• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Nitrate level after HMA filter

ChrisH

Seedling
Joined
28 Dec 2012
Messages
11
I have filled my new tank with water processed through a HMA filter and have offered to supply a work colleague with the same. As he lives some distance away he tested my water for nitrate as his comes out of the tap at 20ppm. I gave him both tap and filtered water to test and my tap water comes out at 5ppm but the filtered comes out at 20ppm. I have now run the same tests and both results were the same as his.
I am going to fishless cycle, but wondered why nitrate is higher after HMA filtration?
Hoping someone has an answer.
ATB
Chris
 
But 2 different test kits by 2 different people 90 miles apart to get the same result seems more than coincidence. So which result do I believe? If I place a nitrate filter before the HMA would that work better than after it?
 
But 2 different test kits by 2 different people 90 miles apart to get the same result seems more than coincidence. So which result do I believe? If I place a nitrate filter before the HMA would that work better than after it?

Why would you want to filter out the Nitrates?
 
Unless I misunderstand, filling/ water change with water with 20ppm nitrates ( a "safe" level for fish) is adding to whatever is already in the tank and the whole point of doing water changes is to dilute the nitrate level. I know in my case as I haven't cycled yet this won't apply
 
Unless I misunderstand, filling/ water change with water with 20ppm nitrates ( a "safe" level for fish) is adding to whatever is already in the tank and the whole point of doing water changes is to dilute the nitrate level. I know in my case as I haven't cycled yet this won't apply
Nope. Not in a planted tank. Things are much different. Plants NEED nitrates. And CEG is right. Nitrate kits are utter rubbish. If you wish to enlighten yourself more on the subject just search on here for "nitrate test kits". And prepare to waste a few hours of your life. They just ain't worth it.

HMA do exactly what it says on the tin mostly. They remove heavy metals. The ones you are bothered about at least. A friend of mine is a discus expert and he uses one and swears by the results.
 
the thing is can you breed discus in water with a nitrate level of 40 ppm
i know my tap water only as a trace of nitrate but my HMA filter seems
to put pay to that my tanks only show trace as well most of my tanks are
planted and most of my plants are growing well maybe that is why my nitrates
are as low as they are in my tanks
 
Thanks for your replies I'll just carry on then now my mind has been put to rest.
 
where i live the water comes out the tap at a ph 7 but if left to stand
over night in a tank or a container of some sort it drops to a ph 5.5
our water seems to contain no carbonate hardness or very little
i use crushed cockle shell in my filters to keep my ph stable at 6.8
 
Not actually planning on keeping discus so won't be a problem, got the hma as our water supply is often very chlorine
 
The HMA filter could be allowing something to dissolve in the water that is causing the higher nitrate reading. That doesn't mean it has to be nitrate, there could be something else causing a false positive. No evidence to back this up, just a possible idea.
 
Back
Top