filter help bio wheel or aqaua clear

[brolik1]

Im awfully upset at my nitrate readings which is 40-70 ppm.i have a penguin bio-wheel 125 filter.i went to the LFS and he told me to change to an aquaclear 50,but he said not to use the carbon it comes with.he said to me"buy the kent reef carbon and the phosphate pad"
im not sure if this filtration will help better than my bio-wheel.I was Doing some reasearch in this site and from what they say is that the bio wheel is no good it will cause nitrate spikes. My tanks been up for 4 months.please help.i tried putting in the macro algae but it didnt work instead it made the nitrate higher so i got rid of it. :help: :help:

 

[jasenhicks]

The only real good way to get rid of nitrATE is water changes. It is the final step in the nitrification process... Ammonia --> Nitrite --> Nitrate. The macro algea should help it come down, it wont do it at first, you have to give it some time. There are these fancy Nitrate reducing stations that you can get, but in my opinion its just a waste of money. If you be patient, and do weekly 10% water changes, all will be well in the world. Mine are consistently low due to regular water changes and the help of a plenum under the sand. BUt if your tanks up already its too late for a plenum. Just do a water change, and it will instantly come down. Also, put the macro algea back in! It will help.