Safely reduce fish tank nitrate

When it comes to aquariums, one of the biggest issues in health of your fish and maintenance of the aquarium is the water quality.  Fish wastes include ammonia.  Bacteria convert ammonia to nitrite and ultimately to nitrate.  Fortunately, fish tank nitrate is considerably less toxic than ammonia or nitrite.  What many aquarium hobbyists do not realize, however, is that nitrate in your aquarium can be harmful to your fish if the levels are too high.  There are several ways of dealing with excess fish tank nitrate.

The most widely used method of lowering nitrates in your fish tank involves water changes.  Removed water is replaced with fresh water with a significantly lower level of nitrate.  This basically dilutes the nitrates in the rest of the aquarium.  While this is effective, it is time consuming, not easily achieved by anyone with back health concerns, and the price of replacement water can add up for anyone with large tanks!

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Another method of reducing fish tank nitrate uses a product called nitrate sponge.  In a saltwater aquarium, Nitrate Sponge helps by directly absorbing ammonia and by helping the growth of anaerobic bacteria.  Its porous nature provides a large surface area for these anaerobic bacteria that convert nitrate to nitrogen gas which escapes your aquarium.  In a freshwater aquarium, nitrate sponge can be used to effectively reduce levels of toxic ammonia!

Finally, the most impressive way to reduce fish tank nitrate in a marine fish tank is to use a denitrifier coil.  These systems Drip water through a long coil which allows aerobic bacteria to use up all the oxygen.  This oxygen-free water is fed through a container filled with bio balls or other similar large surface area compound which fosters growth of anaerobic denitrifying bacteria.  These bacteria convert nitrate to nitrogen gas which escapes into the atmosphere.  The water that returns to your aquarium is nitrate free!  These systems take up to 6 weeks to become fully functional, but can almost completely eliminate nitrate from a fish tank.

The benefits of lower fish tank nitrate are that your aquarium fish will be healthier and you can space your water changes further apart.  Click here to buy a nitrogen coil or nitrate sponge.