Where are your Nitrates?

[AsahiToro]

I'm curious of what levels of Nitrates other peoples tanks usually are. Mine hover around the 10-15 ppm level before my 15-20% weekly water changes and about 5-10 ppm after. Is that too low for a tank that's fairly heavily planted and moderately stocked? Are my plants getting enough? Thanks for any input,

Scott

[Richer]

Your nitrates are fine. I actually have to dose my tank with KNO3 to get my levels at around 5-10ppm.

HTH
-Richer

[spankey]

My tank always holds a status of 10ppm every day? Whats up with that?

After water change it drops to 5ppm, but the next day if I do NOT add any KNO3, its up to 10ppm again? I guess the plants are using something, as it never shoots above 10...

I still claim my tank is broken..LOL:D

Spankey

[Richer]

That just means your fish load is high enough so that nitrate levels are maintained at such a level. Or you don't have enough fast growing plants to readily consume all of that nitrate. Its probably a combination of the two =)

-Richer

[wetmanNY]

Fish excrete ammonia. The ammonia can take two paths: it can be taken up by plants and algae or by aerobic nitrifying bacteria. Once the N is ion the pathway towards NO3 it's pretty well lost to plants, who don't turn to it unless they're running out of NH3.

(This is Diana Walstad's description.)

You'd have lower nitrates, then, if you had less biofiltration!

(Sounds like logic to me.)