of going to a LFS to have them test it is a good one. They run tests all the time and their reagents are fresh. In fact, I suggest you go to more than one LFS and compare their results.

Good luck, Willie

Thank you Willie. These kits are pretty finicky but I'm really surprised to get such abnormal readings. A little off I could understand, but this is crazy. Headed to a lfs now

Jeremy

[Jlinzmaier]

Lfs showed tank water nitrate at 40 and tap between undetectable and 20. Looked closer to 0 so Id say its likely 5 or 10. She just used the cheap dip strip but it verified my test kit isn't giving accurate readings. Ill contact bulk reef supply and get a new kit. Thanks for the help everyone!

[brewmaster15]

Glad to hear it!

Al

[Jlinzmaier]

Any recommendations on a preferred brand of nitrate test? I've read good reviews on the red sea nitrate pro but can't find confirmation anywhere that it can be used on freshwater. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Jeremy

[brewmaster15]

I've always used the API tests for nitrate,nitrite, and ammonia. Its fairly accurate from my cross checks..
Screenshot_20230911_180442.jpg

Al

[AquaticNerd]

API has been my go-to for quick tests as well. Their full freshwater test kit is available on Amazon for about $30 and well worth it to have various tests on hand. Never had an issue with accuracy with them and they've been spot on when comparing between my results and several LFSs.