strangefish
New Member
Hey guys and girls
I've been keeping fresh water tropicals for about 15 years now, nothing too adventurous, just general community stuff really. I've generally not had too many problems, occasional water quality issues, bit of fine black algae, lost the odd fish over the years, but overall no serious problems.
The reason I'm here is I've got a problem with a tank I've recently moved, and I'm not sure what to do next, so I thought I'd ask here.
The tank is a Juwel 260 Vision, standard Juwel filtration, standard Juwel 1000ltr/hr pump, black synthetic substrate and a fair amount of bog wood, some plants and some nice rocks. Temp is around 70 deg C.
When I say I moved the tank that's not strictly correct, as I have had to put fish from two other tanks (multiple tank syndrome again) into this one including two largish (6-8 inch) catfish. Everything else is standard fair; tetras, white clouds, couple of Kribs, a lace gourami, a Pakistan boita. An eclectic mix. Overall I'd say the stocking level is about as much as you'd want to see in a tank that size, but not really over stocked.
My problem is that the pre-filter pad in the top of the filter stack becomes blocked with waste about every 3 days or so. Every time it gets blocked I take it out and rinse it through once, then replace it the second time round. It's an irritation more than anything else !!
I've used a siphon to clear the muck from between the substrate and I've done a couple of water changes since I moved the tank as I brought the majority of the "old" water with me when I moved. The fish seem happy enough, and I've done a couple of water tests which showed high-ish Nitrate and hence the water changes.
So am I desperately overstocked ?? Am I resigned to carrying out this routine of cleaning the pad out every 3 days until I can get my other tanks set up and stabilised ?? or am I missing something ??
Obviously I will get my other tanks up and running as soon as I can, and relocate the bigger fish, but in the mean time.......... Should I invest in a bigger external filter unit in addition to or replacing the Juwel filter ?? Should I try a 600ltr/hr pump instead of the 1000ltr/hr pump ?? (The tank originally came with a 600ltr pump, but it failed and apparently Juwel upped the spec on new Vision 260's to the 1000ltr/hr pump).
Any possible thoughts or ideas would be welcome.
Phil.
I've been keeping fresh water tropicals for about 15 years now, nothing too adventurous, just general community stuff really. I've generally not had too many problems, occasional water quality issues, bit of fine black algae, lost the odd fish over the years, but overall no serious problems.
The reason I'm here is I've got a problem with a tank I've recently moved, and I'm not sure what to do next, so I thought I'd ask here.
The tank is a Juwel 260 Vision, standard Juwel filtration, standard Juwel 1000ltr/hr pump, black synthetic substrate and a fair amount of bog wood, some plants and some nice rocks. Temp is around 70 deg C.
When I say I moved the tank that's not strictly correct, as I have had to put fish from two other tanks (multiple tank syndrome again) into this one including two largish (6-8 inch) catfish. Everything else is standard fair; tetras, white clouds, couple of Kribs, a lace gourami, a Pakistan boita. An eclectic mix. Overall I'd say the stocking level is about as much as you'd want to see in a tank that size, but not really over stocked.
My problem is that the pre-filter pad in the top of the filter stack becomes blocked with waste about every 3 days or so. Every time it gets blocked I take it out and rinse it through once, then replace it the second time round. It's an irritation more than anything else !!
I've used a siphon to clear the muck from between the substrate and I've done a couple of water changes since I moved the tank as I brought the majority of the "old" water with me when I moved. The fish seem happy enough, and I've done a couple of water tests which showed high-ish Nitrate and hence the water changes.
So am I desperately overstocked ?? Am I resigned to carrying out this routine of cleaning the pad out every 3 days until I can get my other tanks set up and stabilised ?? or am I missing something ??
Obviously I will get my other tanks up and running as soon as I can, and relocate the bigger fish, but in the mean time.......... Should I invest in a bigger external filter unit in addition to or replacing the Juwel filter ?? Should I try a 600ltr/hr pump instead of the 1000ltr/hr pump ?? (The tank originally came with a 600ltr pump, but it failed and apparently Juwel upped the spec on new Vision 260's to the 1000ltr/hr pump).
Any possible thoughts or ideas would be welcome.
Phil.
