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Bioplast TerraMineral, Nitrate, Algae and Laterite



Hi Folks,

Has anyone else had problems with a product called Bioplast TerraMineral? Specifically with it pushing up Nitrate levels?

I have a small planted tank. It has loads of light, a CO2 rig, etc, but also a big algae problem, almost certainly due to the very high levels of Nitrate I keep getting.

I’ve tried all sorts of things to bring down this Nitrate, with no success. It just stays high, regardless of a fairly low fish load, careful feeding of small amounts and weekly water changes.

Anyway, at the point of tearing my hair out I decided to check out a substrate additive I put in when I set the tank up. I was going to add Laterite, but the LFS recommended Bioplasts TerraMineral product, so I gave it a shot.

Anyway, to test it I got three test vials, I filled one with tank water as a baseline, one with tank water and gravel (just in case) and one with tank water and TerraMineral and left them for two weeks before testing them for Nitrate.
The tank water and tank water with gravels Nitrate stayed the same, but the tank water with TerraMinerals nitrate had doubled! Has anyone else observed this with this product???

I’m now considering striping out the tank and starting again, this time with Laterite. Has anyone seen Laterite pushing up Nitrate levels? Also, Laterite is often described as acting as a mineral depot, storing minerals until needed. Will it hold Nitrate?

Thanks for your time folks,

Ian.



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