Finally

[todj2002]

well after adding a sump with chaeto and an algae scrubber 2 months ago, and starting using ro water for last few weeks - i have finally got my nitrates at zero. man that feels good. i have been working hard at it and several months ago i had decided it was impossible. i also ditched my canister filter from the system and i added a whisper HOB for mechanical filtration that is easy to get at for filter cleaning. my tank is so clear from the front u cant even tell there is water in there. FINALLY all my hard work is paying off. definately stopping the daily top offs with tap water was key. just since using the ro water i have seen a huge difference. im stoked to finally be progessing.

 

[elite]

i have also stopped topping of with tap water and now im using only RO water for everything
but i just strated 2 weeks ago hopefully my nitrates will go down like yours has and hopefully my water will be just abit clearer
and i seem to be having a problem with microbubbles that are also making the water look more cloudy/dirty then it really is
i cant even tell if the bubbles are coming from my power heads or skimmer....

 

[todj2002]

the bubbles may be coming from ur rock as it processes nitrates - i think i read that somewhere. i used to have that problem also. i have been working hard for months to get my water straight. i was pretty much neglecting it before with nitrates 40 ppm and worse. now after removing 3/4 of the crushed coral, vacuming, adding the sump with algae scrubber and chaeto algae and using ro water i have 0 ppm nitrates and phospates. all is good but my iron is still a little low. also i added 100 blue leg hermits before i added any of the previous mentioned. good luck.