Did you test your tap water?Do you do WC's 70% daily?How muck stock is in the tank?
HI all
i am having issue with my Nitrate level, i did a wc today about 70% my usually.
set up
55 gallon
2 aquaclear 70
both filters current have a Foam Insert, Carbon Insert, some Pre-Filter Media, Purigen 100ml, and biomax.
any recommendation
thanks for your time.
Did you test your tap water?Do you do WC's 70% daily?How muck stock is in the tank?
yes i 100% tap water, and i do 70 % wc every 7 to 9 days. and i have four 3.5 to 4" discus.
Every 7-9 days is a pretty good gap without a water change even for larger discus. Up it to every 3-5 days.
Also,make sure your filters and media are kept in good maintenance.
ok my last wc i clean/changed my filters, is there any thing else i should do besides wc.
thank everyone
Depends on what you mean by cleaned/changed... You want to use tank water when cleaning filters and if you use new ones, there will be a new cycle which requires more clean water. Things like plants, clean water, bigger tank, and reducing the fish population will lower nitrates.
What is the Nitrate at the tap? I struggle with high nitrate at the tap and came up with a way to get rid of it using a resin, pipes, and a pump in my aging barrel I will link you if interested
Also as others have suggested, up your water changes. I have a 55gal with 6 discus, I bought them at 3" and they are 4-4.5" now (~2 months later) and I do daily 30 gal changes - and I still struggle with Nitrates, they sit at 10-15 pre WC, ~5 after. I also am feeding 4x a day so that doesnt help Nitrate either.
Get some pre filters for your HOB filters if you can, keeps most of the junk out and you can clean the prefilter much easier so you can do it daily, or at least much more often than you would want to tear your filters down Chunks of food caught up anywhere, including the filters will lead to high nitrates.