Then you see the test kit results and suddenly your confidence falter. If you’re used to one type of chemical, then the number look okay. But if you’ve been reading a different company’s manual, that very same number looks alarmingly high. For new fish keeper (freshwater or reef), this doesn’t make sense and it makes them stressed out.
And you’re not crazy. There is something wrong here. Because of how they each define what nitrate means, different brands measures it quite differently. As a result, two bottles will tell you two entirely different numbers when measuring the exact same water. Just chemistry but it messes with your mind.
Why Nitrate Numbers Are Different
To clear up the confusion, here’s the mathematical link between the two systems (the table below). It’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges because there is different ways of measuring nitrates. In one case, you measure all components of the nitrate ion… Even the oxygen. In another, you separate out only nitrogen from the rest. The multiplier effect confuse folks unless someone shows them this table.
The conversion factor is approximately 4.43. So what might be a one part-per-million measurement in only-nitrogen tests is actualy more than four parts per million if you’re measuring whole ion. That discrepancy makes people panic because most don’t realize their particular test kit doesn’t use same unit.
This ratio is important because overdosing supplements is costly. Not just monetarily but sometimes with life as well. Treating your tank incorrectly due to incorrect assumptions about your nitrate measurement units will result in adding an excess amount of a supplement or performing unnecessary water changes which will shock your livestock. As the visual guide points out, sensitive corals does best at very low levels of nitrates. Unfortunately, what is considered low differs widely among brands. What may be perfectly acceptable for your delicate stony coral might be dangerously high if you’re reading results from a nitrogen-only measuring kit. By laying out the safe ranges side-by-side, the infographic shows you exactly where your tank falls in relation to your inhabitants.
You also need to consider what causes nitrates to spike in the first place. Most of the time, it boils down to an overload off organic waste. The typical culprit is overfeeding. However, dirty substrate is an unexpectedly major factor as well. Buried waste become a slow-release factory of pollutants. It fuels the bacteria responsible for converting ammonia into nitrite, which later converts to nitrate. While this cycle is necessary and natural, accumulation becomes the enemy.
Nitrate-consuming plants (live plants and macroalgae) makes great tools here because they literally take the nitrate away from your coral and fish. In other words, they steal it from them before it gets toxic. This is a simple biological trade-off that outperforms many chemical filters.
Speed trumps perfection in an emergency. Water changes are part of the emergency protocol and must be done immediately to thin it out. Reducing food intake stops the cycle at the source next. Using special carbon media (like zeolite) will also help absorbs the organics prior to their conversion. The point here is you can’t clean your way out of a problem if you don’t address the root cause.
Regular testing avoids all of these emergencies in the first place. You might test every week on a reef tank or every other week for a well established freshwater system. Either way, being consistent provides trend data which is much better than any one number. Know your tools. If you’re using a test kit, read the label and figure out whether its reporting nitrate as the complete ion or just as nitrogen. After that, you’ve got it figured out and everything else becomes a routine that doesn’t require a daily guessing game.
It won’t matter what units you use because your fish and coral don’t care. All they care about is that their environment is stable. Learning this little trick will help you get over worrying about different numbers. Now you can focus on tank health. Happy animals and clear water are the true measures of success in the long haul.
