Nitrate Levels in Goldfish Tank

Question
Hi, I have a 29 gallon freshwater tank. I've had it for years and up until a couple months ago have only kept tropical fish in it. However, after I lost my last tropical fish I decided to go with goldfish. Upon switching I realized I had been neglecting my tank and decided from that point on I would make an effort to really stay on top of it! I vacuumed it often, change the filter and bought some live plants. My nitrate levels are OFF THE CHART. In the beginning I was overfeeding them and never vacuumed the tank. But I've stopped doing that..only feed as much as they can eat in 5 minutes now and do vacuums and water changes often. No matter what I do the nitrates are still always high. (Even right after I do a water change) Nitrites and everything else on the test strip come out fine. We've even bought a new filter recently, that's the only thing I thought it could have been...but that's not helping either. Thought plants would help...still not helping. I've tested the tap water and it's fine as well. I have NO idea why they are still so high. I read everything I can find about nitrates and called the pet store several times...they said I'm doing everything right but my fish are still dying and my nitrates are still testing high! Please help! :)

Answer
Hi Jennifer,
What it could be is since your tank was previously not maintained frequently enough, a buildup of wastes and nitrates has accumulated greatly and on top of that, goldfish are big waste producers. If you are doing small water changes they won't be effective much at all.

Have you tried doing a 50% water change? Try these for a few days and make sure to vacuum the gravel thoroughly everytime.

Try that and see how it goes. Best wishes!
Karen~