Duane911
Members
Ph, good. Nitrate good. Established tank. Replaced one of the filter pads 4 days ago. Running two penguin 350's in a 55 gal. I even have small media bags in one of them with ammo carb. What's wrong ?
mscichlid
Founder
Need more details
Is this an established tank with fish?
How many fish?
How often do you feed the fish?
How much do you feed the fish?
What kind of substrate?
Is the tank lighted (lit)?
How long do you keep the lights on for?
How often do you change the water?
How much water do change each time?
Is this an established tank with fish?
How many fish?
How often do you feed the fish?
How much do you feed the fish?
What kind of substrate?
Is the tank lighted (lit)?
How long do you keep the lights on for?
How often do you change the water?
How much water do change each time?
Lively
Members
Might be nice to know what the water looks like - is it milky/cloudy or greenish?
Duane911
Members
My water has a light milky tint, has been up and running for three months and is populated. I have Florida crushed coral, do 15% changes weekly, don't remember the lights but they are meant to brighten the fishes color. I feed them twice a day and they eat it all in less than 3 min.
Matt
Members
Duane, did you try the clearing agent with the 100 micron pads in the filters?
lonlangione
Members
How often have you cleaned the filters in three months?
Lonny
Lonny
Duane911
Members
I haven't tryed the micron pads yet. Does M.land. Make them for the p350 ? I change out filter pads every 4 weeks
Jumbie
Members
Do you change the filter media a few days before or after a water change or is it on the same day.
Duane911
Members
I haven't changed out the little media bags I put in yet. They are only a week old. I put them in there to help solve the " milky " problem. And when I say milky I mean it's very light, not heavy clouding. But it's not crystal clear. I'm in talks with a woman on clist for a filstar fx3 for $80.00. I figure I'd use that as a polisher ???
Lively
Members
Has it always been like that? Does it get better then worse? I'm leaning towards the crushed coral causing it if it's always been like that - sand will do that for months. If not, maybe bacterial bloom?
Duane911
Members
I don't know. I just added the crushed coral but it wasn't crystal clear before that. I just sealed the deal for that fx3 so maybe that'll improve things.
lonlangione
Members
I believe you are cleaning your filters to often among other things. You certainly have enough filtration on ths tank. Here is what I would suggest and things to look for. I have wriiten about this next subject many times on the forum. The intake strainers for your filter's should be at the gravel level. If they are half way down the tank, I would suggest getting extensions for them and get them to the gravel level. In your first post you state that the nitrate looks good. It should on a new tank. Nitrates take awhile to accumulate. What do your nitrites and ammonia levels look like? These are going to be the tell tale signs in a new tank. When you change the filter cartridges are they dark brown or black in color? If so they are normal, this is fish crap on the cartridges. Or are they reddish in color and caked up on the outside? Does the cartridge look like is it covered in snot, sorry it is the best way to discribe this. If the answer to the last two questions are yes it is reddish and caked up and it looks like snot.... Your are feeding not only your fish but the filters as well. This is a classic indictaion that uneaten food is getting into the filter and it is the cause of cloudy water. That is why the intake need to be at the gravel level. Hopefully the food will be eaten before it gets to the bottom. I would change one filter a month and then the other filter the next month. NEVER clean them at the same time. When you feed your fish are you feeding flakes or pellets? If you are feeding flakes, do you crush them up before putting them in the tank? If you do - don't. Put them in whole and let them float. Same goes with pellets. Are the pellets sinking or floating? I don't use any sinking pellets at all. Crushed food sinks quickly and goes, yep right into the fliter. Do you feed frozen food? If you do, do you thaw it out and "lightly" rinse it in a fine mesh net first? If not I would recommend doing so. Never take frozen food and drop it into a tank. Always strain and rinse it first. In closing, I hope this helps. I have two over the back filters on two tanks and I have not cleaned them since Christmas. When I do clean them it is on the off week for water changes. The water flow out of the filter is good and with doing 50% water changes every two weeks, the filter media's life is extended. The tanks are crystal clear. Good luck and I hope someone here hits the nail on the head for you.
Lonny
Lonny
Matt
Members
marineland does not they are bought in bulk most of the time and you just cut what you need, I think coralife has a version (50 and 100 micron). Have you checked your phosphate level?
Duane911
Members
Xp3.... My bad
fischfan13
Banned
Did you rinse the crushed coral thoroughly before you put it into the tank?
