What is UP with my nitrates

[marco]

About three months ago I was told by my lfs that my nitrates were at 80. He did'nt seem to concened but he said I should adress this problem with "D- Nitrate". After 2 months of having this media in my filter the nitrates went up to 140. I took it out and the nitrates (as of last week-end)are lower but not much. All other peramaters are well and fish are fine.
Set up: 46 g., trigger, damsel, two clowns, dwarf angle, two carpet and one atlanic anemonies,75# of lr,2 inch cc. sub., emperor 400, prizum skimmer, 25 watt uv sterilizer with 465gph pump, power head, 96 watt pc smart lamp and water temp. is at 77.
I feed my fish frozen raw shrimp once every two or three days.

 

[fishfreak100]

You have way to many fish. Triggers need like at min 75 gallon tanks, but some triggers need close to 180 gallons. Remove the trigger and 2 others, and your nitrates should go down.

 

[gtc]

Triggers are big waste producers. Your cc bed does nothing but produce nitrates, cc beds are great at trapping waste. You should have a larger skimmer, I know the prizm is rated higher but it really should not be on anything larger then a lightly stocked 30 gal. The Emperor 400 is a canister, correct? If so they are also great at producing nitrates. If you wabnt to keep your current filtration setup you will have to cut your live stock in half and do alot of water changes. You should be concerned about your nitrates because 80 is definately not healthy especially for your anemones.

 

[madd catt]

The 400 is hang on the tank unit.

 

[gtc]

Oh ok I know which one it is. Ayway hang ons are not a very good choice for salt tanks. You are much better with a sump and a large skimmer not to mention that would increase circulation.

 

[kris]

You're tank is definately well-stocked I would'nt try adding anymore. CC beds do trap the waste however there are many of us who do just fine. You have limited filtration though to boot. If you can't upgrade your equipment, or get rid of trigger, or get rid of the cc, then you'll just need to do more maintenance--vacuum that bed with a water change weekly or even more to keep up. Also try to make sure you're not overfeeding.
Good Luck