nitrate mystery????

jpappy789 said:
K = potassium
Fe = iron
PO4 = phosphate
NO3 = nitrate

all essential to plants. NPK are primary macro's which are needed in heavier doses than the micro-nutrients (also known as traces) which include chlorine, copper, boron etc. Also considered macro's are iron, calcium, magnesium and sulfur although these tend to not be targeted as much as NPK because they are present in tap water. The supplemental fertilizers such as Flourish also dose those nutrients as well as the traces if you are in short supply. Plants also need carbon (why Co2 or a substitute like excel benefits plants) as well as hydrogen and oxygen but water takes care of that...

algae strives on excess nutrients but if your plants are able to use them all up for growth they will outcompete the algae. It's all about finding a balance.
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thanks for the info jpappy. so if algae lives off excess nutrients and my plants are growing really well and i am overfeeding a lil, then would that mean the plants are using up all nutrients coming from the extra wastes produced that would otherwise be forwarded towards algae growth?
 
Really nice growth you have going on there! So the plants are getting all that they need to thrive. I don't think you're overfeeding, I feed a couple of my tanks twice a day still since most of the occupants are not quite full grown yet. And the discus tank gets an evening feed of flakes and pellets followed a few hours later by bloodworms every day and it's not overfeeding. I have a lot of crypts in my discus tank and my nitrates are probably never below 20. I wouldn't change anything if I were you.
 
thanks all for the help and comments. i think the main reason i started this thread was due to seeing planted tanks with such low nitrate levels and wondering why mine was so different, lol, but after some of your responses i am thinking of not changing much as far as this tank goes.

now i am wondering what is a good brand for gh and kh tests? those are two parameters i have never tested for (except once for a lark with a test strip, but i'm not betting the farm on those results, lol). i'm not thinking of trying to change any levels, i just want to know exactly why my water is so darn good for the snails, hahaha!
 
You've probably got pretty high kH in your water. If you have spots on your dishes after running them through the dishwater (without a rinse agent) then that is the likely cause. Snails shells fall dissolve if the kH isn't high enough.

BTW ever notice how sometimes on these forums jokes run flat. For the answer to your original nitrate question - your fish and snails produce nitrogen waste. Plants can use ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in all forms (the prefer the nitrite however). The bacteria in your tank only use either ammonia or nitrite. Having a slowly increasing nitrate indicates that your fish and snails are producing more nitrogen waste than the plants can use. This is not a bad situation to be in.

If your nitrogen levels were 0,0,0 then your plants would be starving for food. Having a little extra keeps them growing optimally. Also in tanks where there is no detectable nitrogen the bacteria colonies are very small. So if the owner gets a little prune happy they can imbalance the tank and get an ammonia spike. A very bad situation for an established fully stocked tank to be in.

So you've got an ideal setup for your aquarium right now. Healthy fish, snails, plants, and bacteria. Definately time to sit back and enjoy it. It never last long enough.
 
Keep in mind that majority of people do not think about heterotrophic bacteria that are always present in aquariums...heterotroph's consume anything carbon based, which is just about anything organic in your tank. They multiply at an extremely fast rate compared to nitrifyer's and are a big source of nitrogen in a system (especially a planted system).As the consume a carbon source, they produce ammonia. Ammonia is processed by nitrifyer's in the tank and the end result is of course nitrate. Increase water changes, keep the sand/gravel as clean as possible and all should be good.

-Ryan
 
the only thing i can read on the bulbs is F17/T8. that's on both of them. i thought they were both Eclipse daylight bulbs, but after looking again one says Tropic Sun daylight.
 
Dkarc said:
.As the consume a carbon source, they produce ammonia. Ammonia is processed by nitrifyer's in the tank and the end result is of course nitrate.

-Ryan
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And how do they do that though? How do they turn a carbon source into a nitrogen compound? ;)

It's protein metabolism which creates ammonia. The process you're referring to is generally known; it's called rotting and people know that uneaten food, dead fish and whatnot rot and produce ammonia, even if they don't realise it's done by bacteria.

They're not a source of ammonia however. The only source of ammonia - i.e. nitrogen - is protein - i.e. fish food. Doesn't really matter whether it goes through a fish or not, it still produces one ammonia molecule for every nitrogen atom you put in. The way some people talk you'd imagine that aquarium inhabitants had the magic ability to create nitrogen atoms out of pure air (or water).
 
SMinNC said:
I know my eyes are getting bad. But am I seing 2, 36" fixtures?
And they have 24", 17w bulbs?
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no, the two fixtures are not the same.
i have only measured the black plastic casing/housing for the bulbs and one is 30" and the other is 35".
 
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