If a fish tank has TONS of bio-spira (good bacteria), will the nitrAtes be higher because of the amount of ammonia eating bacteria?????? I've always wondered this......

I think it's more a function of how much ammonia is produced in the tank. The biobugs will convert the ammonia present into nitrAte.

I am beginning to wonder tho. Plants can use ammonia and won't convert it into nitrAte in the water. So if plants get the ammonia rather than the biobugs, we should see less nitrAte building up.

So plants can use ammonia??? I thought they only used nitrAte? I'm getting a headache.....

*chuckle* I hear ya.
Check out this article by Diane Walstad:
http://www.aquabotanic.com/plants_and_biol..._filtration.htm