Help!! Nitrate's gone wild.

[ga-peaches72]

Yes the light stays on in the fuge 24/5 I do for get and turn it off some nights. I cant get any of the hair alge to grow. I know that should be a good thing but my fish seem to love it, but it wont grow for me.

 

[liverock27]

I would first start with the water change. Do a 10% change tonight than retest tomorrow. Also if you have a lfs take a sample of your water to them. Most lfs will do free water tests for you and that way you can tell check your test numbers out.
Carbon can run you anywhere from a few dollars on up depending on the type of carbon you get.
Once you get your nitrates under control the best way to keep them low is to make sure you are doing weekly water changes. Hope everything works out.

 

[ga-peaches72]

I will have to do the water change tomorrow. I have to go buy some water first.

Thanks for all the help. If you all can think of any thing else to help please let me know.

 

[platyplakia]

Is that your tank in your avatar? It looks like you may have base rock instead of live rock. If so, your biological filter may not have caught up to the boiload you have in there. How many fish do you have? How long have you had your tank up an running?

 

[ga-peaches72]

Yes that was my tank when it was a little over a month old. I think I have 15 at this time. The tank has been up and running for about 4 months.

 

[derek_s]

jade76;161482 wrote: I would suggest a couple of things...First..water changes, water changes, water changes..and frequently!!! I dont know your routine but I would suggest perhaps atleast 10% once a week. 5% twice a week would be even better. Second...are you using carbon? when do you change it? Using carbon and changing it about every 2-3 weeks is great practice...

Good advice.

 

[maddog]

I saw another thread of yours a while back, It looked like you had slate and base rock. Slate has silica in it, which is not good for your tank. I would ditch the slate and get more LR. That will help alot with your filtration.

10% water change weekly and carbon should help

 

[ga-peaches72]

I went and had my water tested at my lfs and they said that the nitrates were at a 1 so that is a lot better than the test I did. I will have to get a better test kit so I wont be freaking out all the time. Thanks to every one that tried to help.