Help Please!

[Gilli]

As some of you who answered me previously will know My external filter (which was 2 years old) for my 250L tank suddenly died on me. I rushed out and bought a new more powerful one for a 300L tank and packed all of my old media from my old filter into the new one (as well as all the new filter media that was already in it) - I got everything in bar one sponge, so I knew I might have a small problem until the bacteria caught up.

2 further catatrophies then happened in that although the time between my old filter dying and getting it all into the new one and up an running was only about 4 hours, the following day we had a local power cut for 5 hours! On top of that 2 days after that I accidentally knocked a whole large new pot of food into the tank! - they say bad things happen in threes! I immediately turned off the filter - let it all sink to the bottom and syphoned it all out!

Ok so since then I have been testing my water daily and have had a reading of 0.25 ammonia on a daily basis for which I have been doing a 30% daily water change. I only had one day where my nitrites were 0.25 and I did a 50% water change that day and since it has stayed constantly at 0.

I really worried as it has now been over 2 weeks since I put in the new filter and im still getting a daily ammonia reading of 0.25 - surely the filter should have caught up by now? I have cut right back on feeding but I dont feel as if im getting anywhere.

Can someone tell me if this sounds right or has something gone drastically wrong? People who advised me before told me it should only be a few days for the filter to catch up?

 

[VaegaVic]

In all honesty, that sounds completely normal and nothing to worry about.
When you change filters you also have to remember that there was bacteria on the inside of the filter casing as well, so add that to the list.
Also, there could also still be some food rotting down somewhere that you didn't notice.

My best advice I can give would be to just let the filter do it's job, obviously still do water changes if you're getting readings, but just see how you go.

 

[minxfishy]

Im suprised it hasnt caught up yet, usually it would take a few days. Are you missing any fish? Any plants rotting in the tank or filter? And, have you tested your tap water for ammonia? Rare, but sometimes it does happen that there are trace amounts in the tap water itself.

 

[Gilli]

Thank you for your replies. No im not missing any fish and have no rotting plants. I haven't bothered to test my tap water as before my filter packed in all my ammonia readings have always been 0 so theres none in the tap water.

Thank you VaegaVic - I didnt think of the loss of the bacteria living on the walls of the old filter so added to the lost sponge that would make more sense.

 

[VaegaVic]

Thank you for your replies. No im not missing any fish and have no rotting plants. I haven't bothered to test my tap water as before my filter packed in all my ammonia readings have always been 0 so theres none in the tap water.

Thank you VaegaVic - I didnt think of the loss of the bacteria living on the walls of the old filter so added to the lost sponge that would make more sense.

Anytime.
I would also consider the old pipes as well, may not be much surface area, but bacteria living in the pipes would get first dibs on ammonia in the water, obviously not massive amounts, but still, it all adds up.

 

[Gilli]

Hello - well a month on and my new filter is still not right!(see top post). I am STILL getting a reading of ammonia nearly every day - on the days I dont feed them its 0.25 and on the days I do its 0.50! (nitrite is at 0 every day). I am only feeding them a minimal ammount every 3rd day to try and keep it down but im still doing a 30% water change evey single day and have done for a month now!

Surely something is wrong here - it should have caught up by now ??? HEEEELLLLPPPP!!

 

[Scott MacAdam]

If it has been a month there is definitely something going on here. Your filter should have caught up in a few days. Time to start eliminating variables. Honestly, unless there is something else we don't know about your tank should be adjusted long ago. Is there any chance that you recently changed your testing method (or brand of testing materials) and could be reading the results incorrectly? Not that this would happen, but it has in the past I'm sure. The thing that worries me here is that you mentioned that you are doing large water changes and they are still staying up that high. Even though your tank before your filter was testing at 0 it would be good to test the tap water, simply to rule it out as a cause. maybe it had slight levels but your tank was neutralizing it before you were testing (I don't normally test the water right after a change, I'd assume others don't). The only other thing I could think of would be that there is a big ball of food hidden in there somewhere or that a large amount has slipped down into your substrate that you can't see. If you have a gravel vac you could check under the gravel and just really clean the tank out, but you may have already done this. I have some pretty heavily planted tanks and I lose things in there all the time so it might be reasonable that we are just missing something in there that is the cause.

 

[Gilli]

Thank you for your reply. I know the filter is a month old as I have the receipt here on the day I bought it which was the 12th Feb! Nope nothing in the gravel - the ammount of times ive given it a good going over in the last month I cant have missed anything - Ive even taken everything out on the very first clean!

I havent changed my testing methods and am using the same APO liquid kit I was using before the disaster.Tap water is fine because if I take a reading straight after ive done a water change ammonia is at 0 where it should be, and the odd day here and there ive had a reading of 0 but the next day its back to 0.25.

Surely if all the bacteria had died which is unlikely the readings would be a lot higher than this? Its a 250L tank with real plants and the following occupants

3 x kribs

2 x BN plecos

10 x Serpae tetra

10 x cardinal tetra

3 x panda corys

5 x Rainbow fish

I really am baffled - is it ever going to be right?

 

[hamfist]

At this point I would be suspicious that your new filter and how you've set it up is not actually circulating the water around the aquarium as effectively as your old filter, for some reason. There may be large "dead" spots which get littleor no circulation. Is it a heavily planted/ornamented tank ? Have you set the new filter up with a markedly different intake or output arrangement to the old filter ?

 

[Gilli]

The new filter works 100 times better than the old one. The old one was an Interpet for a 250L tank. The flow rate was always dropping and very poor and kept getting clogged but all readings were always ok despite this. The new one is a Fluval (which I gather is one of the most popular makes) for a 300L tank so more efficient than the old one and the flow on it is very powerful. It is set up exactly the same as the old filter - inlet at one end and outlet at the other . Tank is not heavily planted - I have 5 plants of medium and small size in it.

 

[spectrum]

How many Lph does the filter do? I base my filter purchases on the turnover rate, not the suitable tank size on the box. Eheim seem to be the only ones who actually put a good estimate of suitable tank size on the box. (My opinion, please don't attack me people.)

 

[Gilli]

How many Lph does the filter do? I base my filter purchases on the turnover rate, not the suitable tank size on the box. Eheim seem to be the only ones who actually put a good estimate of suitable tank size on the box. (My opinion, please don't attack me people.)

The flow rate is 1000 LPH.

 

[waterdrop]

Another thought: have you changed the lightbulb you use between your eyes and the testtube that's against the testcard white background? Over in beginners we've found that a lot of the new CFL (curled up compact fluorescent lamps) impart a more greenish cast than the incandescent bulbs did and it sometimes causes people to interpret the first level of the API ammonia test as 0.25ppm instead of zero ppm.

Its a long shot but I thought I just throw it out there.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Gilli]

Another thought: have you changed the lightbulb you use between your eyes and the testtube that's against the testcard white background? Over in beginners we've found that a lot of the new CFL (curled up compact fluorescent lamps) impart a more greenish cast than the incandescent bulbs did and it sometimes causes people to interpret the first level of the API ammonia test as 0.25ppm instead of zero ppm.

Its a long shot but I thought I just throw it out there.

~~waterdrop~~

Thank you - thats a good point - but I always look at it in the daylight by the patio doors.........

 

[hamfist]

The new filter works 100 times better than the old one. The old one was an Interpet for a 250L tank. The flow rate was always dropping and very poor and kept getting clogged but all readings were always ok despite this. The new one is a Fluval (which I gather is one of the most popular makes) for a 300L tank so more efficient than the old one and the flow on it is very powerful. It is set up exactly the same as the old filter - inlet at one end and outlet at the other . Tank is not heavily planted - I have 5 plants of medium and small size in it.

Well that blows my theory out of the water. It certainly is strange what you are experiencing.

As for the 1000lph that your filter puts out, I would say that it is really only "adequate" for the tank you have and the stock you have in it. Personally, I think all the manufacturers hugely overestimate the size tanks that their filters will be suitable for. It also doesn't take into account that many, if not most, aquarists stock their tanks somewhere near, or even over, maximum stocking levels.
A 1000lph filter will actually probably only put out about 750 lph once it is full of media (as the figures the makers quote are always for an empty filter). So for a 250L tank you are only turning your water over 3 times an hour, which is not a huge amount.
Just my opinion of course. I firmly believe in over filtration though. It can potentially cover over a multitude of sins in other areas.