Nitrates in well water. HELP

[Bill and Kat]

I have been battleing high nitrates for a while and found my well water is
at 30ppm. The lowest I seem to only get in the tank is 40ppm or so. How
can I remove nitrates? obviously waterchanges are not working. any help is
appreciated, reply here or directly to my email at
thanks

[kim gross]

Bill and Kat wrote:

> I have been battleing high nitrates for a while and found my well water is
> at 30ppm. The lowest I seem to only get in the tank is 40ppm or so. How
> can I remove nitrates? obviously waterchanges are not working. any help is
> appreciated, reply here or directly to my email at
> thanks
>
>
The first thing you will want to do is either get a RO/DI unit or find
another source for your water. Second can you connect a refugium to
your tank (long term solution), tune up your skimmer or upgrade your
skimmer, cut back on feeding if possible.

Kim

[Ross Bagley]

"Bill and Kat" > writes:

> I have been battleing high nitrates for a while and found my well water is
> at 30ppm. The lowest I seem to only get in the tank is 40ppm or so. How
> can I remove nitrates? obviously waterchanges are not working. any help is
> appreciated, reply here or directly to my email at
> thanks

What books do you have?

The only reason I ask is that any of the current crop of marine
aquarium books would have told you to buy yourself an RO/DI water
filter to eliminate nitrate and phosphate from the water supply.

IMHO, an RO/DI filter should be on the "must have" list of all but the
smallest marine tanks in the US.

Regards,
Ross

-- Ross Bagley http://rossbagley.com/rba
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature...
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller

[CapFusion]

"Bill and Kat" > wrote in message
news:FAH7c.1$vJ1.0@okepread01...
> I have been battleing high nitrates for a while and found my well water is
> at 30ppm. The lowest I seem to only get in the tank is 40ppm or so. How
> can I remove nitrates? obviously waterchanges are not working. any help
is
> appreciated, reply here or directly to my email at
> thanks
>
Try using RO or RO/DI unit to lower your nitrate level.

CapFusion,...

[Chauncey Gardiner]

In article <FAH7c.1$vJ1.0@okepread01>, Bill and Kat
> wrote:

> I have been battleing high nitrates for a while and found my well water is
> at 30ppm.

Should one have nitrates in one's well water? Is it healthy to drink
over the long term?

I'm not sure but this could be a sign of pollution- I'd ask around.

--
To reply by email, please edit return address as indicated.

[Ross Bagley]

Chauncey Gardiner > writes:

> In article <FAH7c.1$vJ1.0@okepread01>, Bill and Kat
> > wrote:
>
> > I have been battleing high nitrates for a while and found my well water is
> > at 30ppm.
>
> Should one have nitrates in one's well water? Is it healthy to drink
> over the long term?

It's not a particularly positive contribution, but even very high
levels of nitrates in drinking water are not toxic unless you're very
young, pregnant women with a particular enzyme deficiency, or have
other specific conditions (which a doctor would already have told you
about). To protect those groups, the government has set the maximum
allowed nitrate level to what our test kits indicate is 45ppm (which
is equivalent to the actual criteria of 10mg/L NO3-N).

The average dietary intake of nitrate from plant matter is 75 to 100mg
per day. Getting a little more from the water isn't going to hurt
almost anyone.

> I'm not sure but this could be a sign of pollution- I'd ask around.

Now that's a very good answer to the question.

Nitrate occurs naturally in groundwater. However, modern agricultural
and groundskeeping practices, along with industrial runoff, septic
systems, car and power plant emissions do result in increased levels
of nitrate. If you're on "city water", the treatment plant is
supposed to remove enough of the nitrate and other pollutants that the
amount in your dinking water is below the federal Maximum Contaminant
Level.

If you're using well water, this is exactly why your well water
quality should be regularly checked. Also, if you are using well
water, high levels of nitrates (>300ppm) are an indicator that your
well water is probably contaminated and may also contain other
pollutants, like insecticides, protozoa, bacteria, or viruses.

It is most definitely worth asking around if you have very high
nitrates in your drinking water.

Regards,
Ross

-- Ross Bagley http://rossbagley.com/rba
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature...
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller