Dr Engelbert Buxbaum
July 16th 03, 12:00 PM
Ron Hansen wrote:
> You should be changing 10% (3 gallons) of water every week. Nitrates
> are the end product of the Nitrification cycle that is possible in most
> aquariums. Food rots and fish poop and pee and this produces ammonia
> (toxic to the fish). Bacteria break down the ammonia, but give off
> Nitrite (more toxic to the fish). Other bacteria break down the Nitrite
> and give off Nitrate (much less toxic to the fish). No process in a
> typical tank will consume the Nitrate. Therefore, you need to get rid
> of it. By changing 10% of the water each week, you will dilute the
> Nitrate and reduce the levels. If you don't, your fish will eventually
> die.
There is one such process: Plant growth. Plants need nitrogen and will
absorb it either as ammonia or nitrate. That doesn't mean one should
skip water changes in a planted aquarium though, as fishes produce other
waste products besides nitrogen ('organic dissolved carbon'). But plants
can certainly help keeping nitrogen compounds at bay.
> You should be changing 10% (3 gallons) of water every week. Nitrates
> are the end product of the Nitrification cycle that is possible in most
> aquariums. Food rots and fish poop and pee and this produces ammonia
> (toxic to the fish). Bacteria break down the ammonia, but give off
> Nitrite (more toxic to the fish). Other bacteria break down the Nitrite
> and give off Nitrate (much less toxic to the fish). No process in a
> typical tank will consume the Nitrate. Therefore, you need to get rid
> of it. By changing 10% of the water each week, you will dilute the
> Nitrate and reduce the levels. If you don't, your fish will eventually
> die.
There is one such process: Plant growth. Plants need nitrogen and will
absorb it either as ammonia or nitrate. That doesn't mean one should
skip water changes in a planted aquarium though, as fishes produce other
waste products besides nitrogen ('organic dissolved carbon'). But plants
can certainly help keeping nitrogen compounds at bay.