0 nitrates

[haiau79]

Hi,

My tank has 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0 nitrates. Its been cycled and is home to 4 plants, 2 java ferns, an anubias barteri nana and a cryptocoryne wendtii. The nitrates dont seem to ever get over 0. Is this good for the fish?

[Adroit]

good for fish, bad for plants. plants need nitrates as a source of nutrients.

[doreenjoy]

You can supplement the plants with ferts.

[Mgamer20o0]

what kind of bio load how big of tank?

[jones57742]

Hi,

My tank has 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0 nitrates. Its been cycled and is home to 4 plants, 2 java ferns, an anubias barteri nana and a cryptocoryne wendtii. The nitrates dont seem to ever get over 0. Is this good for the fish?
The zero nitrate concentration will not adversely affect the fish.

The zero nitrate concentration will adversely affect the plants.

I believe something to be wrong with your test kit as a zero nitrate concentration is very rarely observed (I have never observed a zero concentration in my tank).

TR

[haiau79]

what kind of bio load how big of tank?

12 gallon eclipse, 6 corycats and 6 neon tetras and an otto.

I just bought the api test kit a month or so ago, I did the nitrate test about a month ago, and it registered 20 ppm. How could it go bad?

[Rbishop]

Well, it could be expired if it set on the shelf for a long time. Also, if you performed the test incorrectly, you could get an untrue reading. Have you been doing water changes?

[Canuck]

I believe something to be wrong with your test kit as a zero nitrate concentration is very rarely observed (I have never observed a zero concentration in my tank).

TR

It's possible the test kit is wrong. But 0 nitrates are quite common in lightly stocked, heavily planted tanks. IMO, planted tanks are alot easier to manage if they are lightly stocked.

[Cory Keeper]

I'm with Canuck on this one, its very possible he does have 0 nitrates. If the tank is big enough with just a few fish, those plants could very well suck up all the nitrates.

[haiau79]

yeah, ive been doing weekly 30% wc with RO water. Last time I added some Liquid RO Right by kent marine.

[jmhart]

It's possible the test kit is wrong. But 0 nitrates are quite common in lightly stocked, heavily planted tanks. IMO, planted tanks are alot easier to manage if they are lightly stocked.

:iagree:

[rocky213]

I am getting 0 nitrate also with RO so i switch back to tap water problem solved :)