Help Nitrate Issue

[i_limantara]

i think the problem is not from the water that he used to change it.....
but maybe from the food or over crowd....
i has the same problem last time, i check my change water (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) and all in a good condition... but my nitrate always go up to 100 in 2-3 days...
even i use liverock, DSB etc...
i am using coil denitrator right now... and i really like it... my nitrate right now in 12,5 mg/l... and the second coil denitrator will mature soon...

 

[fsn77]

For what it's worth I'm getting water for my 12g Nano from Walmart. They have a Culligan machine in the back of the store that's 33c per gallon. RO/DI and UV water. I figure at that price it will take a long while to pay off a home RO system.

That's not a bad price when you consider your tank size compared to what it costs me to make RO/DI. Everyone's price will vary some based upon how much you pay for tap water, but it costs me about $0.23 / gallon to make RO/DI (all costs included).

 

[firstlight10]

I managed to get my nitrate levels down with a bunch of 25% water changes using RO water. I have also switched my diet from Spectrum pellets which have a tendency to sink (my fish won't touch them once they hit the bottom) to flake food which my fish seems to like better. I also added a couple small coral frags which look good. Once I get my camera working I'll post photos.

 

[ilovecowfishes]

hi, just reading this post as i have a similar problem. I have the original media in the exteral and the internal filters. the original waterwas tap but i have been gradually replacing it via water changes with ro water (i get it free by the way from the LFS) i have live rock and 3 turbo snail (was 6, r.i.p turbo snailsx3)
my ph is 8.3
ammonia iss 0
nitRITE is 0
nitRATE is 20
would u suggest live plants, if so, which ones?
cheers

 

[firstlight10]

Most of the people on this forum are going to disagree with me but I run double the recommended amount of carbon in my power filter. I change it out every 2-3 weeks. Since I increased the amount of carbon in it I have seen a decrease in my nitrate. What kind of media are you running in your filters?