nitrates wont go down please help

[jjbbambam]

ok here is my status i ahvea 55 gallon reef with 75lbs of live rock in it a canister filter just running carbon and a cpr hang on fuge with mocro algea growing like crazy i have a nautalis skimmer and americale sump with 30 lbs of live rock in thier a very shallow sand bed 1 inch for months ihave been trying to get my nitrates down with weekly water changes of 15 gallons r/o i have 5 fish 1 clown 1 hippo 2 damsels 2 hawk fish this is a reef tank as i have 30 diffrent corals from zoos to softies and lps and sps all are growing well have not lost anything but why wont my nitrates go down, is this skimmer i have no good its getting good foam 1 cup a week of green brownish water in cup. i have 3 power heads moving water 1 in back of tank 2 in front i started using r/o water 2 months ago as i did not know my well water had 40 ppm of nitrates what can i do please help. thanks joe:

 

[Sindjin]

I would ditch the canister filter. In many cases, the carbon will trap detritus and cause nutrients levels to rise. Perhaps try blowing off your Live Rock with a Turkey Baster right before you do your next water change. This will help export more waiste.

 

[Duce]

40 PPM is not that high.....I had 200+ at one point for months. I couldn't get the nitrate down through water change and those Nitrate sponge. I ended up have to get a deNitrator (+ a few more gallons of water change / week) .... Now it is down to between 0-20 after 6 months.

 

[frank2926]

How often and what do you feed?
Most people really over feed fish and use to much flake or dont rinse frozen food.
Cut down to 2-3 feedings a week to get nitrates down and
then test water to see if you can increase feeding .
I also agree with the canister filter. You can keep the carbon in their if you change it out weekly ...other wise just put it in a bag and throw it in the sump.