Problems with filtration

[GirlinWayside]

I have had my aquarium for many years and you would think that I know more about them than I do - BUT, I dont. ) Ive sorta let my tank slip in the past few years - bad I know. ) Im trying to turn over a new leaf and get my tank back up and beautiful like it used to be. anyhow, I have a 55 gal fresh water tank with an undergravel filter with Penguin powerheads - 1140's. Well, now I only have one working powerhead. Im having major problems with my water turning a dark yellow - almost murky - i had this problem even before one of my powerheads went out. Does anyone have any ideas why my water turns this nasty yellowish brown??

 

[WILDER]

Yellow brownish water mean that you need to renew your carbon, put a new one in to remove it.

 

[tsalvageboy]

Nope. If you go buy water clearifying drops it will go away in about 24 hours though. Did you completely redo the tank gravel and all?

 

[WILDER]

Not the writer of this.

Yellow discoloration or a brown tint.
Indicates the need to change the activated carbon if you are using it. If not, add some for awhile and this should solve the problem.

 

[GirlinWayside]

no, its the same gravel that I have always had. I vaccumed out one half of the tank really good. I forgot to add that I still have 3 plecos in there - poor kids - those things can live through anything! I was going to wait a few days and vaccum the other half out real good. I dont have any carbon at all in my aquarium.. I was always told that you didnt need it with an undergravel filter system. Is that wrong??

 

[tsalvageboy]

Yup, you always should have a little box filter or carbon heads, etc... That gravel is most likely full of anaerobic bacteria which suck the Oxigen out of the water. Plecos could be in trouble. If i were you i would do a complete gravel change or clean.

Tim

 

[Tolak]

Welcome to TFF!

The discoloration could be from driftwood, if you have any, or just a general lack of maintainance. Carbon will help with this, as will water changes. Some people run charcoal all the time, some never do. I only run it on a newly cleaned or set up tank, or to remove medications. None of my tanks run it on a regular basis, none have undergravel filters, most don't even have gravel.

What you are dealing with is a case of old tank syndrome. Do not do a large water change, the difference in the old water to the new could cause problems, as your fish are acclimated to the old water. I wouldn't do more than 10% daily, this will allow your fish to become used to the new water conditions.

Under gravel filters are a cheap, but realyt dirty way to filter a tank. On well maintained tanks the underneath of the undergravel plates looks like a mud puddle after a year, that is all rotten food & fish waste. The only way to properly clean them is to tear down the tank yearly.

Plecs are really messy fish, an undergravel filter is really not suited for them. A good hob filter is better, you didn't state your tank size, you want to turn over your water a good 5-7 times per hour with those plecs. That means a filter that filters 250-350 gallons per hour.

Anaerobic bacteria do not suck the oxygen out of the water. Anaerobic means without oxygen, aerobic means with oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria will produce pockets of hydrogen sulfide gas, it smells like rotten eggs, & is toxic to fish. If you have any larger rocks or other decorations, there is probably anaerobic bacteria present. You can tell by a darkening of the gravel under these objects.

I don't usually suggest chemicals for tanks other than dechlorinator, but in your case, I would treat with ammo-lock before a gravel clean as well as after. This will prevent an ammo & nitrite spike from happening when you start to vac & clean the bottom. There is probably a ton of gunk built up, you will be releasing some of this into the water no matter how careful you are. The nitrobacters in your bio-filtration will be temporarorly overwelmed, causing a spike. This is a trick I learned years back from a shop owner who goes on service calls, he's been doing this since the '70s.

Congrats on getting back into the hobby, this is a good place for answers to most any question.

Tolak

 

[GirlinWayside]

hmmmm - they seem fine though. I will test my water and see whats going on with it. I have a filter that hangs off the back of the tank that uses carbon inserts - will that work??

 

[sylvia]

Besides what Tolak has said above, test your water and post the parameters. If ammonia and nitrIte are at 0 and nitrAtes aren't above 40, getting it back to how it was originaly shouldn't take too long. However, do water changes gradualy for a while so as to improve water quality without shocking the fish. You should aim to change all the water bit by bit. I suggest you do a 10% water change every other day for a couple of weeks and then move to a 25% water change every other day and then buy yourself a new HOB or external power filter and start running it in the tank. Reduce the water changes to 25% every 5 days. After a couple of weeks, remove your fish into a bucket and completely remove your gravel and, in particular, that nasty UGF. Once you've taken that undergravel filter out, the yellow tinted water should go as I think this is probably being caused by all the stuff rotting underneath. The new filter will take over. Then replace the gravel, put the fish back in, do a 70% water change and then start a routine of gravel vacuuming and changing 25% of the water once weekly and rinsing out (in old tank water) the filter media once a month. If you keep it up, your tank should revert to it's original, healthy condition and you need not ever again worry about the undergravel filter (which you can try to clean out and save for emergency use or whatever in future).

 

[GirlinWayside]

thanks for your replies. I have always been lead to beleive that UGF were the best - I guess that tells you how long its been since I have concentrated on my tank. The bad part is, I am a SAHM (stay at home mom) and definately do not have the money to spend on a new filtration system. Ill do some investigating and see what I can do though.

 

[smooth_bourbon]

Check on Penguin Biowheels they are pretty cheap and work great. You could run a penguin 350b which is good for up to 75 gallons. http/www.petsmart.com/global/product_det...D=1125054055164

Just as one suggestion but I think it would be great for you 55 gallon tank.

edit- These are my favorites since they are what I have always used but if you ask around I am sure you will find lots of great sugestions.

edit again - wallmart sells filter catridge replacements that are the exact same thing as the ones for the penguins much much cheaper.

 

[smooth_bourbon]

ooh here a some more http/cgi.ebay.com/Penguin-Marineland-Bio...1QQcmdZViewItem

http/www.animalworldnetwork.com/pebi330.html

 

[GirlinWayside]

cool! thanks Smooth Bourbon - Ill check those out!

edited to add - I just checked out that PetSmart link - I didnt realize those things were that cheap! thats awesome! thanks again!!!