Begin the Rage -- high Nitrates

[schenkel]

I have a 15 gallon tall w/ eclipse hood. When I bought it I thought it was about 20 - 25 gallons. The dimentions are 20 x 10 x 18" high. It is 2 months old w/ cc & dead sand substraight(2-1/2" deep), tufa stone and dead coral out the yang, one powerhead and about 3# of LR to seed the tank. Which is taking place. As for stock I have 2 false perc clowns (1-1/4" long), 1 scooter blenny (1-1/2" long and eats like no tommorow, 1 Bengi Cardinal (3/4" long), 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 emerald crab, 4 small hermit, and 2 turbo snails. I have been very please with the spread of the croaline algae. I scrub my current pcs with a soft toothbrush, then rub the toothbrush on the tufa rock. I am keeping my tank at: 79`, salinity .235, amonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 20. After about 2 weeks I do about a 30% water change because my nitrates are to about 40. Alkalinity looks ok, PH is a little low - maybe 7.9 ( hard to read that strip accurately). I do mix my saltwater about a 1-1/2 days in advance and have a airstone keep the 4 gallons moving the entire time. I would really like to retro my eclipse hood with a better light. I am not sure if a power compact 18" x 4 bulbs will fit in the hood. Anyway, will nitrates get better as tank matures? I am using the stock eclipse hood as the only filter, should I add more carbon to the disposable pads? Would just like a suggestion or 2. I did have a blue tailed damsel in the tank as well but as soon as I realized the true size of the tank I returned her to the LFS, I knew I had probably overstocked it.
:notsure:

 

[blu11]

Nitrates will probably get higher rather than lower as your tank matures. They tend to build up rather than filter out. You need to make sure you keep up on your water changes. You are best getting yourself some more live rock. You should have 1-2 lbs per gallon. I am not completely sure about the dead coral but I beleve that it isn't going to do much except attract some bad algae outbreaks. Good Luck