Discouraged.

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lauriezuki

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 4, 2018
Messages
39
Location
N. Illinois, USA
It seems we can't keep the water clear in our 3 tanks. All the maintenance we do to them, partial water changes, cleaning the glass (but leaving the back walls cruddy for the bacteria content) , skimming the gravel,etc. and the water continues to get cloudy.
**When cleaning the filters some say to rinse them into the tank water. Isn't that just putting the crud back into the tank to go back into the filter again ?**

The fish seem healthy and happy,and constantly hungry, but the tanks look like crap. :nono:
Getting discouraged and disgusted.:banghead:
 
You rinse the sponges in the old tank water you have taken OUT of the tank aa opposed to *tap* water which will kill the Beneficial Bacteria. It is my understanding that the majority of the BB is in your filter media(sponges ceramic etc) gravel and to a certain extent on plants & ornaments.*I* do not understand WHY you are keeping the back wall cruddy unless this is a shrimp tank and you are leaving it algae covered for them. How long have the tanks been set up as it sounds like you are getting blooms from constantly restarting your cycle
 
Earthmother, Thank you for your response. AND for clearing up my confusion on the rinsing of the filters. I think you are right about the constant re-cycling.
That's exactly what it looks like to us. We just couldn't figure out WHY . The back wall was left cruddy to feed the plecostamus catfish and the otocinclus (not a good idea ?)
 
Do you have plants or surfaces where biofilm could be growing besides the back wall?
How big are the tanks?
How many Otos?
What kind of Pleco?
I have absolutely no luck with Otos but I do know they need an established tank to survive and prefer to be in a herd (3 minimum I think) so the back wall may not be such a bad idea if there are no other surfaces for biofilm to grow on. Plecos are an entirely different matter. Some are wood eaters, my BNs are bio film shrimp food eaters and common ones are good for nothing except as a large producer of waste. Don't get me wrong, I loved my spotted sailfins when I got them at 3" but the constant rehoming as they grew and grew and grew, was a pain the rump and if I knew then what I know now I would left them at the store. If you have large tanks(my last remaining one is going to have to move out soon to a minimum 180g)that they can grow into by all means have some but otherwise ..
 
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Do you have plants or surfaces where biofilm could be growing besides the back wall?
How big are the tanks?
How many Otos?
What kind of Pleco?
I have absolutely no luck with Otos but I do know they need an established tank to survive and prefer to be in a herd (3 minimum I think) so the back wall may not be such a bad idea if there are no other surfaces for biofilm to grow on. Plecos are an entirely different matter. Some are wood eaters, my BNs are bio film shrimp food eaters and common ones are good for nothing except as a large producer of waste. Don't get me wrong, I loved my spotted sailfins when I got them at 3" but the constant rehoming as they grew and grew and grew, was a pain in the a** and if I knew then what I know now I would left them at the store. If you have large tanks(my last remaining one is going to have to move out soon to a minimum 180g)that they can grow into by all means have some but otherwise ..
We have a
38 gal bowfront with two hob filters (Aquaclear110, TetraWhisper20)
20 gal with two hob filters (PenguinBiowheel200, Aquatech5-15)
29 gal with two hob filters (Aquaclear110, PenguinBioWheel200)
gravel base in all.
(There is a mix of live plants (few) and plastic plants in all. Bought 10 bunches of staurogyne repens, and the fish have eaten all the leaves and left bare stems.) Have a few other live plants, a couple in each tank.
6 otos..2 per tank..little guys. Just got them about a week ago. ALSO bought 3 plecostomus a couple days before that. Actually it's a week ago yesterday for those, and all 3 died..One two days ago, another last night, and the final one today..? We have a 5" pleco (don't know the variety) that came with the original 5 gal.tank that got us 'addicted' to this hobby.He wasn't that large at the time. He is doing fine. Hides all the time,and sucks on the glass... but at least he didn't die us. (He is in the 38 gal.)

I KNOW we are very overpopulated in all tanks. It's ALL the guppies FAULT. I don't have the heart to flush them, and they keep making babies. We gave away about 30 of them, but have only had one 'taker' to our offer so far. We still need to get rid of at least 100...Any suggestions where to 'donate' them? We have no independent LFS, only the chain stores, and they won't take them. We ASKED. LOL. Thanks for your help....Laurie
P.S. Bought the otos last Thursday, and so far all 6 are OK.
P.P.S. We are kind of attached to our pleco. Thanks again for responding. L.
 
The misunderstanding about the rinsing the media is a understandable bit of confusion about the tank cloudiness.

Thank goodness you mentioned that and earhtmother caught it!

I bet things will clear up now.
 
If Guppys & Ottos are all that is in the tank(s) you're really not that overpopulated esp with a dual HOB on all tanks even if all your gups are juvie/sub adults.
Www.aqadvisor.com is a good site to give you a basic guideline for stocking.
My gups tend to very good at population control unless I *rescue* the fry when I see them so I wish mine were more like yours. I understand becoming attached to a fish - I did with all my plecos which is how I went from a couple of 20g tanks to 65g tanks. As long as you understand the commitment you've made I have no issue with keeping a pleco.
 
Earhtmother, The ottos are new, which is why I mentioned them.There are other fish in the 38 gal tank too. 4 black skirt tetras, 2 danios, one sunrise tetra,and 2 albino corys. And lots and lots of guppies. plus the big plecostomus (named Pete)
(If you'd like some guppies, we have plenty to donate.)
 
If I was closer I'd take them but I'm up in Northern Ontario so a little far
 
Earhtmother, The ottos are new, which is why I mentioned them.There are other fish in the 38 gal tank too. 4 black skirt tetras, 2 danios, one sunrise tetra,and 2 albino corys. And lots and lots of guppies. plus the big plecostomus (named Pete)
(If you'd like some guppies, we have plenty to donate.)

Try posting a raok deal on this site. Make them pay just shipping and I'm sure someone will take a ton of them off your hands. You can also try listing them on craigslist or Facebook market.
 
Hello, would it be possible to separate guppies by sex. That will slow down spawning(some may retain & have fry later). A common pleco will reach 15" in tank(24"in wild). Min tank is 75gal(some sites say 55gal).
Have you tried petco? The one in my town will take in unwanted fish & addopt them out(monies go to pet based charity's). Hope this helps you!Screenshot_2019-02-25-09-31-50.jpeg
 
PS, i noticed that you had issues with rinsing the filter in the aquarium water.
I fill up a pot with aquarium water when I do a water change. Then rinse out the filter sponge in that, before putting it back into the filter.
This doesn't rinse out the bacteria since it's in "dirty" water, but gets rid of most of the crud.
 
I feel you...my tank gets cloudy every time I do even a partial water change and nobody can figure out why
 
PS, i noticed that you had issues with rinsing the filter in the aquarium water.
I fill up a pot with aquarium water when I do a water change. Then rinse out the filter sponge in that, before putting it back into the filter.
This doesn't rinse out the bacteria since it's in "dirty" water, but gets rid of most of the crud.
Bacteria is not free floating in the water column. Tank water rinsing is mainly to keep people from accidentally killing thier BB with chlorinated tap water. If you dechlorinated your tap water in a bucket or pot, then cleaned your filter media in it then it would be fine.
 
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Bacteria is not free floating in the water column. Tank water rinsing is mainly to keep people from accidentally killing thier BB with chlorinated tap water. If you dechlorinated your tap water in a bucket or pot, then cleaned your filter media in it then it would be fine.

Understood. I was suggesting using the water removed during the change, for the same reason. it's the water that won't change the biological makeup of the ecosystem. Dechlorinating tap water would do the same.
 
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