nitrate problems

Question
Hi, im having a little problem trying to keep the nitrate level down, at the moment it's between 10ppm/25ppm, i've had the tank up and running for nearly a year. There's 2 filters running one is called fluval 405 and the other is a rena xp, i've not lost any fish or coral at the moment, the point is when or should i change or clean the filters some people say yes you should and some say don't touch the filters.  look forward to hear from you.  

Answer
Hi Paul. I am one of those people who don't believe you should ever pull your filters apart for a good cleaning. however some cleaning is required. As long as the water flow from the filter is good then you should only be changing the filtering media. You can do more damage by cleaning them. You could clean away a great deal of your good bacteria which may lead to a rise in ammonia until they can recolonize the filter. Nitrates are a battle for most people and the levels you are at are not too bad. You may want to up your partial water changes to either more often or more water taken out at the time you normally do your partials. Filtering media like carbon and any sponge or fiber you have in your filters should be changed or rinsed at least once a month. I rinse mine once a week. Some of the gunk that builds up in your filter will actually produce more nitrate so some cleaning should be done. But never a full cleaning. You should also never clean both your filters at the same time. You should stagger their cleaning giving a week in between. Usually when you have a nitrate problem the reasons are too many fish, overfeeding or not enough partials done to keep up with the load of inhabitants you have in your tank.  It is that simple!