Nitrate Problem (or Not?)

[mellanby]

Hi all -
My 24 g nano has been up and running since February. I've got 22 lbs of live rock, 20 lbs of live sand, 2 b&w clowns and a bi-colored blennie. All water parameters are fine except for my nitrates, which are consistantly at 10. I change approx. 5 to 7 gallons of water every week, but cannot get the nitrates to zero. Am I slowly killing my fish by having the nitrates at 10? THank you.

 

[SkiFletch]

10 is pretty average, especially for most beginning nano users. Perfectly safe for your fish and even most corals I have experience with. If you really want to get it to zero you pretty much have to make a hang on back refugium. SH has a guide to how to make one for his tank inside his nano diary. Go have a look there

 

[steelhealr]

10 is OK. Start a fuge in the middle back chamber and your nitrates will be zero. SH