# nitrates.



## LoriF (Jun 11, 2011)

What is an acceptable level of nitrates in a heavily planted tank? I want to keep a clean tank for the fish, but I don't want to take nitrates away from the plants either.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Depending on what your dosing. EI or PPS?


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## LoriF (Jun 11, 2011)

The only thing that I'm dosing with is Flourish at this moment.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Well in order for a tank to be heavily planted and for all the plants to stay healthy and strong, you'll need more than flourish. 
For me, I dose PPS-Pro and stay at about 10-15ppm


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## LoriF (Jun 11, 2011)

So 10-15 is a safe level for the fish?


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## Dempsey (Oct 27, 2009)

I have double dosed macros on a few occasions, forgetting that I have already dosed. I would guess that I was in the 70ppm range. No problems what so ever.


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## JasonG75 (Mar 1, 2011)

You might want to look into the Seachem line of Nitrogen if you are concerned. I dose 2 capfuls weekly on top of dosing 2 capfuls of Flourish weekly. If you haven't gone the dry fertz route yet.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

LoriF said:


> So 10-15 is a safe level for the fish?


I dose 45ppm a week as KNO3 and feed like mad and have a high stocking level.



















Fish have breed a dozen times, the tank is clean and very healthy.

less is NOT better obviously when it comes to ferts, there's is no factual basis for this. It's plainly put, steer manure. A myth. 

NO3 from excessive fish waste and lack of care for the aquarium, this is more of NH4 issue, not NO3.

Since KNO3 never starts as NH4.......they are NOT the same.
Unlike PMDD(which is really what PPS in fact is), EI makes no assumption that less is better.

And unlike many who claim this, I actually test the upper bounds, and folks do make mistakes often times, and report no ill effects at ranges in the 100-200ppm NO3 ranges.

How can anyone who does not test their own claims.......... be trusted and able to support their contentions I might ask????? I have mad breeding, I have breeding of fire red shrimp, fat healthy cards, sell lots of nice plants......tank is clean.

Not just a dozen little fish..........

So in ANSWER to your question, we do not really know the upper bounds.......they are however well about typical dosing errors hobbyists might ever do.
Even if I messed up 5x, I'm still along way off from doing any harm.

A better question is how better to manage CO2, since overdosing CO2, not providing enough current etc, causes 99% of the fish related deaths due to additions in a planted tank, ferts are almost unheard of entirely as far as deaths or stress to livestock.

Focus there.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Wow. I'm dosing PPS-Pro but was at a range of about 40ppm and people said it was way too high so I lowered my dosing since I had amanos dying off on me.


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## dafil (Jul 17, 2010)

I dose 45ppm KNO3 weekly/30-40%WC/-no problems with RCS,bee shrimps and fish in my 10g.If I lower to 30-35ppm-plants start yelowing/damn leds-too bright with optics/


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## kjacks (Oct 12, 2012)

I just checked mine and its about 80ppm. Im dosing 3/4 tsp 3x a week in my 75gal. Guess I should be dosing less.. my red plant are not red due to too much nitrate??


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