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What are nitrates?

Nitrates come from the element nitrogen. Nitrogen makes up about 80% of the air we breath. Nitrates can cause serious illnesses or even death if too much is consumed. Nitrates are also a main ingredient in fertilizers. A good nitrate level is about 2 ppm [parts per million]. If there are more than abut 2ppm in the water the plants could grow to fast and will take up all the dissolved oxygen and kill the fish because they wont be able to breath.