i have the eclipse 6 gallon tank and have 3 lbs of live rock..2 clownfish and a damsel..my nitrate readings are almost 160 and i recently did a 50% water change..i only feed them once a day...what can i do to lower it
high nitrate levels
- Thread starter hierohiphop
- Start date
water changes, but be careful not to shock the fish with such a drastic change in water quality. what kind of filter is on it?
Yes, shock is a real possibility here, proceed slowly. Also consider reducing the bioload; even one or two fish will be cramped in 6 gallons. Reduce the food input, less fuel for the fire. Add a small, lighted refugium with macro algae/deep sand bed.
im not sure what the filter is called.. the eclipse6 came with a light and filter built in and i dont know what the name of it is. the guide that it came with says when u get replacements it is called the pr3140
IMO, add more live rock and gradually phase out the eclipse filter, maybe add a powerhead instead...make sure your sand bed is thick enough.....what you want to do is denitrify....right now, the efficient eclipse filter on the tank is just loading your tank with nitrAtes...
And I agree on more frequent smaller waterchanges not one or two large ones ever so often.
And I agree on more frequent smaller waterchanges not one or two large ones ever so often.
what do u consider frequent? can i get a different filtration system for it? the one i have is built in and it doesnt look like there is a place where i can add a different one
With nano's i prefer not to use filtration, generally most people will run 2 powerheads for movement and current and also sometimes a UV steralizer. then have a good sandbed and plenty of LR, water changes of large sizes weekly is a good idea, you just have to perform them properly. Calfo runs his nano and does 75% weekly waterchanges and currently has sps, lps and some softies in there aswell. but with large changes the water has to be pretty much identical to the aquarium water.
Parameters that must be the same/similar are:
Ph
Temperature
Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate
SG
KH
Need to be the same or similar Levels as the aquarium water for fish
For Coral you will need to closely mimic:
Calcium
strontium
Iodine
Iron
The parameters do not have to be exactly the same, but as close as possible is good.
Parameters that must be the same/similar are:
Ph
Temperature
Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate
SG
KH
Need to be the same or similar Levels as the aquarium water for fish
For Coral you will need to closely mimic:
Calcium
strontium
Iodine
Iron
The parameters do not have to be exactly the same, but as close as possible is good.