Filters Not Doing A Good Job In The Tank

[voo]

In my 20g (100l) tank, i've got 2 filters running, an Interpet pf2 (rated for 45-90l tank), and a fluval 2 (rated for 24g tank), however i'm getting a lot of waste left in the tank and a lot of algae as a result. There's never any waste on the sand, however it's all getting trapped amongst the java fern that i have planted. If you move the plants at all, loads of fine waste comes out in the water.

I've started to clean it using the gravel vac each week, however there seems too much, as though the filters aren't really doing much.

In the tank there's 6 green tetra, 3 corys, 1 baby bristlenose plec and 2 ottos.

 

[raptorrex]

not sure how your filter can clean up all that uneaten food? i was under the impression that the filter took care of the water and we cleaned up any mess! but you could wave your hand over your sand and stir up the waste, some will get eaten by the fish and some will fall back to the sand, but a fair bit will go through the filter.

 

[Jozlyn]

Your filter/s needs to be doing around 5 times water volume. They're filtering the water not the substrate, they wont pick up waste off the bottom of your tank (that's why you need to vacuum!) unless your water is constantly stirred up so that the waste is constantly floating around.

If you have a lot of waste accumulating in places you may be overfeeding, the movement of the water makes waste naturally move around and build up around/against objects. Try feeding a little less and maybe vacuuming a little more often untill you get on top of it.

 

[voo]

The waste isnt building up on the sand, i have java fern attached to bogwood and it's amongst the java fern that it's all building up. There seems to be a lot more waste than what i am feeding them, i didnt think i was feeding that much to start with.

In my other tank i dont seem to be having this problem, the filter seems to be taking care of it all and there's a lot more plants in that tank for the waste to accumulate around.