Particles in the water that aren't being filtered out

[ClaytonB543]

So yesterday I posted here about microbubbles causing a problem in my tank. Thanks to one knowledgeable person, I was able to fix that problem - or so I thought that microbubbles were the problem.

So I thought that water was coming out of my HOB filter and causing the bubbles, turns out, I think these are not bubbles but particles that are floating around the top half of my aquarium and either A) aren't dense enough to be sucked down into the filter to be filtered out or B) they are not being caught by the filter and are just passing through and being deposited into the tank.

I tried my best to get some pictures that could help show what I'm talking about so you guys can help me clear up my water. From a distance it's clear, but up close, you can certainly see stuff.

I'm new at this and this is my first tank so please pardon my ignorance.

 

[Fish_lord]

Do you have fish in the tank?

If so you could be over feeding


20 gallon fancy goldfish tank
150 gallon koi tank
60 gallon cichlid tank
2 gallon neon tetra tank
50 gallon yellow belly slider tank
29 gallon puffer tank
20 gallon community tank

 

[candymancan]

I only get that when my filters are clogged and need cleaning, and when I put in too much flake food.. I use water polishing pads in my canister and internal on my 92g it takes care of the particle issue, unless like I said they are clogged and need replacing.


I would just go to petsmart and buy some of those fluval polishing pads the boxes come in 3 or 6. Those are cheap and work best for me

 

[biondoa]

It is very possible that you are seeing micro bubbles coming out of your HOB filter. I have seen that too. If the surface of your water looks dusty, then adding some current to the water can help. You can do this with either a power head or an airstone . Once the water is moving around a bit more, much more of it will go through the filter and improve the appearance of the water.

 

[ClaytonB543]

Thank you to you all for your feedback. I do have 5 fish. 2 green Lantern platy and 3 long fin leopard danios.

I'll wash out my filter and see if there is a problem with that.

I do have an air stone but the problem is still there whether or not it's on

 

[candymancan]

Are you using the water polishing pads ? Filter floss doesn't do anything to fine particles it just traps bigger matter.. You need polishing pads to remove particles from the water.


These are the pads I use in all my filters.. They are cheap in petsmart.. you can get a pack of 6 for $5, I cram them inside my canister filter, and in my internal filters and hang on back filters.. I put them after the filter floss, this way the filter floss gets the bigger material in the water and the finer stuff that gets passed it gets filtered by the polishing pads



http://www.petsmart.com/fish/filter-media/fluval-water-polishing-pad-zid36-17084/cat-36-catid-300089

http://www.bigalspets.com/water-pol...son+Shopping&gclid=CM3q49-1l8YCFY0XHwodfaQAwQ

 

[ClaytonB543]

Are you using the water polishing pads ? Filter floss doesn't do anything to fine particles it just traps bigger matter.. You need polishing pads to remove particles from the water.


These are the pads I use in all my filters.. They are cheap in petsmart.. you can get a pack of 6 for $5, I cram them inside my canister filter, and in my internal filters and hang on back filters.. I put them after the filter floss, this way the filter floss gets the bigger material in the water and the finer stuff that gets passed it gets filtered by the polishing pads



Fluval® Water Polishing Pad | Filter Media | PetSmart

Fluval Water Polishing Pads for 104/204/105/205/106/206 - 3 pk

I do have a filter pad (if I understand correctly) that is in my filter. It's white and came with the filter. I will look into the polishing pads, thanks!

I have the aqueon 10 HOB filter, the fluval polishing pads say they are designed for a fluval filter, do I just stuff the pad into my filter and make it fit?

 

[candymancan]

I do have a filter pad (if I understand correctly) that is in my filter. It's white and came with the filter. I will look into the polishing pads, thanks!

I have the aqueon 10 HOB filter, the fluval polishing pads say they are designed for a fluval filter, do I just stuff the pad into my filter and make it fit?

Yes you can cut them, or peal them in half to make em thinner.. I just stuff them in my canister filter, and in my other filters..

This is what I would do if I were you.. Go to petsmart.. Get yourself a top fin 10 or 20 or even the 40 filter sponge.. Its a green spong filter replacement for the top fin internal 10-20-40 filters..

Then put that sponge filter over your tube intake on your hang on back filter.. Remove the floss filter cartridge inside your hang on back and replace it with the polishing filter pad.. This way you have room for the polishing pad.. The sponge filter on the intake tube in the tank will act as your mechanical filter for large debris and the polishing pad will pick up the particles that get passed the spong..

This is what I do to my hang on backs.. OH and to tie the spong around the filter intake tube.. just use some zip ties, or even those bread bag twister things.

Here isa pic of what im talking about do you see the sponge on the filter intake on the right hand side of the tank ? That is a top fin internal 40 sponge filter.. This way I don't need the floss filter inside the actual hang on back and this way I have room to stuff the polishing pads in there.


I have an Aqueon 10 filter as well, so get yourself the Top fin internal 10 sponge filter replacement and remove the white pad with the carbon inside of it, and replace it with the polishing pad instead. Also what size tank is this ?


I also would remove that trickle cage thing in the very front of the aqueon filter which lowers water flow.. that way you can blow around those particles more for the filter to suck up

 

[ClaytonB543]

Yes you can cut them, or peal them in half to make em thinner.. I just stuff them in my canister filter, and in my other filters..

This is what I would do if I were you.. Go to petsmart.. Get yourself a top fin 10 or 20 or even the 40 filter sponge.. Its a green spong filter replacement for the top fin internal 10-20-40 filters..

Then put that sponge filter over your tube intake on your hang on back filter.. Remove the floss filter cartridge inside your hang on back and replace it with the polishing filter pad.. This way you have room for the polishing pad.. The sponge filter on the intake tube in the tank will act as your mechanical filter for large debris and the polishing pad will pick up the particles that get passed the spong..

This is what I do to my hang on backs.. OH and to tie the spong around the filter intake tube.. just use some zip ties, or even those bread bag twister things.

Here isa pic of what im talking about do you see the sponge on the filter intake on the right hand side of the tank ? That is a top fin internal 40 sponge filter.. This way I don't need the floss filter inside the actual hang on back and this way I have room to stuff the polishing pads in there.


I have an Aqueon 10 filter as well, so get yourself the Top fin internal 10 sponge filter replacement and remove the white pad with the carbon inside of it, and replace it with the polishing pad instead. Also what size tank is this ?


I also would remove that cage thing the aqueon filter has which lowers water flow.. that way you can blow around those particles more for the filter to suck up

Awesome! That's makes so much sense. My tank is 10 gallons and I have an air pump and air stone which causes some jostling of the water. Thank you for all of your help. I'm sure this will certainly solve my problem.

 

[candymancan]

Awesome! That's makes so much sense. Thank you for all of your help. I'm sure this will certainly solve my problem.

Also what size tank is this Aqueon 10 filter on ? You might not have enough filtration power either. You should have at least 2-5x the filtration capacity for a fish tank


Also you could get a 2nd filter to help with water flow... Those top fin internal filters are really nice.. I replaced a large portion of my filters for them.. I have 3 top fin internal 40's. 2 10's and one 20 in my tanks.. They are very powerfull, and I love the spray bar it helps moves water around better then any hang on back filter would

 

[ClaytonB543]

Also what size tank is this Aqueon 10 filter on ? You might not have enough filtration power either. You should have at least 2-5x the filtration capacity for a fish tank


Also you could get a 2nd filter to help with water flow... Those top fin internal filters are really nice.. I replaced a large portion of my filters for them.. I have 3 top fin internal 40's. 2 10's and one 20 in my tanks.. They are very powerfull, and I love the spray bar it helps moves water around better then any hang on back filter would

I have a 10 gallon tank. I like the HOB filters bc they take up much less room in the tank. This is a kit tank from petsmart and it came with an internal power filter, but I had the keep the water level low so that the water could flow out properly. My ammonia ended up getting too high and there wasn't enough oxygen in the water and I lost 3 fish. When I switched to this aqueoun 10 and got the air stone, it pumped more oxygen in the water. It also allowed me to fill the tank to a proper level to allow for my 5 fish. The fish are thriving and are happy, but the water isn't as clear as I have seen in pictures that people post.

 

[candymancan]

I have a 10 gallon tank. I like the HOB filters bc they take up much less room in the tank. This is a kit tank from petsmart and it came with an internal power filter, but I had the keep the water level low so that the water could flow out properly. My ammonia ended up getting too high and there wasn't enough oxygen in the water and I lost 3 fish. When I switched to this aqueoun 10 and got the air stone, it pumped more oxygen in the water. It also allowed me to fill the tank to a proper level to allow for my 5 fish. The fish are thriving and are happy, but the water isn't as clear as I have seen in pictures that people post.

Lemme guess you have the 10g bowfront right ? I have the 10g bowfront and the kit it came with sucked, the internal filter was a tetra filter that was ment for turtles I went back to the store and they exchanged that filter for one similarly priced for me and I picked the internal 20 from top fin instead. I understand the taking up room though, the internal you had sucked I kno which one your talking about. That 10g filter you have is barely adequate for your 10g tank, I use one on a 5.5g tank and its enough for that, but I wouldn't use one in a 10g. It doesn't have enough water flow.


Try what I said first vs getting new filters.. Get the sponge filter the top fin 10 internal from petsmart, get a 3 pack box of the fluval polishing pads for $3 and take out that mesh fitting in front of your filter.. that trickle thing.. it lowers water flow big time and you want more flow to blow those particles around more for the filter to suck up. How far down in the filter intake tube in your tank ? Its be st to keep it in the middle or higher

 

[ClaytonB543]

Lemme guess you have the 10g bowfront right ? I have the 10g bowfront and the kit it came with sucked, the internal filter was a tetra filter that was ment for turtles I went back to the store and they exchanged that filter for one similarly priced for me and I picked the internal 10 from top fin instead. I understand the taking up room though, the internal you had sucked I kno which one your talking about. That 10g filter you have is barely adequate for your 10g tank, I use one on a 5.5g tank and its enough for that, but I wouldn't use one in a 10g. It doesn't have enough water flow.

Lol so my 10 gal filter isn't strong enough to filter 10 gal? Should I invest in a stronger filter? Let's say 20 gal?

 

[candymancan]

Lol so my 10 gal filter isn't strong enough to filter 10 gal? Should I invest in a stronger filter? Let's say 20 gal?

The 10g rating is max, its enough but barely.. You should always have a stronger then rated filter in your tanks.. For example, my canister in my 92g is good for tanks up to 160 gallons, but if I put that in a 160g tank.. it would deff not be enough I would have two of them at least on a 160g tank.. So being on my 92g its already 2x the capacity for my tank, but I also have an internal 40 on my tank, so my tank is 2 1/2x the filtration capacity for my tank..

My other tanks are similar, I have at least 2-3x the filtration per galllons on my tanks. So yes I would get a 20g filter at least for a 10g tank and 10g filter for a 5g tank, and a 40g filter for a 20g tank, and a 75g for a 40g tank, and a 75-90g for a 55g tank, and so forth.


Also it goes by Gallons per hour.. just an FYI.. just try the polishing pads and sponge and remove that water restriction.. You know the little thing im talking about right ?

 

[ClaytonB543]

The 10g rating is max, its enough but barely.. You should always have a stronger then rated filter in your tanks.. For example, my canister in my 92g is good for tanks up to 160 gallons, but if I put that in a 160g tank.. it would deff not be enough I would have two of them at least on a 160g tank.. So being on my 92g its already 2x the capacity for my tank, but I also have an internal 40 on my tank, so my tank is 2 1/2x the filtration capacity for my tank..

My other tanks are similar, I have at least 2-3x the filtration per galllons on my tanks. So yes I would get a 20g filter at least for a 10g tank and 10g filter for a 5g tank, and a 40g filter for a 20g tank, and a 75g for a 40g tank, and a 75-90g for a 55g tank, and so forth.


Also it goes by Gallons per hour.. just an FYI.. just try the polishing pads and sponge and remove that water restriction.. You know the little thing im talking about right ?

Yeah, I think so, it's the little cage thing at the bottom of the tube that goes into the water. I'll do the sponge thing and the polishing pads and that should help. If that doesn't seem to do it, then I'll go for the stronger 20gal filte. Right?

 

[candymancan]

Yeah, I think so, it's the little cage thing at the bottom of the tube that goes into the water. I'll do the sponge thing and the polishing pads and that should help. If that doesn't seem to do it, then I'll go for the stronger 20gal filte. Right?

No not the intake tube cage, the filter has a blue like cage thing, you know inside the filter the white pad is on a blue bracket ? Not that one but the small one in front that you can pull out.. it restricts water flow..

 

[ClaytonB543]

No not the intake tube cage, the filter has a blue like cage thing, you know inside the filter the white pad is on a blue bracket ? Not that one but the small one in front that you can pull out.. it restricts water flow..

Oh gotcha, yeah I know which one you mean. OK I'll remove that one.

 

[katiekelsey]

I had the same problem. I thought the tiny pieces were bubbles until I looked really close.
Today I put a polishing pad in my HOB filer and what a difference in only a few hours!
The water is crystal clear.