Nitrates causes algae

[Lady Hobbs]

Another sign that nitrate levels are high is the appearance of excessive algae, algae thrives in water where nitrate levels are above 10ppm so keeping nitrate levels low will also help reduce the outbreak of algae.

I copied the above from the internet today. Just another tip.

[Chrona]

Another sign that nitrate levels are high is the appearance of excessive algae, algae thrives in water where nitrate levels are above 10ppm so keeping nitrate levels low will also help reduce the outbreak of algae.

I copied the above from the internet today. Just another tip.

Sorry Hobbs, gotta disagree with you there. That's the common misconception and it's been proven wrong many many times on plantedtank.com by now. After euthanizing my tank, I personally tested this out myself and added 60ppm nitrates to my tank. Nada. Nitrates does not cause algae if you add it as a dry fert, ammonium does. But in many tanks, high ammonia/ammonium levels eventually breaks down into high nitrate levels, which is how people make the false connection. However, doing constant water changes to keep nitrates low doesn't change the fact that you have too much ammonia going into the water, ie bioload.

In fact, too little nitrates actually causes algae like clado or blue-green algae.

[Lady Hobbs]

I just passed on here what I read elsewhere.

Says the same here on another site.

http://www.aquaticguru.com/article-algae-problems.asp

and another:

http://www.algone.com/high_nitrates.php

http://mvhs.mbhs.edu/riverweb/indicators.html

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/watercare/a/nitrates.htm

ahhhhhhh.......are they all wrong?

[cocoa_pleco]

i think its wong. My tetra and auratus tank has max 2 ppm and it has LOADS of algae. Lighting is the main cause since the algae needs to do photosynthesis to live

[Lady Hobbs]

I just posted this if a person possibly is having algae problems and tends to have high nitrates. This wasn't to be a huge thread trying to prove who is right and who is wrong. Since this same information is given all over the net, there just may be a possibly that lowering the nitrates may also help with algae. I can't believe that every site is lying.

[cocoa_pleco]

i think its more of peoples personal experiences. Some have luck with less lighting, some have more luck with lower nitrates

[Chrona]

All of those sites draw from anecdotal evidence. There has not been one credible experiment relating excess pure nitrates to algae. On the other hand, the notion that excess nitrates causes algae is easily proven wrong by a simple experiment: Just add nitrates via KNO3 and see what happens. I did, and just as many others who tried to same thing, found out that nothing happened.

Like I said, high ammonia output results in high nitrates, which makes you think that the nitrates are causing the bloom, but to think that the nitrates itself causes algae is wrong. This is because you would be led to think that removing nitrates would solve the issue, but it doesn't. If you are experiencing excess nutrient related algae, then you have too many fish in the tank or are feeding too much, resulting in lots of ammonia.

[Chrona]

I just passed on here what I read elsewhere.

Says the same here on another site.

http://www.aquaticguru.com/article-algae-problems.asp

Ok, notice how he primarily says poor water conditions as a result of overfeeding and overstocking. That's key, and what I was saying about the big bioload. As for the rest, there's so many things wrong with what he said that I'm not even gonna bother :P (overfiltration and oxygen levels causing algae? lol....)

and another:

http://www.algone.com/high_nitrates.php

It really seems to mention it more as for saltwater tanks. As I don't know much about saltwater tanks, I'll defer. Very vague too.

http://mvhs.mbhs.edu/riverweb/indicators.html

Very vague information at best

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/watercare/a/nitrates.htm

Newly setup aquariums have algae because:

1) Excess silicates from glass/substrate
2) Ammonia from incomplete cycle
3) Phosphate and potassium levels not up to par yet, ie imbalanced nutrients

Don't understand how or why a newly setup aquarium would even have nitrates?

ahhhhhhh.......are they all wrong?

As I said, they have nothing to back them up. Good knowledge comes from credible sources, and I have full faith in Tom Barr's findings (his word is basically law at plantedtank, because he is so an-l about conducting rigorous tests before making any conclusions) In this particular case, many many many planted tank experts have concurred with his findings, namely Takashi Amano (the famous Japanese aquascaper), and the fellow that runs Tropica, Europe's largest aquatic plant nursery.

This, by the way, only pertains to planted tanks. In a non planted tank, it's still the best idea to reduce all nutrients period.

I'm not trying to start up a big debate or anything, just trying to stop the myth that high nitrates causes algae in planted tanks. Don't take my word for it (anecdotal evidence again heh), try it for yourself.

[Chrona]

i think its wong. My tetra and auratus tank has max 2 ppm and it has LOADS of algae. Lighting is the main cause since the algae needs to do photosynthesis to live

That's part of it. Excess lighting will always cause algae regardless of other factors, though with lots of CO2 and a balanced level of ferts, you can get up to 4-5w/g without any problems. Past that, the balance is next to impossible to maintain.