Internal Fluval 4+

[imran999]

Hi,

3ft Tank with sand substrate (play sand from argos)
Stock
4 clown loaches
3 guppies
1 mollies
3 small red fish (cant remember what kind they are)
2 blackline tetras


I have been running my first tank for a few months now, 2 months fishless cycling and then 2-3 months stocked with the above fish. Bought the tank and equipment 2nd hand.

I find that my water is only remaining clear for a day or 2 after a water change before getting cloudy and within a week the sand is covered in bits (fish poop i guess).
Is this due to the degradation of the filter sponge in the internal fluval?
Could the cause of the clouding be due to my sand substrate?

I have invested in an tetratec ex1200 filter and hoping this will clear up my clouding issues.
Is there anything else i can use or get to maintain crystal clear water?

 

[Bungy]

Hi,

3ft Tank with sand substrate (play sand from argos)
Stock
4 clown loaches
3 guppies
1 mollies
3 small red fish (cant remember what kind they are)
2 blackline tetras


I have been running my first tank for a few months now, 2 months fishless cycling and then 2-3 months stocked with the above fish. Bought the tank and equipment 2nd hand.

I find that my water is only remaining clear for a day or 2 after a water change before getting cloudy and within a week the sand is covered in bits (fish poop i guess).
Is this due to the degradation of the filter sponge in the internal fluval?
Could the cause of the clouding be due to my sand substrate?

I have invested in an tetratec ex1200 filter and hoping this will clear up my clouding issues.
Is there anything else i can use or get to maintain crystal clear water?

Probably "new tank syndrome" im still battling with cloudy water, a milky haze but you can see the tiny particles floating in the water column. Too small to be captured by the filter media. This im told is as a result of too much waste - either from feeding too much, rotting plant matter and of course fish waste. Regular tank maintenance ie hoover up the bottom and get rid of any rotting plant matter - you can hoover up daily and not take too much water out of the tank or twice weekly at say 10% volume. Reduce your feeding a little.

There is a product on the market from Tetramin Max called B-Clear which is said to give you crystal clear water - I tried it and although id did help briefly the murk came back - I gave a second dose then realised id left my activated carbon in the filter which may have "scrubbed" the medication from the water and thus would have had little to no impact. I am slowly getting clearer water through a tight maintenance programme as mentioned above and doing this the natural way but im also considering buying some more B-Clear. Im running a 70G tank so treating with meds and stuff isnt cheap...!

Hope this helps.

 

[imran999]

Im feeding twice a day.

Once before i goto work 8am and once when i get back from work 7pm.

Feeding fish flakes, 1 or 2 large pinches at a time.
with occasional pellets that sink to the bottom for the loaches as they hide alot and dont get the flake food when put in.

 

[darrel69]

what colour is the cloudiness ?

 

[imran999]

what colour is the cloudiness ?

Its a kindy milky cloudyness....very small particles in the water...possibly sand?