Is it possible...

[mitch24]

Is it possible to over-filtrate?
I have a 75 gallon tank with only 3 medium sized fish. Im buying a 4th soon though
But anyway, I received gift certificates, and filters and stuff as gifts, and now believe it or not, I have 3 fluval 404s on this thing
The water is crystal clear, but can water be over-filtrated?
Also, my nitrates seem rather high, and even though Ive done like a few 20% changes, they arent coming down to a sufficient level.
Thanks a million in advance for any advice!

 

[mr . salty]

Mitch24,What are your nitrates at? Most Fish only tanks have nitrates and do very well. My 125 has a consistant reading of 40 and all is well. Much higher than 50-60 and you will have algae problems.My point is,nitrates are pretty much a normal thing in marine tanks.

 

[jimi]

Nitrates are normal in many heavily stocked fish tanks but should be kept low. Remember nitrate is still pollution. My tank is pretty well stocked and they dont get above 5. Not to mention if you carry high nitrates you WILL fight algae.

 

[mitch24]

Thanks guys...
I think I figured out the problem.
My nitrates were off the scale
They were around 100. Then I tested for Ammonia and had between a .25 and a .5.
This just didn't seem right, cause I have absolutely NO algae in the tank.
Since my water testing kit is about a year old, I figured that maybe (really hopefully) it wasn't giving me accurate numbers
So, I bought a new kit and what do you know... Ammonia levels 0, and Nitrates around 10.
Now this is acceptable to me
I'm gonna watch the levels carefully for the next few weeks, but it looks like the chemical testers go bad after a while...