Hello I am new to the site need some advice on Nitrates for my 2 year old 12" Oscar's tank. He is in a 125 gallon that’s been up and cycled I think about 8 months now. In the tank with him is 3 Convicts about 3’ long and a Plecostomas that’s about 11” long. I am running two Rena canister filters an XP2 and an XP3. Both of them starting at the bottom have sponge filters for the large stuff then into the ceramic rings and bio stars into activated carbon topped off with multi stage filter pad. Tank has ¼” river rock for substrate and two pieces of driftwood. My source water parameter’s are 8.0 PH,0.0 Ammonia, 0.0 Nitrites and 5.0 Nitrates using the API master kit. The tank water checks 8.0 PH, 0.0 Ammonia, 0.0 Nitrites and 160+ Nitrates. I do a 50% water change and very through gravel vac. about every 4-6 days depending on my schedule and when I do I dose with Prime, after 24 hours I check my Nitrates they are down to 60 – 80. I will check my Nitrates two days after my water change and they are back up to 160. I have tried back to back water changes and had them down to 10 but within a week they were right back up there.
Here is where my inexperience comes in:
How do people keep their tanks between 10-20 on Nitrates only doing a water change once a week or even once every two weeks?
Is there something I did wrong when cycling my tank? ( and yes I learnt the hard way about cycling a tank could not wait )
Please any advice is greatly appreciated Thanks,
Dean
P.S. this is how I feel
Here is where my inexperience comes in:
How do people keep their tanks between 10-20 on Nitrates only doing a water change once a week or even once every two weeks?
Is there something I did wrong when cycling my tank? ( and yes I learnt the hard way about cycling a tank could not wait )
Please any advice is greatly appreciated Thanks,
Dean
P.S. this is how I feel