Nitrate issues in my Oscar tank

[THE V]

How high do your nitrates get right before a water change? If your nitrates are at 60ppm at the end of the week and you do a 50% water change you will still have a nitrate reading of 30. Given a 30ppm of nitrate increase every week you will have nitrates above 40 in 2-3 days.

Test your water right before a water change and then 10 or so hours after. You could simply not be doing quite enough of a water change. You may need to increase it to 60-75% every week or do two 50% per week.

 

[ScottyNorq]

That poly stuff is twice as expensive for me since the pound for the dollar is 2 to 1. Ya i guess i can rinse my filter media out more often. My tap has no nitrates in it i just tested it. my 36 gallon is moderately planted and it has small community fish that dont poop as much.

 

[Riiz]

pain in the neck doing a 50% every couple of days on 72 gallons though

Depends really, I use a python type system and the hardest part is carrying the hose and dosing a water conditioner.

 

[ScottyNorq]

I use a 75 ft python too, so i might just up my water changes

 

[Rbishop]

I think you are underfiltered and need to increase the water changes to 75% twice a week.

 

[ScottyNorq]

I think you are underfiltered and need to increase the water changes to 75% twice a week.

Underfiltered? My system filters 930 gallons an hour...

 

[Hooked Newbie]

I'd alternate your filter cleanings. One every other week in tank water. If that doesn't work, then yea it's underfiltered. Oscars are as messy as they are charming.

 

[Rbishop]

Underfiltered? My system filters 930 gallons an hour...

At best, with clean media, those filters turn over half of their rated claims.

With two oscars, known to be very messy, you are at barely at 5x tank/hr.

 

[katschamne]

I feed them every evening a small handfull of hikari medium pellots the bio gold ones. I have not checked my tap, ill do that now. I have a penguin emporer 400 a 280 and a magnum 250 hang on back canister. I change the filters usually every month.

Since your fish are large, I would feed every other day. As you know Oscars are really dirty. I would also clean your media more often, but rotate which ones you clean each time. When we had over the back filter with large cichlids, we had Emperor 400, 280 Magnum 350 pro and a hot Magnum pro, but then we went reef ready. We have now a 30 gal sump with a 1200 gph pump and a 25 watt UVC. We still have nitrates, not as much as we had before, but the fish have been fine, some for over 7 years. I'm a bad person I do a wc about every three weeks about 30-50% and when do a water change I have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 30 nitrates.

 

[oscarluvr]

you can get a whole roll of poly at wal mart for $7 does the same thing as the expensive stuff, except maybe change colors, imo, that is just adding more chemicals to your water, otherwise maybe just a gimmick