Ron Hansen wrote:

> You should be changing 10% (3 gallons) of water every week.  Nitrates
> are the end product of the Nitrification cycle that is possible in most
> aquariums.  Food rots and fish poop and pee and this produces ammonia
> (toxic to the fish).  Bacteria break down the ammonia, but give off
> Nitrite (more toxic to the fish).  Other bacteria break down the Nitrite
> and give off Nitrate (much less toxic to the fish).  No process in a
> typical tank will consume the Nitrate.  Therefore, you need to get rid
> of it.  By changing 10% of the water each week, you will dilute the
> Nitrate and reduce the levels.  If you don't, your fish will eventually
> die.

There is one such process: Plant growth. Plants need nitrogen and will
absorb it either as ammonia or nitrate. That doesn't mean one should
skip water changes in a planted aquarium though, as fishes produce other
waste products besides nitrogen ('organic dissolved carbon'). But plants
can certainly help keeping nitrogen compounds at bay.
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