Nitrates

My nitrates seem to always stay about 20 ppm sometimes a bit less. I do water changes Every two weeks. about 20% or more. I have a skimmer running and clean out the filter every week. I have a 14 gal bio cube. Any suggestions? Everything else seems to be just fine

 

What is your bio load and how much do you feed?

 

+1 on what MMc said. Also what are your Phosphates at & do you run any type of P04 remover?

And if you are running a skimmer & a filter, I would toss the filter, it will just become a NA factory, may be even the problem depending on how many fish you have & how often/much you feed. If your skimmer is a good one it will take care of the tank.

 

I feed a little bit in the morning and then at night when I get home from work. my phosphates are around 5 ppm and the filter is new so I know thats not the problem. I think im just gonna run some carbon .. ugh and btw how I feed them.. I just take the frozen cube and dip it in the water.. swish it around a bit till pieces fly off.. I try to feed the bare min.

 

I feed twice a week, so twice a day is not the bare minimum. And you need to do something ASAP with that phosphate. 5ppm will become a green swamp very quickly. Although carbon does absorb organics, it will do almost nothing to lower phosphates and nitrates. You should think about getting a phosban reactor and rinsing your frozen food in clean tank water (separately) before putting it in your tank.

 

ughhhhhh. alright lol. Thanks everyone I'll see what I can do! Feed less. yes. Run some carbon. Do a water change. We'll see how it goes

 

how much is a phosban reactor?

 

I bought a dual chamber reactor (for both GFO and carbon) for 60, plus the actual carbon and GFO, from bulkreefsupply.

 

TOSS THE FILTER!!!! i had the same problem with my tank huge algae outbreaks got rid of my filter and got a skimmer algae is clearing up in a hurry

 

Are you using RO/DI for your water changes, tap, or something else?

If you're not using RO/DI, or RO, your source water may be high in nitrate and phosphate. In that case, it makes more sense to spend your money on a good RO/DI unit initially. Better to limit what you put into your tank at first than to spend money on trying to filter it out once it's already in there.