Ammonia - Nitrite - NitrAte - pH?

Question

What are they and are they harmful? What is the best way to deal with each and why?

** Pop Quiz ** I know the answer and am asking for the archives.

Answer 1

You can't put a definitive line of where it is harmful and where it isn't because many fish are more or less sensitive than others, and can withstand greater or lesser ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate than others, and most fish can live perfectly in most stable, reasonable pHs...

Ammonia (NH3) is a nitrogenous compound from decomposing matierial (food, poop, flesh, or plants), nitrite (NO2-) is the next step in the nitrogen cycle, then nitrate (NO3-). All are harmful, ammonia being the most toxic, nitrate the least. pH is the measure of hydrogen ions (positively or negatively charged hydrogen atoms) in a substance, and is only harmful if it is rapidly changing. To remove ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, you need to do water changes and keep your bacterial colony functioning so they can break down these compounds. The best way to deal with pH is to keep it stable.

Soop Nazi

Answer 2

I agree with Soop, and that's a good concise answer. Soop put all the points togeather, especially too about how each fish has different needs. A neon tetra would clearly die fast in an enviroment at 1.0 ppm of ammonia, where as the hardy zebra danios and white clouds could be quite well in that. In regards to PH again I agree, stable at whatever the reading is, provided it's not on the far low or high end is the best way to deal with it.

Take discus and put that in a PH for africans, and it's probably going to die or be very stressed. I have seen another answer before about PH that was a good point that I have not brought out before. Consider that the PH scale is logrithmic. Which means that as your hydrogen ion count changes for every .1 of a point, it's one factor higher or lower then what it was. A Ph shifting from say 8.0 down to a 7.0 is different on the order of 10 times the old reading. People sometimes wonder why their fish are dying when using PH up or down, and that's because if you shift the PH it's best to do so gradually. To us, a number only 1 place higher or lower doesn't seem much, but consider the scale it's measured on. Even half a point shift if 5 times higher or lower.

To combat ammonia and nitrite, as these generally are only present when initally cycling a tank, or if you've overcleaned your filter and lost some bacteria, I think the best attack is water changes. Treatments to make these compounds less lethal by ionizing them simply don't remove it. While I've read over material from Carl S about how the bacteria can still use it, I don't favor treating this chemically. It may ionize it, but it does not remove it. I have used products like ammo lock and bio spira, but ammo lock made my readings I took so skewed, I was getting readings in the range of like 8.0 and 9.0 in ammonia and bio spira in 2 different tanks helped lower ammonia levels, but I saw no decrease in the nitrite stage.

With nitrate, again water changes. I have used a product called Algon and have seen a very slight lowering of the nitrate count, but nothing significant or drastic. Algon has done wonders to keep algae out I can say though. Even a heavily planted tank is not going to keep anyone from having to water change. It may help keep time lower by not having to siphon out in the substrate, but the nitrate levels will still be higher then you'd want. Granted an unplanted tank will rise much faster, plants alone cannot keep nitrate under control. Plus the changes themselves add in necessary minerals and compounds you want to have replaced in your aqarium.

PH just like soop said, should be stable. Generally PH will drop over time, in a mature tank. Even the absence of rocks that will cause drops or rises, it's practically impossible to siphon out all the waste material in the substrate. Some is always going to get left over, and that continual break down leads to the production of nitric acid which will quite effectively eat away any hardness buffer you have and then lower your PH levels. This is quite natural to happen in a mature tank. I keep African cichlids as a primary fish in my tanks, had a couple different species breed now. I pretty much combat the shifting PH by adding the African cichlid conditioner during water changes, keeping my hardness level up, and combating any drops due to nitric acid. This further supports the best method to use for all treatments for nitrogen compounds and ph, is water changes.

Answer 3

I was going to answer but Soup Nazi has already gotten it right on. I'm just wondering who the hell would give him a thumbs down on that answer? Good question though Finatic.

Edit: Soup Nazi; I understand, I've had it happen to me also, I still think it is stupid. People need to learn how to be able to listen to others with experience and take the advise they have to give, and not get pissed and give thumbs down to quality answers. For that matter they need to also do their research so that they can recognize a quality answer.

Answer 4

Well let me put it to you this way......

ammonia- bad at any level even at on tenth of a percent, it is bad
nitrite-(freshwater) fish can handle small amounts of it (1-5 ppm)
(saltwater/reef) virtually none (.25-1.0 ppm)
nitrate-that is where it really varies, it depends on the type of tank and it load/livestock you have so there is not a definitive answer

for those who frivolously answered previously you either don't have much experience or you are talking out of your *** if you don't believe me test your bio-load and remove your carbon


D 25 plus years in the hobby there is some experience for you