Nitrate Question

[zackish]

If my nitrates are still low from last week like around 20 or under should I still do a water change?

[gm72]

Some would say don't bother, but I am a strong advocate of regular weekly water changes.

[RobbieG]

I would. You're not just getting rid of nitrates - you're getting rid of 25 or 50 percent of all the different chemicals, excretions, pheremones, and creatures floating in the water column.

[dev]

I agree with gm72 and RobbieG. There's other stuff that needs to come out that doesn't show up on a nitrate test.

If you are worried about your nitrate levels going too low you can always add some CaNO3 or KNO3, though a 25% water change would only bring you down to 15 ppm, so that should be grand.

[zackish]

OK but I have a slight other problem. I tested my tap PH vs. my aquarium ph....

Aquarium PH- 7.4
Tap PH- 6.8

Is this going to cause a problem once I start changing my water? I have a planted tank so once I start dosing it with ferts I am going to be changing about 50% weekly.

[dev]

OK but I have a slight other problem. I tested my tap PH vs. my aquarium ph....

Aquarium PH- 7.4
Tap PH- 6.8

Is this going to cause a problem once I start changing my water? I have a planted tank so once I start dosing it with ferts I am going to be changing about 50% weekly.

A 0.6 difference is nothing to worry about, even for 50% water changes. I can't think of any fish that can't handle a 0.3 change in the pH.

You might also want to leave some tap water in a bucket over the night and see if the pH changes over time. Sometimes dissolved gasses in the tap water will l skew the pH a little, you may find it to be slightly higher in the end.

[RobbieG]

I agree. Thats a small change. If you are waorried about it you could also add the water back into the tank in stages over time. When I do the water changes on my 2 30's I wind up spreading them out over a few hours.

[zackish]

Ok, I know my PH in my water controlled by my water treatment system.