nitrates

There is no best way with out killing the bacteria in your tank.. Do small 5% water changes over other day, thats about the best you can do.. i mean too much of a change it could effect teh fish

unless your tap water is very different in ph than your tank you could do more than that. 15-20% or more daily. if your water is exactly the same then 50% or more is possible daily. as long as you used the correct amount of declor. and use the same temp water your bio filter will not be affected

I'm confused . do you want to lower nitrAtes (per the subject line) or nitrItes (per your post)?

Originally posted by JeffP
I'm confused . do you want to lower nitrAtes (per the subject line) or nitrItes (per your post)?

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My thoughts exactly...and not for a change of subject but it looks to me like your 55 Gallon is grounds for a underwater war before long

Im almost certain if those dempseys the terror and oscar are all in that 55 gallon by the time they are a good 7 inchs or more, there will be a nasty situation on your hands. You could get lucky and possibly not have this happen, but thats very common with that small of a space and that many large aggressive cichlids. They will be fighting for territory. Right now at 2.5 inchs they aren't gonna be scrapping about in a 55 because its plenty big for them at the moment, but that could quickly change in the months to come. Ask anyone on this board and im sure they will tell you that a 55 gallon is only big enough for one of those cichlids let alone all of them combined, and then as for those others such as that little pink gourami, may god have mercy on them lol my guess is, the fish that will be left remaining are the 2 dempseys if not 1 and the pleco

I think that regardless of nitrites or nitrates the best way to lower the level is to do a large water change. If your tank is not done cycling you may delay the process a little but nitrites are toxic to fish and there will be less stress on the fish if the water is changed. If you are talking nitrates the only way to lower that is partial water changes.
I agree with the rest on your potential problem. They will be fine for now but you do need to think of the future since all those fish are fast growers and the aggression will be here before you know. Please start thinkking about a larger tank or another tank.