Do plant supplementals persuade the plant to uptake less Nirate?

[crsublette]

One reason I want plants is to keep the Nitrates in check and thus controling algae.

I really don't know what to think when it comes to these plant supplementals.

I thought all plants would need are the Nitrates in the pond.

Microbe-lift looks to have some products that are more like a supplemental thing. Says the products are a booster with minerals that helps the plant tank in more nutrients from the water, makes plants leaves shinier and improves bloom quality and retention. I don't know, this sounds like a fertilize.

Do plant supplementals persuade the plant to absorb less Nirate out of the water?? hope this question makes sense. :razz:

 

[addy1]

this is some information on nitrates



NITRATE

Nitrate, NO[size="-2"]3[/size]-N, measured in ppm, is the third and last measurement used to determine the "health" of the bio-converter. Nitrate is produced by the autotrophic Nitrobacter bacteria combining Oxygen and Nitrite in the bio-converter and to a lesser degree on the walls of the pond. A zero Nitrate reading, combined with a non-zero Nitrite reading, indicates the Nitrite-Nitrate bacterial converter action is not established. Test kits are available with dual droplet or pill form with color charts. The recommended test kit range 0 - 200 ppm. A Nitrate test kit is considered nice to have but not required for the average pond. In an established pond with part of the routine maintenance including 5% to 10% water change outs every two to four weeks, Nitrate levels will normally stabilize in the 50-100 ppm range. Concentrations from zero to 200 ppm are acceptable.

Where Ammonia and Nitrite were toxic to the fish, Nitrate is essentially harmless. There have been reports that high nitrate levels may weaken the colors in Koi but there have also been reports that high nitrate levels can enhance the colors. Similarly, I have read reports, fortunately not in the same article, that high nitrate levels will both stimulate and suppress spawning activity. If the Nitrate concentration gets too high, the Nitrite-Nitrate converting bacteria (Nitrobacter) may not be able to do their job effectively resulting in a raised Nitrite level. Nitrate is the end result of the nitrification cycle and is very important to plants in their life cycle. This is why the plants in your garden can flourish from being watered with the waste water from your pond (assuming you haven't added too much salt).

Note the large difference in the ranges of the test kits being used to measure Nitrate (200 ppm) as opposed to those for Ammonia and Nitrite (1-4 ppm). Assuming our the bio-converter was converting the equivalent of 1 ppm of Ammonia to the equivalent of 1 ppm of Nitrite to the equivalent of 1 ppm of Nitrate per day, it would take 100 days or over three months, (longer with any water change outs), for the nitrate levels to build up to the 100 ppm level. The Nitrate concentration is controlled naturally through routine water change outs and to a lesser degree through plant/algae consumption.

 

[crsublette]

Awesome, thanks Addy. Good stuff.

So, if i'm reading correctly, then Nitrates them self do not hurt fish until the Nitrate concentration gets high thus persuading the Nitrite-to-Nitrate bacteria to not do their job effectively causing Nitrites to go up.

The last sentence seems to be what pertains to my question.

The Nitrate concentration is controlled naturally through routine water change outs and to a lesser degree through plant/algae consumption.

I am really curious if I add these supplemental products to my plants if they'll use up more Nitrates by growing more or use less Nitrates if the plants are mainly relying on the supplementals to grow.

I want very little algae to be seen so I need to eat up most of the algae's food, which seem to be mainly Nitrates, and I will be doing water changes to lower the Nitrates. I want my ROCK water feature to really show off their colors like the very kool natural look'n colorado mountain rock stream in my uncle's backyard. I got all sorts of colorful rock action potential in the water feature. I hope this clarity is achievable by having the plants eat up most of the nitrates, water changes to dilute the nitrates, and my japanese trapdoor snails and comets eating any other algae that will grow. I think the colors of the snails and comets will be nice as well.

I am probably just being silly and wanted to bug ya'll again. :goldfish:

 

[crsublette]

Nevermind!! hehe, read where ya posted that in JenH's thread.

Sounds like your plants are keeping the Nitrates down quite well.

Do ya add supplements to yours?

 

[addy1]

Nevermind!! hehe, read where ya posted that in JenH's thread.

Sounds like your plants are keeping the Nitrates down quite well.

Do ya add supplements to yours?

Me? I add nothing to the pond, I don't have green algae issues or the string algae. Just a little of the slime type in the bog.

 

[crsublette]

Ok, awesome thanks. I wasn't for sure if I should fertilize the plants or not. Sounds like ya are doing fine without it. Very good.

 

[addy1]

Ok, awesome thanks. I wasn't for sure if I should fertilize the plants or not. Sounds like ya are doing fine without it. Very good.

I add fertilizer to the lilies, but other than that no I don't fertilize anything. My lilies are in oil pans with kitty litter.

 

[crsublette]

My lilies are in oil pans with kitty litter.

lol, very nice. I never would've thunk of that. Heh, sounds funny.

 

[addy1]

yep when you see it like that you are right! it does sound funny.

I know you can just tie them to a rock and sink them, but with the oil pans they are easy to move around. More control of the root mass. I have a grabber that I can grab the edge of the pan and draw it out of the pond or closer to work on them. Also just push with my foot during the summer when the water is warm enough to wade in it.