Hi All, just joined site, it's great
I've been keeping Oscars for few years now their like pet dogs lol
Just wondering how you cope with nitrates?
Mine are generally around 40ppm +, but my tap water often is as high!
One of my Oscars was ill 4 weeks ago so I invested in a uv sterilizer and ro unit to try get rid of any nasties.
I'm mixing ro water and hma water (t off before ro membrane)
Nitate still high
Been keeping fish for years and I've got two big filters running, my guess is its the food causing it and books say clean up after feeding, with my filters you don't get a chance to clean little bits dont settle they get sucked up!
Any ideas?

welcome to OFL

If you got nitrates in your tap water then you have obviously got an uphill battle. If you go to your local fish shop, they may have various products that will bring the nitrates down. However, I would never recommend using these unless you have a real problem with nitrate levels. A UV sterilizer is not going to make a difference to a nitrates, nitrates is a byproduct of ammonia and nitrites, it will always be present in an aquarium. Fish don't have to worry about in the wild because of the amount of water at their disposal.

Obviously making sure that any uneaten food is removed will certainly help your cause. I shouldn't worry, as long as your nitrates don't guess above 40 ppm for long periods, your fish will be perfectly okay. How much nitrate is in your tap water?

It varies from between 20 - 40 ppm, depending on rainfall I think.
Got the uv after my Oscar got swim bladder problem to kill any nasties that might have caused it.
The ro water mix has reduced nitrates for water changes down to 5ppm, been using this for a month but still no change. I'm also using nitra-zorb in filter, but think it's a bit of a high dose for it to deal with.
I think after reading feeding guide on site I'm feeding too much, but they keep begging for food

Oscars always beg for food:laugh: , feed your fish for around 2-3 minutes and then stop, the fish will get more than enough food.

Overfeeding is probably the most common reason for poor water quality

Yeah going to try a new feeding routine, just once a day rather than breakfast, lunch and dinner! They aint goin to like it thou! I'm doin 25% water changes twice a week, to be honest my 180 ltr not big enof so bigger tank when funds allow I think.
Pressed quick reply my mistake, wonder what happens lol

firstly welcome to the site

i know that fluval makes a media that is supposed to control nitrate levels. if after you change the feeding habits the nitrates still dont drop you might want to give it a try.

Seen some differant medias to control it, thout that I'd better get levels down 1st. After reading lots of posts on here today, I've been thinking about feeding a house plant hydroponicly on lid with aquarium water returning to tank. Only worry is do plants leech into water and whats safe, big cheese plant would look good, could also use peat to plant it in. I've got a thick perspex lid, as one oscar jumped out of normal lid once, and could cut a round hole in it for pot to sit in

what size is your tank and how many fish, and size do you have. I too was changing water twice a wk in a 150g but recently 2 of my 4 oscars died(reason unknowen)but the water changes was due to too many fish. This is a very common problem with oscar keeping and I see it over and over on the site. I fell into the same trap myself after taking 2 fish from someone that couldnt care for them and managed for a few yrs. Its sad I lost 2 nice fish but it has now left me with a easier life as I am no longer overstocked. I have also lived with high nitrates in tape water(between 20 & 40 %) before moving, but if you are lowering your tap water to 5% and its still high after a wk I would think over stocked or well over fed.??I have looked into plants and many other things and now believe there is only one way. Right amount of fish to tank size every thing else will give you a headache.

Got these Oscars much the same way
I definatly need a bigger tank and am on the lookout for one.
At the moment their in a jewel 180, 36L 14D 18H, with two externals and uv.
It's a pair of 8" tigers and a 6" plec

a bigger tank will definetly reduce the amout of maintenance you have to do. i beleive your tank works out to be about 30 gallons. for 2 oscars and a plec you should be looking for something in the 125 gallon range.

yeah your problem is the tank size. I think that works out to be around 40g or so. Its not big enough for 1 oscar let alone 2 and plec. I would look for a 125g-150g if you want to keep the fish you have at the mo(dont add more with larger tank). Its a hard fact to face but you will not win in the long term. the cost of a large tank is not cheap, but if you can get a 150g your 2 oscars and plec will be fine with way you are lowering the tap nitrates and your life will return to normal plus the local water company can ease off the water pressure to your house. )))) PS. I have tried fluval nitrate remover. it works but you need lots(not cheap) also it needs recharging with salt every few days so dont last forever.