Nitrates

[Soldaneg]

Do plants need Nitrates to thrive? I ask because I constantly have a Nitrate reading of 0 whenever I test. I have a 55 gal planted tank with 2 plecos, 2 yo-yo loaches, 1 dwarf gourami, 1 red sword tail, and 8 neon tetras, which I don't think is too lightly stocked, and I also add ferts twice a week. Still I never read anything above 0 for Nitrates.

Do you guys have any ideas? How much is this effecting the health of my plants?

[247Plants]

How old is your test kit?

[rich311k]

What kind of test kit is it? Some can be tricky to do right.

[NickD]

How long has the tank been set up? If the tank hasn't completed cycling, then nitrates could be zero.

[BoredAgain]

My 55g usually reads between 5 and 10 ppm. My 28g between 0 and 5 ppm. Both are low tech planted with a lot of nutrient hogs and I'm currently building my bio load up. The 28g is being used continually as a quarantine for the 55g, once the 55g is well stocked, the 28g will have more permanent stock. Though the Nitrates are low, there have been no noticeable negative effects on plant health.

If you have never registered anything above 0 ppm, I'd look into trying out another Nitrate test kit. You should be reading something, at least sometimes.

[Soldaneg]

I have been using the API complete freshwater test kit and has never registered anything above 0 nitrates. Is the API test kit s good kit?

BTW Yes, the tank is completely cycled.

[The Zigman]

API is the best kit for FW, but is the kit Old?

Plants do use nitrates, I actually sometimes dose nitrates in my tank for the plants.

How do you know the tank is cycled if you have never read more than 0 Nitrates?

When I was cycling my 125, it took a very long time for nitrates to show up, since I cycled it while it was planted...

[Star_Rider]

how long has this tank been set up and established?

you posted this in an earlier thread
"I immediately tested the tank and found the ammonia and nitrite are at 0 and the nitrate is at 5. The tank temp is set at 75 degrees and the pH is a little high at 7.4"

[Soldaneg]

I forgot about that test!!! So there were Nitrates in the tank at some point. I have had the tank setup for about a month and a half and that is the only time I can remember seeing any Nitrates. That being said, that test was done when I had less fish in the tank and before I added the majority of my plants. I have had constant readings of zero the past 1.5 weeks, pretty much ever since I added the majority of my plants.

The test kit I purchased about two weeks before I had the tank setup so it is about 2 months old.

[Star_Rider]

it is possible with a low bioload and some nutrient hogs to have a 0 nitrate reading.
but this may not be a good thing as the plants may need more nitrates that you have..this could provide algae the opportunity to get a foot hold.

[247Plants]

What are you using to dose nitrate?

[KarlTh]

I'd consider that very low stocking and I'm therefore not terribly surprised with the 0 nitrate, if the plants are growing fast.

[gmh]

This sounds like a golden opportunity to buy some fish!

[susantroy1]

I'd consider that very low stocking and I'm therefore not terribly surprised with the 0 nitrate, if the plants are growing fast.
:iagree:
You should provide some additional nitrates/nutrients for your plants (AKA EI dosing), once they use their reserves they will begin to show the signs of nutrient deficiencies.

[Soldaneg]

Ok, I will add some more fish and see if that raises the Nitrate level. Thank you for your help. I will post again and let you know guys know if that does the trick.

[jflng]

Before testing, shake the bottles very well.
Not doing this messed me up with my API nitrate kit. I'm pretty sure this is most important for bottle #2.

[Fordtrannyman]

Do you have a full tank shot photo?
So we can see how many plants you actually have in there.
What's your lighting, substrate, and fertilizer type?
Do you inject C02?

You can make a reference solution to test your test kit.
Here are directions: http://plantgeek.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10830

[Derringer]

it is possible with a low bioload and some nutrient hogs to have a 0 nitrate reading.
but this may not be a good thing as the plants may need more nitrates that you have..this could provide algae the opportunity to get a foot hold.

Exactly - low nitrates and you are just asking for algae ... add in little to no current and you are almost sure to get nailed with 2-3 kinds of it.

Once you are established and you still have low nitrate - you might want to consider dosing them or upping your bio-load until you get them.

[Soldaneg]

Alright, I went out on Thursday and bought myself some new fish. 5 zebra Danios and two gold platys to be specific. When I tested the water today, I still have 0 Nitrates. I'm still adding ferts twice a week, I increased the bioload, is there anything else I am missing that would cause this?

[Soldaneg]

Oh and I forgot to answer, I am using Seachem Flourish.