40ppm nitrate Tap water

[Tobezoned]

Hey guys, need some advice.

I recently bought a 43 gallon tank and have cycled it but have now tested my tap water and looked at a local water report, and my tap water comes out at about 40ppm nitrate, 37.8 according to the report.

I have 2 bristlenose pleco, and was planning to add 6 mollies, 6 guppies, and 6 corydoras, possibly glass catfish as well.

Now I am uncertain as to what I should do? I dont have the kind of money to buy an RO unit or buy water from a shop each week instead of using tap water. My tank is rather well planted but it seems based on water changes and testing this has not been enough to bring it below 40ppm.

Thanks in advanced for any advice.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Tobezoned

[Tanked]

I would start by asking what the nitrate levels are where you bought the fish.  If they are nearby, they are probably on the same water system.  You could also add more or faster growing plants, especially the floating varieties.  All of my aquariums test about 40ppm.  It is not ideal, but still considered safe.

[Will Billy]

Believe it or not 40ppm nitrate is not incredibly detrimental. There are reports of fish surviving up to 800ppm nitrate or more. Im not condoning subjecting your pets to such extremes, surviving does not equal thriving. But 40ppm is not a full stop emergency. However i do see where 40ppm can quickly grow out of control, and have you constantly chasing your tail with water changes which too many water changes can be stress full for your fish. Here are a few low tech (cheap) options that can help you out between tank maintenance. 
1:) Fast growing plants like stem plants. The faster the plants grow the faster they consume nutrients such as nitrates. 
2:) floating plants like dwarf water lettuce, amazon frog bit, or red root floaters are all nitrate hogs. Keep in mind floating plants are a pond plant, so if you have a lot of surface agitation from filters and airstones you may need to make a simple floating corral out of air tubing. 
3:) pothos from the top of your tank. Pothos is not an aquarium plant that can grow submerged, but can be grown hydroponically from the top of your tank and is a big nitrate hog too.
4:) lastly you could spike your water changes with a couple of gallons of store bought distilled water. It will cost a few bucks each water change but the idea here is to dilute your tap water just a bit to take the edge off. Walmart where i live sells 1 gallon jugs of distilled water for $0.80. Just remember distilled water has no minerals in it and will dilute everything else too, such as calcium, magnesium, etc. if you go this route, keep an eye on your plants as they are a tell tale sign of nutrient deficiencies. 
 

[YIACrazy]

That happened to me when I first started. The water report yearly so it should have a max/min. If you live in an agricultural area, the comment might be "due to fertilizer run off" or something. Does it say if 40 ppm is acceptable? If it says it's not acceptable, they have to fix it. In my case, it was 5ppm, but my point is that within 2 weeks, it had returned to 0. I don't know if it was because it was spring crop thing. Wait two weeks or so and test again. That's my suggestion. If it really is only two to 4 weeks.... You don't need to spend tons on money. You can also set up a sump or whatever and suck there nitrates out... Don't know how complicated you want to get. 

[KaitieG]

Hi!

This is a little tricky--but you're not the only one with a similar issue.  I used to live at a house in a similar situation, though that had a small RO unit, since 40ppm can cause some issues for children and pregnant women when it comes to drinking water.  If I were in your situation, I think I'd consider a couple of things:

1. Adding a bunch of fast growing, nitrate sucking plants like guppy grass, floating plants (salvinia, duckweed--though this spreads like mad once it gets going, frogbit, etc.), hornwort, water sprite, etc.

2. Buying some water--like distilled water from the grocery store. You can also buy a small, but fairly well rated, RO system for about $50. I know the cost isn't ideal, and I'd try loading up on plants first, but it's an option.

[Tobezoned]

I think I'm just going to have a very heavily planted tank of stem plants, and aim to keep nitrates under 60ppm and as close to 40 as possible. Would a 30% water change weekly keep me under this threshold? I have read and seen in videos that the effects of nitrates are hyped up by brands and word of mouth. And as long as they are under 100 ppm (obviosly this is not optimal), fish are usually fine. 

[Tobezoned]

16 minutes ago, Tanked said:

I would start by asking what the nitrate levels are where you bought the fish.  If they are nearby, they are probably on the same water system.  You could also add more or faster growing plants, especially the floating varieties.  All of my aquariums test about 40ppm.  It is not ideal, but still considered safe.

I am going to go back to the store tomorrow to ask. Although I believe if I remember correctly they were on a well. I'm going to do a 30% water change every week and see how that goes. As long as levels are staying under max maybe 60ppm then I think I may be okay.

[gardenman]

Nitrates are a somewhat controversial subject. Some sources claim that nitrates as high as 200 ppm are completely harmless for older, established fish. Some people insist you need to keep them at very low levels. My nitrates levels are always sky high. A big part of the reason for that is that my tap water is sky high with ammonia and the ammonia ends up becoming nitrates. I don't find high nitrates to be an issue. Now I'm not keeping overly fussy fish. Mostly neon swordtails (way, way too many of them.) Super Red Bristlenose plecos (once again way too many of them.) And a few assorted odds and ends (panda corys, a lone oto who makes an appearance once every three months or so, a couple of leftover platies, and probably a bit more that doesn't come to mind.) Oh, and lots, and I mean lots of ramshorn snails. The last time I lost a fish was about three weeks ago and that was the first loss in about three months and that was a three plus year old swordtail. (He'd have been four in August.) My swordtails and plecos continue to breed and thrive. (As do the ramshorn snails.) Every week I remove a very large bowl full of floating plants (mostly duckweed, but also frogbit, salvinia, and dwarf water lettuce.) All of the tanks are heavily planted and there are fry everywhere. I just don't worry about the nitrates these days. The fish are doing great, so that's what truly matters. Chasing "ideal" water parameters can cause more harm than the good it achieves. As long as my fish are happy, I'm happy. And my fish are very happy. Two male swordtails are actively courting a young female a few feet to my right as I type this.

[darkG]

In some cases an "off-line sump" or planted tub might be useful, depending on your keeping and living conditions. I mean a largish (or maybe small will do) planted tub to precondition water used for water changes. Your plants in your proper tank will prefer the ammonium and leave much of the nitrate (or so I'm told), while the tub plants will have little choice but to make do with the tap nitrate. Some waste water back to this tub (hence "sump") may keep nutrients adequate so we don't waste a lot of fertilizer.

I don't know if this setup is a thing, but I don't see why it wouldn't be considered, if it is practical in your home. Apart from scrubbing nitrates, it will bring the water to room temperature. Maybe it will passively dechlorinate as well? 

[Isaac M]

You have received a lot of great advice here already but 40ppm is not impossible to work with. My aquariums are always around the 40-50ppm area and the fish do great. I have tested my tap water at 20ppm before. Even the aquarium co-op test strips give you a “change water” recommendation until the 100ppm mark. I would try to keep it under 80ppm. The maintenance schedule will depend on how much you feed and how many plants you have. 
 

I would definitely take advantage of stem plants, floating plants and pothos with roots in the water. They will help reduce nitrates and as a result reduce your maintenance. 

[Tobezoned]

45 minutes ago, Isaac M said:

You have received a lot of great advice here already but 40ppm is not impossible to work with. My aquariums are always around the 40-50ppm area and the fish do great. I have tested my tap water at 20ppm before. Even the aquarium co-op test strips give you a “change water” recommendation until the 100ppm mark. I would try to keep it under 80ppm. The maintenance schedule will depend on how much you feed and how many plants you have. 
 

I would definitely take advantage of stem plants, floating plants and pothos with roots in the water. They will help reduce nitrates and as a result reduce your maintenance. 

Thanks for the reassurance. I will strive for below 80ppm, I simply cant afford the more expensive methods so I'll make do with this. Besides I am letting my fish breed and will be giving any excess fish over the max stocking of my tank to my local fish store, hopefully this means future generations will be completely acclimated to the water parameters and it wont be an issue in the slightest.

[darkG]

Cheap ways to make things work are often actually not bad at all 🙂 see if you know someone with pothos or spider plant or any other enticing shoots to give. (I don't know if there are also outdoor plants, wild or planted, that can be tried? Good thing with free: We can try and fail without any regrets.)

Edited April 18, 2021 by darkG

[Isaac M]

@Tobezoned @darkG No problem. Cheap ways are not bad at all, especially if they are natural. So yeah, look for someone or buy pothos or peace lilly. Those plants do well for me and others in a riparian setting. My peace lilly is actually flowering right now. Those two plants and floating plants would be great for you. You will have plenty of nitrogen and access to carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the only limiting factors at that point would be light and other nutrients/ trace elements which likely will not be a problem.