Clear Tank

[kennygater]

hi i have a juwel trigon 350 cichlid tank with a eheim external filter, the only thing is, its never realy clear water and there is always bits floating about in the tank, i clean it every week and change a quater of the water. after looking at some of your tanks your water looks crystal clear. do you think i need a more powerfull filter or add anoter one.
also i have to have a air stone in mine because if i leave it off the fish all swim at the top gasping for air, do you think this is because there isnt enough water movement.
any help would be realy helpfull thanks

 

[babybell911]

What size is the filter and what is the output?

 

[kennygater]

What size is the filter and what is the output?

hi ts a 6 litre eheim 2217, 1000 litres an hour. thanks

 

[nukeonekitty]

I would say the filter isn't powerful enough only because if your fish are gasping for air at the surface that means you aren't getting enough O into the water... Is there anyway you can turn up the amount of water moved per hour?

and also I noticed you have bog wood in the tank (not saying it is bad) but it could be decomposing quickly making the water foggy and dirty... maybe try removing the pieces and power washing them.

 

[Nick Sw]

You need to move your filter output so it breaks the surface of the water, the oxygen is exchanged when the water is rippled on the surface. Move the ouput closer to the surface and/or angle it up and it will be fine.

As for the water I would try filter wool .
You don`t look to have many fish so I`d say your filter would be ok but a larger one would obviously be better, how many fish have you got in the tank and what are the water stats ?