Re: Where are the nitrates coming from?
well, sounds like you have a few things going on in your tank right now.
A. your tank is going through a mini cycle from the rinsing and moving of the gravel (be patient)
B. you are over fertilizing - laterite is extremely nutrient rich and you plant load likely is not making efficient use of the liquid fertilizer either. --- this can be handled by cutting way back on the fertilizers and adding lots of stem plants. fast growing plants will use up nutrient faster.
C. you also have the wrong light bulbs for plants. You want a bulb somewhere near
6500K.
D. with planted tanks, you don't vackume the gravel. this makes it harder for the bacterial films that grow over the substrate to take hold and releases nutrients into the water from the substrate.
E. eventually you will want to add CO2
F. eventually once the plants take hold and grow at a steady pace they will serve as the main filtration removing amonia as a whole product before it turns to nitrate in the first place, but this takes time.
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