Richard Sexton wrote:
(you're adding phosphate with food, not nitrate)


Nitrate levels will not rise in a tropical fish tank as a direct
result
of feeding fish? This seems contradictory to common knowledge.

All fishfood contains phosphates. Fishfood does not contain nitrates;
fish eat the food (or it rots) which produces ammonia which under
some
conditions yeilds nitrates.

Is there a high probability that nitrate levels will increase in a fish
tank in direct proportion to increased fish food input after the plants
(if any are present) have consumed the maximum amount of ammonia they
are capable of processing?

What conditions must be present where adding any amount of fish food to
a fish tank would not cause an increase in nitrates? Are these
conditions probable in a common home aquarium?


steve