Nitrate Levels

'Ideal' would be zero, but then you'd have to add some for your plants..... so it wouldn't be ideal.

The LFS will only refund your money (if a fish dies within two day of purchase) if ammonia and nitrites are zero, and nitrates are below 50ppm. So that's a limit of sorts.

Corys are sensitive to nitrates so below 20 would be good, especially as that gives you some wiggle room and it makes the water test easy - if it's orange it's OK.

What are your nitrate readings? I was in the LFS yesterday and they'd had a new shipment of fish..... including Panda Corys. Boy, they were cute and it's not surprising that you want some in your tank.

Bon weekend, Resa.

Was it just me or did anyone else have trouble getting on the forum earlier?  My computer told me that it was unable to find the page and that the site may have been down. 
Anyway, it all seems to be fine now....thank goodness!  I was beginning to panic with my lifeline gone
It's been a funny day, my black cat, Didier, kindly brought me home a present.  A live and very much kicking rabbit, he had it in his mouth by its scruff.  Fortunately, it ended well, Didier got a scolding, he let go of the bunny who made a hasty escape!

Well as usual, I digress.  I have just tested my nitrate level before I do the water change and it read 50.  I did do my tap water before but I have mislaid the piece of paper I wrote it on, so I'll have to do it again.  I suppose though, that that level can vary depending on the water company?
OK, so stupid question no. 476.  The RO water, can it be kept for long or does it alter in its make up?  Why is this water good for low nitrates, how does it work?  Also, what minerals do you mean to add?  Would using either of these two methods mean I could have my pandas?

Colin!  I can't believe you saw pandas and didn't get some   I really struggled to leave the shop here that had some without a little plastic bag full of them for myself
When do you think I might be able to get some?

Anyway guys, have a good weekend, hope the sun shines for you

Resa
 

I've had a few problems with the site lately, too. I think it might be time for a new server at ThinkFish HQ.

I use RO water from the LFS at £1.40 for 10 litres. I mix it a 2:1 Tap:RO and so it brings the hardness of my tap water (16.5^o) down to 11^o. It has the added benifit of bringing my tap water Nitrates of 25ppm down to 16ppm (i.e. into the orange) and my well-stocked tank stays in the orange from week to week. (Absolutely no hint of red). I have a lot of plants in my tank, mainly crypts, java fern and an anubias which are slow growing, but I also have some Hygrophillia difformis at the back - which is growing well and very quickly and is meant to be a good user of Nitrate. I have a messy water surface with H. diff and Ceratopsis thalictroides growing and sending out dangling roots (which the fish love to push and shove around in, looking for food) and these are both good Nitrate eaters. My isolation tank has H. polysperma growing like crazy, and that's a good nitrate remover too. They must be easy plants 'cos I haven't managed to kill them (yet).

RO water doesn't go off.... and I also use it for watering my carnivourous plants that I grow and in the steam iron to keep that clean. (yes ladies.... I do the ironing in this house!!) I also use it for topping-off evaporation loss in the tank as only pure water evaporates, so if you top-off with tap water then you're increasing the hardness of the water..... a sort of 'Dead Sea' effect.

I'm going to try some lava rock in my isolation tank. This is very slightly porous and the very minimal water movement through it should allow some anaerobic nitrate eating bacteria to grow - in theory, at least. But I'll start another thread for this.

There is some interesting bits in this (Clickety click) about filter media and what they do in the first 3 or 4 minutes of the video. I might (at some stage) try their Biohome Plus filter media - but I'll try the lava rock first. .