Could I Swap My Fluval U2, For A U4? Would It Be Too Big For My Roma 9

[trikidy]

Hi, I have a fluval u2 in my roma 90, but although the water is clear, its not crystal clear.
I do regular water changes, yes.

So i was thinking of putting a U4 into it, It would fit along the top but would it be too powerful for my 90litre tank?

Just checking.

Also how much would it convince the water quality by?

Thanks.

 

[KittyKat]

You say the water is not clear, in what way? Is it cloudy/milky? What colour is whatever that's causing the problem? Is the aquarium planted? Is there mulch on the bottom?

 

[trikidy]

It has plants, but i wouldn't say planted. Perhaps 10 small reedy plants.

And I'd say more cloudy than milky, but not cloudy aha

I'll take a pic to see what you think mate.

And what's mulch?...

 

[KittyKat]

Mulch = ex-fish crap. Usually it is not harmful, just looks bad.

It sounds like you have a problem with the water quality, if it is not completely clear (clear and tinged with colour is ok).

 

[trikidy]

Pictures

http/www.flickr.com/photos/trikidy/5799307074/

http/www.flickr.com/photos/trikidy/5799306284/

http/www.flickr.com/photos/trikidy/5798758709/

Um a little bit at the side, but not much at all.

 

[KittyKat]

You've got a bacterial bloom, going by those photos. They are usually caused by minute amounts of ammonia (not readable with a test kit), but do check your ammonia reading, just in case. Do a 50% water change and it should go in a few days.

How much and what are you feeding?

 

[trikidy]

Tetra mini crisps, a algae wafer and some catfish pelets once every 2 days, sometimes 3.

Why has this happened?

 

[trikidy]

Think you're right!

Just tested ammonia and it's about 0.3!

50% water change it is!

Thanks for that.


Just out of curiosity, do you think upgrading to a U4 would help filtration?
I'm guessing a more powerful filter will filter the water more, obv, so i'm guessing it can't really do any harm, can it?

Aha sorry for the questions

 

[KittyKat]

Just out of curiosity, do you think upgrading to a U4 would help filtration?
I'm guessing a more powerful filter will filter the water more, obv, so i'm guessing it can't really do any harm, can it?

Probably not much, if the internal capacity of both filters is almost the same. I am not one of the people who are into over-filtration, but as long as the flow rate is not too high, a larger filter usually doesn't hurt. I like to have 2-5* turnover, although I have used everything from 1-20* turnover in freshwater tanks. Keep in mind that some species are more sensitive to high flow rates than others, and there are species which require high flow rates too.

 

[soybean]

I've used a u2 and u3, the difference between them was marginal, I don't even think the u4 would be a hugely comparable difference to the u2.

If you don't use the official cartridges (especially those ridiculous poly/carbon slot-in things you need a bank loan to buy) you can cram a lot more media in anyway, I think there's a lot of wasted space in these filters so get creative with floss and save the swimming room in your tank.

 

[trikidy]

Thanks for that buddy
How can i find out the flow rate?



The black polycarbon things that slot in with the media?

I'm not gonna lie, i don't know what they are specifically for. You think it would be better to cram two media into one slot in-stead of the black poly thing?


...and floss ???

 

[KittyKat]

Thanks for that buddy
How can i find out the flow rate?

Does it say on the filter or the box it came in? If not, look on the manufacturer's website.

The black polycarbon things that slot in with the media?

I'm not gonna lie, i don't know what they are specifically for.

For you giving the manufacturer more money than you should. Carbon is mainly used for removing medication from water, it is not that useful on an every day basis.

You think it would be better to cram two media into one slot in-stead of the black poly thing?

I would agree with that.

...and floss ???

Filter floss = filter wool = fine, flexible filter sponge, predominantly used for polishing the water, too fine to be the only one used in the filter.

 

[soybean]

The black slot in things are carbon on one side, poly filter on the other.

Unless you need to remove meds etc from the water, carbon is a waste of space. After a couple of weeks it's ineffective anyway.

You can buy generic, unbranded filter sponges and polyester sponges, individual or even in big sheets, and simply cut it to size. You can easily get twice as much poly sponge in as now.

Floss is filter wool...looks a bit like cotton wool, I used it to plug up gaps etc. Not essential at all.

But those polycarbon things can be improved on.

 

[trikidy]

Wow I've never heard of that!

Is it this?

http/www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/fish/filters_pumps/filters_and_pumps/jbl_filter_media/36850

Thanks for the help. Do you think this would work

Fluval u2 has 2 cartridges, each has filter media and poly pad.
If in 1 I swap the poly pad for another media
And in the other swap the poly pad for filter floss

Reckon that would make better filtration?

Soy Bean or Kat

Can you show me a link to good sponge and or floss?

So simply taking the black "thing pad" out and putting media in ?

 

[soybean]

Don't worry about replacing a whole cartridge with floss - stick with replacing the black and white pads with just ordinary polyester sponge. So 2 normal sponges, 2 poly sponges. See how that goes. After a few weeks see if you want to add more media and see what you can stuff in somewhere - I did anyway.