Nitrate creeping up in the discus tank even with big water changes, am I overfeeding the plants or the fish?
Running a 75 with five grow-out discus and a decent amount of stems. Doing 50 percent changes twice a week and nitrate still sits around 20 right before the change. Feeding beefheart mix twice a day plus granules. Pic below of the stand setup. Part of me thinks the fish are just eating a lot at this size, but I'd rather hear from people who run heavy planted tanks. Do you dose nitrate for the pla…
5 comments
discusdan 20 before a change is honestly fine for discus, I wouldn't chase it lower. if the stems look pale at the tips you might actually want a bit more, not less.
pete same, a lot of people overdo the water changes on planted tanks and then dose nitrate right back in. discusdan, maybe just cut the beefheart to once a day and see if the number drops over a week.
nightreef i'd be careful cutting the beefheart too hard on grow-outs though, they're at the stage where they want to eat. maybe smaller portions twice a day and siphon what's left rather than dropping a whole meal.
riverina yeah that's where i'm leaning, they're growing fast so i don't want to starve them. i'll shave the portions and siphon after, and check the number again next weekend.
discusdan smaller portions plus a siphon is what I'd do too. check your tips on the stems after a week, if they stay green you're feeding about right.
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