Nitrate Source

[gabelex14]

So I heard this theory on a podcast I listen to and for the life of me I can't remember which one it was. Regardless the story is went like this, the podcaster maintains tanks for people. And one of his clients had his reef tank in the same room as the cat litter. The tank had a constant issue with issue with high nitrates and the podcaster could not get the levels consistently down for any meaningful amount in of time.

One day the podcaster convinced the owner of the tank to remove the cat liter from the room. And just like that nitrate problem corrected itself. I'm theory it makes sense that the ammonia from the cat pee was aerosolizing and getting into the tank. But I still thought that was insane. Until I had a similar experience.

I had an old dog whose crate is in the basement near my tank. Towards the end of its life it couldn't control its bladder and it would pee most nights in its cage. My nitrate levels would test unusually high for a low fish load and lighter feeding. 25ppm ish and I'd do biweekly water changes. The dog passed and just like that, nitrates bottom out. (Prompting my Dino out break)

I know it's completely anecdotal but I'm curious what others think

 

[gabelex14]

https://www.reef2reef.com/posts/14481486/

 

[Fish Fan]

https://www.reef2reef.com/posts/14481486/

This link goes to a thread about a Tunze give-a-way; I don't think that's the point you were trying to make here

I'm skeptical. As a cat owner, I know how strong their pee can be, but the idea that ammonia from cat pee is contributing to high nitrate in the tank? Again, skeptical.

Following to see how this turns out....

 

[gabelex14]

https://www.reef2reef.com/posts/14481486/

This link goes to a thread about a Tunze give-a-way; I don't think that's the point you were trying to make here

I'm skeptical. As a cat owner, I know how strong their pee can be, but the idea that ammonia from cat pee is contributing to high nitrate in the tank? Again, skeptical.

Following to see how this turns out....

I 1,000% agree with you, but in both tanks that was the only constant that changed. Obviously I can't say yes this is why but it's very interesting

 

[gabelex14]

https://www.reef2reef.com/posts/14481486/

This link goes to a thread about a Tunze give-a-way; I don't think that's the point you were trying to make here

I'm skeptical. As a cat owner, I know how strong their pee can be, but the idea that ammonia from cat pee is contributing to high nitrate in the tank? Again, skeptical.

Following to see how this turns out....

I 1,000% agree with you, but in both tanks that was the only constant that changed. Obviously I can't say yes this is why but it's very interesting

But it is true that things like VOCs from say spray paint would oxidize in the water from the gas exchange at the surface and effect the water quality, so the question is does enough ammonia oxidize in the air and then through gas exchange get into our tank?

 

[Fish Fan]

But it is true that things like VOCs from say spray paint would oxidize in the water from the gas exchange at the surface and effect the water quality, so the question is does enough ammonia oxidize in the air and then through gas exchange get into our tank?

Again, color me skeptical, but I'm following to find out

@EnterName I noticed that you saw this thread, what do you think?

@Randy Holmes-Farley what would you make of this please?

 

[gabelex14]

But it is true that things like VOCs from say spray paint would oxidize in the water from the gas exchange at the surface and effect the water quality, so the question is does enough ammonia oxidize in the air and then through gas exchange get into our tank?

Again, color me skeptical, but I'm following to find out

@EnterName I noticed that you saw this thread, what do you think?

@Randy Holmes-Farley what would you make of this please?

I don't know the answer to whether or not there is some air exchange with urine from animals in the air. What I do know is the same principle that applies to things like air fresheners or window cleaner be sprayed in the air does negatively impact tanks

 

[Blitheran]

The amount of urine needed in the air to make an impact would have me more worried about my overall health rather than my high nitrates in my reef

 

[Fish Fan]

I don't know the answer to whether or not there is some air exchange with urine from animals in the air. What I do know is the same principle that applies to things like air fresheners or window cleaner be sprayed in the air does negatively impact tanks

Yes, but some of these products it would only take a tiny amount to enter the tank and it would be cooked.

I have no idea how much ammonia could diffuse into your tank from the air.

 

[gabelex14]

I don't know the answer to whether or not there is some air exchange with urine from animals in the air. What I do know is the same principle that applies to things like air fresheners or window cleaner be sprayed in the air does negatively impact tanks

Yes, but some of these products it would only take a tiny amount to enter the tank and it would be cooked.

I have no idea how much ammonia could diffuse into your tank from the air.

I agree but if it's a constant source, ie. cat litter it could make a difference

 

[Subsea]

Years ago, a hobbiest claimed that windex overspray caused ammonia spike. I am skeptical of both and agree with @Blitheran

The amount of urine needed in the air to make an impact would have me more worried about my overall health rather than my high nitrates in my reef

So I heard this theory on a podcast I listen to and for the life of me I can't remember which one it was. Regardless the story is went like this, the podcaster maintains tanks for people. And one of his clients had his reef tank in the same room as the cat litter. The tank had a constant issue with issue with high nitrates and the podcaster could not get the levels consistently down for any meaningful amount in of time.

One day the podcaster convinced the owner of the tank to remove the cat liter from the room. And just like that nitrate problem corrected itself. I'm theory it makes sense that the ammonia from the cat pee was aerosolizing and getting into the tank. But I still thought that was insane. Until I had a similar experience.

I had an old dog whose crate is in the basement near my tank. Towards the end of its life it couldn't control its bladder and it would pee most nights in its cage. My nitrate levels would test unusually high for a low fish load and lighter feeding. 25ppm ish and I'd do biweekly water changes. The dog passed and just like that, nitrates bottom out. (Prompting my Dino out break)

I know it's completely anecdotal but I'm curious what others think

Is it possible that dog or cat or a child peed in tank.

 

[gabelex14]

Years ago, a hobbiest claimed that windex overspray caused ammonia spike. I am skeptical of both and agree with @Blitheran

The amount of urine needed in the air to make an impact would have me more worried about my overall health rather than my high nitrates in my reef

So I heard this theory on a podcast I listen to and for the life of me I can't remember which one it was. Regardless the story is went like this, the podcaster maintains tanks for people. And one of his clients had his reef tank in the same room as the cat litter. The tank had a constant issue with issue with high nitrates and the podcaster could not get the levels consistently down for any meaningful amount in of time.

One day the podcaster convinced the owner of the tank to remove the cat liter from the room. And just like that nitrate problem corrected itself. I'm theory it makes sense that the ammonia from the cat pee was aerosolizing and getting into the tank. But I still thought that was insane. Until I had a similar experience.

I had an old dog whose crate is in the basement near my tank. Towards the end of its life it couldn't control its bladder and it would pee most nights in its cage. My nitrate levels would test unusually high for a low fish load and lighter feeding. 25ppm ish and I'd do biweekly water changes. The dog passed and just like that, nitrates bottom out. (Prompting my Dino out break)

I know it's completely anecdotal but I'm curious what others think

Is it possible that dog or cat or a child peed in tank.

Not in my circumstance but I can't speak in the other

 

[docscorals]

I have 2 cats and really doubt that. Their litter box is in the same room as 2 nano tanks, and one of them I actually have to dose nitrates, so definitely not a nitrate problem.

 

[EnterName]

@EnterName I noticed that you saw this thread, what do you think?

I'm skeptical, but have not found a way to actually prove or back up an answer yet

Ammonia is very soluble in water so a skimmer might be able to introduce a lot of it from the surrounding air, but I'm not sure how much ammonia would actually leech from cat litter into the room. It would require being broken down from urea to ammonia and CO2 first I suppose.

Near litterbox levels need to be below 5ppm or you would probably smell it. This should get diluted significantly in the room air. Normal indoor room levels of ammonia are low but spike when using ammonia-based cleaners (https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b02157), so I would imagine cleaning would have an impact as well, and probably a more severe one even if only for a short amount of time.

Let's hope Randy knows more.

 

[rowenaad]

my tank is 10 feet to my 2 cat litter boxes and i have 2 cats. My first tank with no skimmer had 0 nitrate for 2 years.