Aquarium Filter Help

[fishcake_random]

Hey everyone,

I`ve had my tank running for about a month now with no problems. my water in the tank seems to be very yellow/green ish. My filter also keeps making chugging noises and the nozzle at the top the water comes out goes on and off every few minutes. ive been changing about 20% of the water once a week and have not has this problem untill this week. also i have had a lot of alge (sp) growing on my tank decoration. on my filter i have cleaned the foam pads as they were filthy and reanrranged the tube shaped stone things inside it, although there doesnt seem to be many of these in the compartment they are in. should it be filled with these stones??? Any ideas??? Can i do a 50% water change to clear the water out???

kind regards
a confused fishcake.

 

[fishcake_random]

I`ve just noticed i have lots of little white flecks floating in it. litterally thousands of them. what could they be and what can i do to clean my tank.???

 

[Teelie]

White specks sound like planaria; basically little worms that most fish will eat. They're harmless but are a symptom of unclean water or an excess of nutrients. The color of the water sounds like an algae bloom. How much light does this aquarium get daily? How did you clean the pads? With used tank water or tap water? Did you use any kind of cleaning agent?