Nitrates in the Tap Water :(

[Leto]

Trying to set up a new tank I have run into the problem of Nitrates in my Tap water. Testing the water in my tank earlier I was surprised to see at least 30+ppm Nitrates where none should have been....The tank never even got to producing any NitrItes at all, much-less any NitrAtes.

...so on a hunch I tested the tap water, and BAM, 30+ppm Nitrates. Just to double check that my tester chemicals/vial wasn't bad, I tested the water in an unopened Deer Water bottle I had, and the resultes showed 1 or maybe 2ppm Nitrates (results showed above zero but only barely - about what I would have HOPED for from my tap water.)

Anyway, I have no idea what to do about 30+ppm Nitrates in my tap water.....Even frequent water changes in my tank won't help the Nitrate levels all that much if the water I am putting back in is already at 30+ppm. :(


Really confused as to what I can do about that tap water.



Anyway, any feedback/suggestions/advice anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated.

[Fred_J]

I think you need to try posting to a freshwater board. Everything here is marine oriented, although I do see several members with freshwater and marine tanks.

Fred

[Mrs.kbmdale]

[welcome]

why would you make that suggestion fred????? He/she never mentioned salt or fresh water. and you don't HAVE to use rodi in a salt setup, that was quite rude from where im sitting.

if your nitrates are that bad outta the tap, then yeah, you ARE going to have to get an ro/di unit. Our tap has only 1-2ppm of nitrates, but we have really good tap obviously.

Brianna:rollface:

[Fred_J]

Sorry , I goofed up. The reply was ment for someone asking about a new tank for corry dora fish. I can't spell it corrrectly but it is a hresh water cat fish. I don't even remember replying to this post.

[bertoni]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

That article might help.

[Leto]

Originally posted by bertoni
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

That article might help.


Thank you :)


This is rather a worrisome problem to have :(

[AZDesertRat]

The EPA has set the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for nitrates in drinking water at 10 mg/L. If you are getting 30 you have a problem. If you are served by a public water system get a copy of their Consumer Confidence Report and see what they are reporting to the EPA and their users. You might try contacting them and telling them what you have found, they should be interested. If you are on a private well, high nitrates is evidence of contamination by soil fertilizers or even a close by septic system.
At a minimum get a good RO system for your drinking water and preferrably a RO/DI so you can also use it for your tank. Do not buy a 100 GPD or larger unit as they use less efficient membranes (generally 90% vs 98%). I would suggest looking at the Typhoon III from www.airwaterice.com and adding the drinking water kit.

[WaterKeeper]

I am wondering if he is measuring nitrate as N or as NO₃? The limit of 10 mg/L is as N where as NO₃ it becomes 45 mg/L.

I'm still with you DesertRat. I'd definitely use RO/DI in that tank and RO for drinking; especially if there are any infants or elderly consuming that water.

[Leto]

Originally posted by AZDesertRat
The EPA has set the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for nitrates in drinking water at 10 mg/L. If you are getting 30 you have a problem. If you are served by a public water system get a copy of their Consumer Confidence Report and see what they are reporting to the EPA and their users. You might try contacting them and telling them what you have found, they should be interested.

Yea, I checked out EPA.gov last night and looked up what they had to say about Nitrates. We do use a public water system here. It isn't some tiny back-woods place either....no metropolis, but this area serves a lot of population and is growing extreamly fast. I am going to contact the local guys here and see what the story is.

Originally posted by WaterKeeper
I am wondering if he is measuring nitrate as N or as NO₃? The limit of 10 mg/L is as N where as NO₃ it becomes 45 mg/L.



I was using the Nitrate 2-dropper/vial test from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, that tests NO₃. Am I looking at the data wrong?

Either way it is still definatly a lot higher than I would like it.

I freely admit to being new to this, but it is worrisome when I test my tap water for NO₃ and the results shoot half way down the chart, and my bottled water tests right where it is supposed to be.

Thanks for the feedback guys, will help in trying to get a handle on it.

[WaterKeeper]

I checked and the kit measures nitrate as nitrate. That means your tap water is still within EPA guidelines, I'd strongly recommend buying a good RO/DI unit. The price is reasonable these days. Here is more on the subject [rodifaq].