nitrate minus

[gary007]

have u heard of tetra aqua nitrate minus bottle? it lowers nitrate levels and by what i read its like u never need to do water changes again. i always thought any good fish keeper would do water changes anyway.

[mcrocker]

I would say you are right about wanting to do water changes anyway. If you use a product like this, and add water to compensate for evaporation, you are probably building up plenty of other substances in your water besides nitrates. Only the water evaporates, and each time you add water to compensate for that, you are bringing in other things with it that won't evaporate. Heavy metals possibly, and who knows what else.

It does sound nice to be able to cut down on water changes, but I'm not sure that it should be necessary to use a product like this to reduce nitrates if you are taking good care of the tank.

[gary007]

could we use it anyway even if we still do weekly water changes? u see theres talk on 'creeping up' duing the week and this nitrate minus could make the tank extra extra safe yea or is it just a waste of time.

[Scherb]

I would say it's a waste of money, unless you are having nitrate problems. I have gone as long as 2 weeks before water change and never seen any nitrate or nitrite. it might be a pain, but weekly water changes is the best way to go. ever since i got a Marina 50' Aquavac i can do a water change in about 20 min, this thing is a great tool to have, makes water changes easy. hope that helps Cheers