Clear Water But Not Crystal Clear

[CichlidAddict]

Obviously every tank will be different. If enough thought and understanding is put into setting up the tank life can be made much easier. For the fish and the keeper.. The old school thinking of filtering water 3-4x per hour does not apply to Mbuna, IMO.. I filter my water 14x per hour and have never had problems. I do this while creating very little current in the tank. (enough to keep my fish healthy, but not keep them stuck to the side of the tank)

BTW, my gravel is part of my bio-system.. A gravel vac *should* not disturb your bio bacteria...

 

[jgray152]

right now the first is the bacteria sponge.

I wouldn't call it a bacteria sponge or ever think that its a home for bacteria since you always clean that sponge.

then carbon and under the carbon is a mini black sponge to hold it in.

Interesting, never seen it done that way before.

after that i have the bio sphere things

Yes only think of these as the home for bacteria.

 

[Snake42490]

well after doing that water change there is a huge difference in looks. i would say 90 % clear.. my tank is getting turned over by my filters 6 times an hour. i also have a penguin bio filter just for some more area for bacteria to grow incase something happened to my canister filter. the uv light is incased inside the canister filter itself. you can not see the light unless you open the canister. does it sound like i have enough filtration in my tank? i was looking into getting an eheim pro 2 found a couple good deals on e bay... im going to be setting up another tank pretty soon... does anyone have any ideas on the brown algae? would that be causing any of the haze look? i know any that is free floating would be fried by the uv light.. should i try to keep it off the sides of the glass?

 

[jgray152]

What type of canister filter do you have. By the math it should be around 330 GPH? Bio wheel is a fantastic item. Don't loose it.

I have really liked the Rena Filster xp series filters for awhile just be reading all the reviews and specs on them. No bypass and the xp4 pumps out 460GPH w/o media.

I run a fluval 304 which has a 260 GPH flow rate and that does a nice job keeping my tank water clear. You can tell that is just on the edge though. I say anything near or above 350 GPH on a 55 gallon is good.

 

[Snake42490]

i have the aqual unimax pro 250 uv canister filter... i just looked and its only 170 gph. then i have a penguin 100 bio wheel which does 100 gph ... so i only have 270 gph total... i wonder if that could be my problem... maybe if i get a little more filtration in the tank... then i would be good? should i maybe just add another penguin filter on the other side of the tank.. here is the link to my canister filter http/www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...mp;N=2004+22777

i have nothing against it the thing is quiet as can be and has caused no problems besides this little water haze.. i could easily add another penguin bio filter on the other side of the tank.. if i were to do that should i just get another 100 or would you recommend getting another canister filter in addition to the one i have? i have two amazing deals on the eheim pro 2 the lower model 2026 but very very cheap and in great condition,.... i will probably get both... do you think my problem could be to little filtration?

 

[jgray152]

170 gph sounds a bit low for me. I wouldn't go any lower then what mine does. Either keep the one you are running and add another canister filter or buy another one with a higher flow rate.

Your water is not getting turned over very much mechanically. Biologically, you may be ok since you have the penguin bio wheel. Although your penguin 100 is really for a 20 gallon tank. What I would do is sell your P100 and buy the P350.

Another choice is to sell you p100 and just run the 2 canister filters. How many fish do you have?

 

[adambrum]

Brown algae is diatoms, its something i used to suffer from a real pain as the fish dont eat it and it needs no light to grow.

Check your phosphate levals in your tap water ?

You will have to check it out yourself. i did buy a test kit, phosphate remover and i also brought a couple of b/n plecs which cleaned the whole tank in a week but apparently its unusual for them to eat it ? so i never got to use the test kit.

It might also be worth trying a chemical solution which binds the algae together so it can be removed by the filter.

Just a few thoughts as it seems your filtering is ok.

 

[Snake42490]

i have 12 baby mbunas. each about an inch i play on adding 3 cats pretty soon. water is still about the same.. water is checking out at least haha...

 

[Snake42490]

ok well i added an xp3 alongside with my other filtration. that cleared the story up haha my water is crystal clear once again. all filters are low and there is no major current. question for everyone.. how full should you fill your tank up. i have never heard anything on this area. to the line? above? let an inch below trim... hope someone knows!

 

[jgray152]

I don't think it really matters, atleast I don't see any difference. The only difference I see is how much algae grows on the light above with high water. Thats about it.

I try to keep my water about 1/4" down from the bottom of the hood.

Xp3 is working out good for you eh? I really want the xp3 or xp4 and from what I hear they are very good filters.
How was the inital setup and startup?

 

[adambrum]

The xp3 is a fantastic filter for the price set up is easy aswell, If your going to use the spray bar open the holes a bit, it cuts the noise down to nothing

 

[jgray152]

Ya I hear about the spraybar modification all the time. Sounds to me you can find a better filter. Ehiem I think you are paying for the same filtration but paying for the name.

BTW, what type of fish is that in your Avator Adambrum?

 

[andypo20]

try using an ion exchamge resin filter when changing the water, it takes about 1 hour to filter 50 ltrs, best investment i made an absolute diamond for high nitrate tap water!!
about £30 for the unit and £10-15 for replacement cartridges
takes 80% of "cloud out of changed water!!
reccommend!!

 

[Snake42490]

the setup was very easy haha.. i love everything about it except how it attaches to the aquarium. i think there needs to be some other way. the input and output tubes are connected by suction cups. it works but i would be scared to know what would happen if they gave out. total hooking up took me less than 15 min.. i just want to read the instructions to make sure i did everything right. i actually like the priming process its really simple haha.. i also must say it is very quiet and has more than enough power. i have the spray bar turned on low because its tossin my fish around. where can i find info on that spray bar mod that you guys are talking about? im not seeing it anywhere... i have my aquarium 2 feet from my bed and i must say im a light sleeper so its nice that its quiet!

 

[Boids-n-more]

Its simple just get a drill and a bit thats a lil bigger than the holes already in it and then just enlarge them. If its still too noisy or the current is to strong them enlarge them again.