aquarium maintenince high nitrates

l3lhsl3

l3lhsl3

AC Members
Sep 24, 2009
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ok guys ill admit the last few months i haven't been good with my water changes and gravel cleaning.
due to my demanding job

my tank is a 55 gallon with a 11inch oscar i have 2 tetra 60 filters and a sponge filter the tank has been set up for about 3 years now. my oscar eats eagerly and is healthy and happy.

i feed him a variety of frozen food such as beefheart brine shrimp bloodworms and a frozen vegetable mix.

his staple food is primarily new life spectrum jumbo formula he also gets crickets and freeze dried river shrimp.

i have tons of food and i feed him everyday which may be the problem he begs for food every time i enter the room.


i tested the water today and my nitrates are anywhere between 160 and 200ppm very high
nitrite 0ppm
hardness 150ppm
chlorine 0ppm


i did a 40% water change immediately after the results.

what can i do to keep these levels down ?

how much water change and frequency should i do?

and how should i feed the oscar ?

and is this enough filtration

any help appreciated thanks alot guys
 
there is really only two ways to deal with Nitrates, plants and water changes. You don't really have the options of plants with an O in a small tank. So, more water changes would be the immediate solution. The other option is to get a larger tank. This will dillute the Nitrates more in the water (lower ppm) and give him some room to grow. He can reach a length that will be longer than the tank is wide and will impede his ability to turn around. He's almost there already.
 
i cant go larger untill i move out which will be asap.

what kind of water changes do u recommend ?
 
40-50% twice a week.
 
with nitrates that high I would suggest 70% give or take.
 
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