I can't get Nitrates down!

[mcarroll]

I dunno why I thought I read you had ammonia in the source water...nitrates wouldn't taste like anything AFAIK.

 

Ammonia and nitrates are both allowable....I think up to 32 ppm for ammonia, but I'm not sure there's a limit on nitrates....don't think there is one for phosphate either since it's considered as a nutrient.  

 

If you think it's worth pursuing and the water utility doesn't help, I would think that the water cooler provider, if anyone, would be the ones to do something about it.

 

Good luck!  🙂

[mcarroll]

 

11 minutes ago, Draco said:

Manager of the town's water district called, they tested nitrates at 8ppm.

 

Bossman wants me to get the water tested at the LFS tomorrow just to recheck. If it's high, he's going to invest in an RO/DI filter for 4 of the 8 coolers we have (As it needs to drain somewhere).

 

I sort of feel guilty for opening my mouth. but he was glad I did, he was concerned about the health of employees.

 

I dunno if 8ppm is worth breaking the bank over.  

 

Lots of folks have to dose A LOT MORE than 8ppm nitrates to their reef every day just to keep it healthy, so I wouldn't think it'd be a problem here. 

 

Plus, 8ppm source water doesn't explain how your levels got to 40 ppm...there's another problem causing nitrates to accumulate.   You said you did a whole bunch of 50% water changes – that should have taken your levels down really close to 8ppm.

 

Are you also using tap water for top-offs?

5 hours ago, Draco said:

Phosphate is is between 0 and .25ppm (color is between those two swatches on API test)

Can you run a test on your tap water (and/or some deionized water) to compare with the tank sample, so you have a reference "ZERO" to compare with?  

 

If you are very close to zero, then phosphate limitation is what I'm going to point at as your main problem.

 

(Having an excessive nitrate source can also run phosphates down to zero....this is one feature of eutrophication in the wild.)

 

But let's not jump too far ahead.....if it's phosphate limitation, it's a very solvable problem.  Not hard or expensive to deal with.  Seachem and Brightwell make phosphate additives that seem to be available "everywhere".

 

On the water filtration system aspect...

 

I'm not sure about DI on the drinking water.....I'm not that into drinking water systems, but I've only heard of plain-RO being used.

 

If there can be at least one DI outlet on a cooler, or otherwise, it wouldn't take much effort to install or maintain vs what he's already talking about.  (Sounds like it could be worth talking to a pro installer if you have 4-8 coolers you want to feed.)

[Clown79]

Di should not be ingested nor should distilled. Both would need remineralization or it becomes a SERIOUS health risk.

 

Ro water is the same as bottled water. It's just treated tap water.

 

There are allowable amounts of chlorine, chloramines, nitrates, phos, minerals in your drinking water because it's safe for us but not fragile reef inhabitants.

 

8ppm nitrates over time would build up if they aren't being exported by other means like refugium, chemical media. Waterchanges really aren't exporting  nutrients if the water used for the waterchange has nutrients in it.

 

To be an effective method of nutrient export, the water would need 0 tds, 0 phos, 0 nitrates.

 

Ro/di or distilled water

 

 

[hoodle]

I had the same problem. I just emptied the entire tank, scrubbed it, rinsed the bottom, then refilled it