what do I do about nitrate, when the level in the tap water is high?
bw
cupoftea

I don't really know, perhaps use some Nitrasorb (I think you add it to the water) or you can get special filter pads that absorb NitrAtes.

yep, that was what I was thinking. I've ordered some Nitrate Minus by Tetra. One dose is supposed to last a year. My LFS suggested a tube filled with resin, but it costs a lot of money.
bw
cupoftea

When you say high what is it?
Hmmm this is a very good question. You may need to substitue with another kind of water, which I am not sure. I can't remember which to use filtered or distilled. Before doing it though I would find out which one, I don't want to give the wrong info.

when I took a sample of tank water to my lfs to test they said it was 160. I bought a master test kit and of course the nitrate one is the hardest to determine. I tested the tank water (I've been doing twice weekly water changes cos the fish were occasionally flashing) and the red could have been anything between 80 and 160. Tested the tap water and the colour was exactly the same.
Amonia readings are zero, and nitrites were on the lowest band, ph is just over 8.
It's a 120 gallon tank, so a lot of water! Mind you my husband is getting slightly worried about our children drinking unfiltered tap water if the nitrates are so high.
bw
cupoftea

I would be too. Worried that is. Yeah I agree it is WAY too high, and too many gals. Sorry I can't help you from here. Hopefully someone else has had experience with this.

We have a water filter installed on our kitchen tap, perhaps you could look into one of these?

i would get NitraZorb

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_det...D=1110081554984

This will fit in your canister filter. Or you could use RO water and then add in the chems to keep your tank going.....

Or you could use Part RO water and then water from the tank....Test in a gal jug to get the water chemistry right.

I should be getting the Nitrate Minus stuff in a few days, so I'll see what that does. I'm going to introduce it gradually though, cos I think it can affect the ph, and we'll filter the kids water. Plus I'm going to get the waterboard to test our water and find out what other unmentionables are in there.
Thanks for the advice though.
bw
cupoftea

Cupoftea, F.Y.I. in the United States the E.P.A. has set the standard for nitrates in drinking water at 10ppm, for nitrites it's 1ppm

ooh crikey, if my test kit is to be believed, we are waaay over that. Memo to self, call water board tomorrow.
I've added half of the nitrate minus stuff, so will test in a couple of days. Had a few scary moments watching the fish try to eat it! They're all looking very peaceful at the mo, (tank is next to my computer).
bw
cupoftea

I would definitely request a full analysis report of your drinking water from your water supplier and see what's going on with it.

I ordered a reoprt from my supplier last year when the pH suddenly changed from 8.0 to 7.4 (turned out they'd switched us to a new reservoir with a different type of bedrock), and I was AMAZED at some of the stuff that was in the water! Could explain a few things... *twitches and walks sideways into a wall*