What Am I Doing Wrong

[Kevstir]

wouldn't that only apply if you had an undergravel filter?

is the tank running with any fish at all??

 

[new_world_disorder]

at the mo the tank is 100% empty. ive just bought a fluval 150 external filter and a load of sand and some wood nd rocks. jsut cleaned it all out . gna put it all together now and get it cycling.

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[andywg]

After every year tanks should be completely broken down for a SUPER cleaning. Filter taken apart, gravel replaced, ornaments bleached, tank scrubbed. Have you ever done a break down?

Where on earth did you get that idea from? The whole aim with fishkeeping is to get a stable tank. Breaking the whole thing down would be madness. and work against stability.

I can think of no experienced fishkeepers on this forum who break down their tank once a year. Just the thought of breaking down my larger tanks fills me with dread. I am damned if every year I am going to pull out all 50kg or more of sand from my 6x2x2 just to rinse it and put it back. I can just imagine the fun CFC or Paul_MTS would have breaking down their 200 gallon tanks...

My tanks get a water change once a week. About once every 6 months I treat them to a gravel vac. that does them fine.

 

[new_world_disorder]

should my fluval filter outlet be at water level ? above or below ? im not sure it matters ? but hey. worth asking? and also. ive got it all plugged in and running. what sorta temp do i want the water at ?? and with the filter. it seems to be very slow... then it goes fast for a min...then slow......is this normal

heres a coupla pics ( sorry its all murky at the mo... just filled it )

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[Bignose]

After every year tanks should be completely broken down for a SUPER cleaning. Filter taken apart, gravel replaced, ornaments bleached, tank scrubbed. Have you ever done a break down?

what, What, WHAT?!? This is utter nonsense. One of the best things a tank that has been up and healthy for a long time is a healthy biofilm on everything. Biofilm is a collection of bacteria and algae and sometimes fugus that grows on all the surfaces of a tank. There is a wide variety of bacteria that iive in the biofilm. This is good, since cultural diversity is a good way to ensure that no one species of bacteria take over the tank. Especially if that one species is harmful. There could even be anaerobic bacteria at the bottom of a well-developed biofilm. This can be good since anaerobic bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas, helping reduce the level of nitrates. Lots of fish will nibble on the biofilm -- most of the livebearers will, as will ottos and plecos and most bottom feeders. The biofilm contains species of bacteria that a responsible for recycling all of the organic and inorganic substances within the aquarium's ecosystem. One of the best things is that cycling bacteria live in the biofilm, too. This can be great in case your filter breaks or otherwise gets destroyed, since the cycling bacteria in the biofilm will allow the tank to re-cycle faster and the ammonia levels probably won't reach quite as dangerous of levels.

In short, it is a good thing! In almost every case, you don't want to and don't need to destroy this biofilm.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

should my fluval filter outlet be at water level ? above or below ? im not sure it matters ? but hey. worth asking? and also. ive got it all plugged in and running. what sorta temp do i want the water at ?? and with the filter. it seems to be very slow... then it goes fast for a min...then slow......is this normal

filter outlet should break the water surface, just enough to make ripples as this oxygenates the water

hmmm that does sound normal for a fluval

sorry they aren't very reliable filters and that sounds, well broken. pull it apart and clean out every part you can and see if that makes any difference.

as you've no fish in your filter bacteria will have died, so i'd recommend fishless cycling the tank before putting fish in

 

[indigo]

filter outlet should break the water surface, just enough to make ripples as this oxygenates the water

hmmm that does sound normal for a fluval

sorry they aren't very reliable filters and that sounds, well broken. pull it apart and clean out every part you can and see if that makes any difference.

as you've no fish in your filter bacteria will have died, so i'd recommend fishless cycling the tank before putting fish in

i've got 2 fluvals, both outlets are below water level, one is a jet, one is a spray bar, the one with the spray bar is doing exactly the OP says his is doing, i know the cause for mine, the pipes are bent and restricting the flow and they need replacing, there is a bracket you can get to stop it being restricted and squashed by the filter hood, i'd suggest checking this as the first port of call, i've just ordered new pipes for mine from the LFS.

my filters are 5 years old, apart from the odd propeller breaking (well it is ceramic ) i'm very very happy with them

 

[new_world_disorder]

all the pipes are good. theres no dirt in the filter. its not even 24 hrs old but ill check therers no crap in it ne wyas thanx

 

[indigo]

give it a good shake as well, you may have an air bubble in there somewhere!! one of mine is a bit of a sod to get going again after maintenance, but once it's going it's fine