Why is my water cloudy/yellow?

[AmyKieran]

Zeolite absorbs things including ammonia and medication. It removes the ammonia before the bacteria have chance to use it. With no food, the bacterial colonies will decrease in number. The danger then is that the zeolite gets full and stops working, and the bacteria numbers have dropped too low to cope so the tank goes through a mini spike while the bacteria increase again. If zeolite is used, it must be replaced before it gets full, forever. Using bacteria to remove ammonia is a lot cheaper.

I wouldn't use carbon either. Carbon's only use is to remove medication after treatment has finished. It is better to use the space in the filter for sponge or ceramic media.

Okay could you please help me with how to set out my canister filter then? So on the bottom I have thick filter foam, second I have ceramic rings and plastic biological filtration, top I was going to have zeolite and poly pad. Is this a good setup or would you reccomend something different?

 

[Essjay]

What is the filter? It is usual to have sponge and ceramic media in whichever order the manual says, and floss of some sort last in the direction of water flow to remove the small bits. Unless the manual says otherwise, I would have the sponge first in the direction of water flow, then the ceramic rings and plastic bio media in whichever order you want, then floss of some sort last in the direction of water flow. You don't need carbon or zeolite. Just more biological media in the place where the manual says to put those.

 

[AmyKieran]

What is the filter? It is usual to have sponge and ceramic media in whichever order the manual says, and floss of some sort last in the direction of water flow to remove the small bits. Unless the manual says otherwise, I would have the sponge first in the direction of water flow, then the ceramic rings and plastic bio media in whichever order you want, then floss of some sort last in the direction of water flow. You don't need carbon or zeolite. Just more biological media in the place where the manual says to put those.

It’s an allpondsollutions 1000ef. So I’ll put, in order of the water flow, sponge at the bottom, ceramic rings in middle, plastic media in top and poly pad last. Does this sound ok?

 

[Essjay]

That sounds good

 

[AmyKieran]

That sounds good

Awesome thankyou for your help

 

[Colin_T]

I’ve heard lots of good things about zeolite being better than carbon and lasts longer. Would you reccomend I use carbon instead?

Ammogon/ Zeolite removes ammonia from freshwater and can be recharged in saltwater.

Carbon comes in 3 main grades (carbon, activated carbon, highly activated carbon) and removes chemicals (fish medication, plant fertiliser, fumes from smoke, paint, etc) and some heavy metals from water. Highly activated carbon is better than activated carbon, which is better than plain carbon.

You don't need Zeolite in an aquarium filter. As @Essjay mentioned, it stops the beneficial filter bacteria from developing.

You don't need carbon in a filter unless you are trying to remove chemicals. If you need to remove medication form a tank, the best thing to do is a big (75%) water change and gravel clean every day for a week. That will remove medications quickly and provide the fish with a clean environment to recover in.

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My power filters simply had sponges in. I did not use ceramic beads, noodles or filter floss. You can buy different grades of filter sponge for some filters and they range from course through to fine. You can use all the same type or vary them and have a course, then medium then fine sponge on top. It doesn't really matter.

 

[AmyKieran]

Ammogon/ Zeolite removes ammonia from freshwater and can be recharged in saltwater.

Carbon comes in 3 main grades (carbon, activated carbon, highly activated carbon) and removes chemicals (fish medication, plant fertiliser, fumes from smoke, paint, etc) and some heavy metals from water. Highly activated carbon is better than activated carbon, which is better than plain carbon.

You don't need Zeolite in an aquarium filter. As @Essjay mentioned, it stops the beneficial filter bacteria from developing.

You don't need carbon in a filter unless you are trying to remove chemicals. If you need to remove medication form a tank, the best thing to do is a big (75%) water change and gravel clean every day for a week. That will remove medications quickly and provide the fish with a clean environment to recover in.

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My power filters simply had sponges in. I did not use ceramic beads, noodles or filter floss. You can buy different grades of filter sponge for some filters and they range from course through to fine. You can use all the same type or vary them and have a course, then medium then fine sponge on top. It doesn't really matter.

I actually managed to cancel my order of zeolite and i am simply going to use (when they all arrive) ceramic rings, plastic bio filtration, sponge and poly pad. Not in that order of course lol

 

[AmyKieran]

Hi there, after following advice and waiting for my filter floss to come, I’ve noticed my water is crystal clear. I have the poly pads there on my table, if this is the case should I still use poly pad and why?

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I would always use the floss in filters since they can catch everything that the rest of the media misses...such as the minute particles that can give a cloudy appearance to the water. They are often described as polishing the water, and they do exactly that. They give the water a final stage clean before the water returns to the aquarium.

Sponges and other media are far too coarse to catch the tiny stuff on their own...floss deals with that and floss should be replaced every 7-10 days as part of your weekly maintenance

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I know you mentioned the filter being difficult to access, you would be advised to shift it into a more accessible place. Not just for your maintenance but incase anything went wrong such as it springing a leak or an impeller issue.

When I had externals, I placed them in a mop bucket so that if they pee's on the floor it would be contained for a time but it also helped on the maintenance too. Once the hose unit was unclipped, I left the hose unit dangling in the mop bucket whilst doing maintenance of the filter in the kitchen.

But an external filter should really be fully accessible cos they are not 100% reliable or leakproof and they do need regular maintenance like the weekly floss changes.

 

[AmyKieran]

I know you mentioned the filter being difficult to access, you would be advised to shift it into a more accessible place. Not just for your maintenance but incase anything went wrong such as it springing a leak or an impeller issue.

When I had externals, I placed them in a mop bucket so that if they pee's on the floor it would be contained for a time but it also helped on the maintenance too. Once the hose unit was unclipped, I left the hose unit dangling in the mop bucket whilst doing maintenance of the filter in the kitchen.

But an external filter should really be fully accessible cos they are not 100% reliable or leakproof and they do need regular maintenance like the weekly floss changes.

They are accessible I think I was being a bit potantic, they are in the cabinet of my trigon. Just to go to them I need to take the shelves out. Still only takes 5 minutes

 

[Essjay]

should I still use poly pad

Polypads are usually filter wool cut to shape by the manufacturer and at a high price. It is a lot cheaper to use either the loose stuff wasmewasntit recommended or a length from a roll of filter wool and cut it to shape yourself using a manufacturer's pad as a template. They do the same job as the manufacturer's polypads.

 

[AmyKieran]

Polypads are usually filter wool cut to shape by the manufacturer and at a high price. It is a lot cheaper to use either the loose stuff wasmewasntit recommended or a length from a roll of filter wool and cut it to shape yourself using a manufacturer's pad as a template. They do the same job as the manufacturer's polypads.

Yeah I’ve actually ordered a roll of 3m filterwool for £6, whereas five pieces of cut filter wool for my 1000ef was £6.99

 

[AmyKieran]

Filter floss fitted and media changed around thanks guys! I’ll update in a few days with my water quality

 

[AmyKieran]

I’ve just had an awful thought, I’ve actually put my filter media in the wrong way around, so it goes, in the direction of water flow ,

Filter floss
Plastic biological media (looks like an O with a + inside)
Ceramic rings
Sponge

Is this going to matter until I change it around in 2 weeks or do I need to change it today?