# Nitrates - what IS the real story?



## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

Hello, all.
Thank you in advance for reading my post. I am new to this hobby, but I've done my best to read up on issues before asking stupid questions. However, on the subject of ccontrolling nitrates, the more I read, the more stupid I'm afraid I am getting!

There seems to be no end to the conflicting information on nitrates and how to control them... Many articles I read say "add some plants, change the water, get used to it, get over it - there is no bacteria that will control nitrates, only ammonia and nitrites".

Then, I see these nitrate fighting contraptions on YouTube...feed them some vodka and they will eat your nitrates! Scary looking contraptions that supposedly take three months to get going anyway... don't really know how effective they are either.

I recently bought some sintered glass media for my canister filter from a company called bio home. they say that in addition to the aerobic bacteria that help control your ammonia and nitrite, this media is porous enough that it will house anaerobic bacteria that will keep down your nitrates. I've been using this media for a couple of weeks, and my nitrates don't seem to be affected. If this is true, how do I get these anaerobic bacteria started in the first place? Products like API Quickstart do not have bacteria in them that affects nitrates according to the bottle...

At the end of the day, I understand the nitrogen cycle, but I just don't understand fighting the nitrates. My tank is a young tank, only up since January. But I cannot go a whole week without having to do a 50% water change. I can only go for 4 or 5 days until my nitrogen hits 30 to 40 ppm and I do a 50% water change at that time. If anaerobic bacteria are not currently growing in my tank that fight nitrates, then having to change the water every four or five days will never change for me... Ideally, I would like to only have to change my water once a week at the most...

I saw somewhere on the Internet that I can buy these dissolving balls or tablets of some kind that have this nitrate eating anaerobic bacteria in them, but I can't find them now... And honestly, I don't know if that's a good idea anyway!

I need some common sense advice on fighting nitrates! If the answer is just get used to changing water well then so be it... But if there's something that can be done, other than one of those crazy nitrate contraptions on YouTube, I'd like to know what it is!

Thank you all!


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## rkings4d (Feb 12, 2014)

Have you checked your tap water for nitrates,you'd be surprised how common it is in tap water, I even found 10% nitrate in a bottled water once. also what are you using to test strips or drops?


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

Have you tried Purigen by Seachem?
It is a great product that actually removes the waste that eventually turns into ammonia, nitrites, and NITRATES
I used to have high nitrates in a community tank I have...80 plus nitrates
After I started using Purigen, my nitrates dropped down to between 10 and 20
It does work
Of course you still need to do water changes, and purigen is great because you can regenerate it to be used over and over again

I have one bag in my 125 gallon African tank and nitrates stay at 10 - 20 ppm


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

Hi! I use the API test kit (with the drops). I just tested my tap water - 0 nitrates, luckily...


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

I use Seachem Prime to treat my fresh change water, but no - until now, I'd never heard of Purigen... I'll check into that. Thanks!


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

OK, I just read about the Seachem Purigen... I'm still not clear on how you use it. I have a Cascade 1500 w/ 5 levels (baskets) that I have different media in. Do you use your Purigen in your canister filter or ???


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

I use mine in my HOB filters, not in my cannisters
You can use the seachem in a canister
Just place it in one of the lower levels where it will aid in removing waste that contributes to nitrate buildup

purchase the seachem Purigen that already comes in the bag Just rinse and place in position
I think the one that comes in a bag already is good for 100 gallons of water
use 2 if you have a much bigger tank


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

One thing that will slow the rise of nitrates is to keep the tank/filter free of solid detritus. If this material is removed from the tank before it is broken down, nitrates will not be formed. Having solid waste hidden inside the filter is the same as having it in the tank. The other consideration here is the stocking level of the tank. If it is heavily stocked, nitrates will rise more quickly, and will require larger and/or more frequent water changes.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Water changes remove many chemicals from the water of which nitrate is only one. At the same time, fresh water will replenish necessary trace elements in your system. In other words, water changes have many benefits in addition to removing nitrates, and if you keep up with them, 'fighting' nitrate should be a non issue.

That said, you really should not have to change water more than once per week, and even going two weeks between changes should not cause disaster. If nitrate is going up as quickly as you say, there is definitely a problem. There could be an excessive amount of debris in your system, as Bill suggests; or you could be overfeeding; or your stocking level could be too high. We need more info about your setup to help determine what exactly the problem is in your case.


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## pablo111 (Dec 10, 2013)

I would also suggest using purigen. Because it gets exhausted quickly in some systems (depending on waste in the water and other factors) I wouldn't put it in a canister. I'd put it in an aquaclear and make sure there's no bypass. Seachem sells a media bag called "The bag" which is good for tiny media like purigen.


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

I want to give a quick update to plug, rkings4d, BillD, Fmueller and pablo111... so much appreciate you taking time to answer. All ideas/comments/suggestions were helpful. I got my Seachem Purigen & Seachem "the bag", and put it in an HOB filter last night. Had recently done a water change, so my starting nitrate was 15-20 ppm. This morning, I hoped it would have at least not climbed, but guess what??? I had ZERO nitrates! Did the test again to make sure... ZERO again! (other readings stayed the same; ph 8.2, nitrite 0, ammo 0). Seachem Purigen is the BOMB! I think I love you all...  Thank you again. This forum is AWESOME!


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## Boe82 (Mar 6, 2014)

Sorry this is off topic, although it seems you fixed the issue  How do you like the BioHome media? I got a Fluval Fx6 canister filter and it came with the bare minimum for media(little ceramic tube/ring things) and I have read great things about the BioHome media, and was considering it to fill my bottom tray. Where did you purchase it from as well? Thanks for any info


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

Well, Boe82... I just don't know. In all fairness, I didn't give them long enough to build up the anaerobic bacteria... See, that's the problem. I don't know if I have to somehow add that bacteria, or if it will magically just start on it's own. I have read that Seachem Stability actually has the anaerobic bacteria while the API does not. So, I'm going to start using the Seachem Stability in addition to the Seachem prime to condition my water during water changes. I got them off eBay. I think(?) you're supposed to use it in your last tray, whether that's bottom or top on your canister I have no idea. Mechanical, chemical, biological is how it was explained to me. Like Coarse biofloss or something to trap debris first, then if you use chemical like purigen, then carbon, then your fine floss and/or biohome where your bacteria hopefully live. that would be a good discussion topic, actually... anyway, hope that helps!


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