Malawi Nitrates.

[an_iced_heart]

The nitrates in my Malawi tank are high, started with changes every other day, am now doing 20% or so every day. Have reduced feeding a little too.. any ideas? Ammonia and everything else seems fine. It is a new filter thats only about 2/3 weeks old (ran in in conjunction with the old one which has now been removed)

Thanks in advance.
L

 

[fluttermoth]

What actual level is the nitrate at, before and after changes?

Usually, to reduce levels of anything, one large water change will work better than more smaller ones, so you might want to change 50 or 60%, making sure the new water is warmed and dechlorinated, of course.

What's the nitrate level of your tap water?

You'll need to watch out for ammonia or nitites spikes as well, as you really took the old filter away too soon. It's usually recommended to run the two filters together for six weeks or so.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

Just to clarify, you do mean nitrAte and not nitrIte, right?