NO3 too low / high

Nitrogen is an essential mobile plant nutrient and it is available almost everywhere around us. In the atmosphere 79% of the air is nitrogen. Nitrogen in form of NO2 is also supplied to the atmosphere from car exhausts and industrial combustion sources and animal waste and plants decay processes. Clearly there is a lot of sources of nitrogen out there but in an aquarium, such small closed environment, deficiency or excess may occur.

FAQ

What happens if there is NO3 deficiency?

Plants start growing slowly with pale leaves and start losing older leaves prematurely.

What is the usual water column NO3 level?

See Plant requirements

What is the lowest NO3 level I can have with plants?

NO3 levels in fully planted aquariums should not drop to zero at any time. Zero levels may stunt plant growth and recovery can take a long time.

How can I increase NO3 levels?

Feed your fish more and dose more fertilizer. Some situations may require doubling the PPS-Pro fertilizer. PPS-Classic adjusts itself automatically to any conditions.

How much of NO3 fully planted aquarium needs?

Daily about 1 ppm plus fish waste. More can be also utilized but in the long run plants will get saturated and will not take more. Not to confuse this with water column NO3 level. This is daily plant uptake compensation.

I have heard about much higher NO3 doses a day, how come?

Some people are pushing plants to grow as fast as possible to increase sales for business and farming.

What happens if there is NO3 excess?

Plants don’t mind relatively high levels but fish do. For fish high NO3 levels are toxic.

What if my NO3 is too high with PPS-Pro dosing?

You may have too many fish or tap with high NO3. In such circumstances you can dose PPS-Pro #1 macros NO3 Free solution. It has the same solubility and dosing strategy as the original #1 macros solution.

PPS-Pro #1 macros NO3 Free, 0 ppm NO3, 0.1 ppm PO4, 1 ppm K, 0.1 ppm Mg

Daily dose 1ml per 10 gallon or 40L

500 ml

40 g K2SO4

0 g KNO3

3 g KH2PO4

20 g MgSO4

Can fish die from high levels?

Not immediately. It takes weeks or months of getting weaker and wasting away.

How can I lower NO3 levels?

Check fertilizer. Check water supply for NO3 excess. Check other Plant requirements. Vacuum your substrate. Check filtration system. Consider lower ratio of fish load to plant mass.