Tips for clear water ?

[Pau1parker]

youcant really tell from the pic but my waters always cloudy even when i had my old tank anyone have any tips to keep it clear ?


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[Caliban07]

How do you clean the filters/decor?


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[Pau1parker]

After i fill a bucket with the syphon i wash the decor in the bucket with the water that comes out the tank , and i replace the filter media with filter floss


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[Caliban07]

i replace the filter media with filter floss


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What do you mean by this bit?


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[Pau1parker]

When i clean the filter i replace the filter floss with new floss


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[Caliban07]

When i clean the filter i replace the filter floss with new floss


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And how do you clean the sponge? The same as the ornaments?


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[Pau1parker]

Sorry thats what i was trying to say i got rid of the sponge and use filter wool instead of the sponge , its supposed to help keep the water cleaner , every time i do a water change i just replace the wool for new stuff


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[BBradbury]

Cloudy Tank Water

View attachment 260372 youcant really tell from the pic but my waters always cloudy even when i had my old tank anyone have any tips to keep it clear ?


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Hello Paul...

Answer: Two things. Large, weekly water changes and cut to fit poly fiber from Acurel. I prefer the thicker, ammonia padding.

That's it.

B

 

[gimmethatfish]

Wait. If you're replacing your filter floss every time you do a water change, you're causing your tank to re-cycle every week. You're having a constant bacterial bloom because you're removing all the nitrifying bacteria each time you replace the filter floss.

 

[ScotJudd]

Ditto to the above.
Ideally the water in your filter should run through course filter media (ceramic tubes or bio balls), then course sponge, then fine sponge and finally a layer of floss. The course media is only rinsed in a bucket of tank water, the sponged squeezed out in same bucket until free of grunge (but not too clean) and the floss replaced if clogged.
The floss in my filter is probably only one tenth of the canister volume. Cleaning the filter in this way retains the bacteria integrity, avoids mini-cycles and, as you have experienced, bacterial blooms.
Hope that's of some help.


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[BBradbury]

Clearing the Tank Water

Hello Guys...

The cut to fit filter medium isn't changed weekly only half the tank water. The media can be removed and squeezed out in some of the old water and put back into the filter equipment. The ammonia poly fiber product is very dense and can be reused many times. However, you could conceivably replace the filter media weekly. There's plenty of beneficial bacteria growing on all surfaces inside the tank, so the tank wouldn't go through the nitrogen cycle again.

The bacteria removed by removing the filter media would reproduce to it former level in a few hours. I've removed all the filter media many times when it comes close to falling apart and just squeezed the contents of the old media into the replacement media and then it goes into the filter.

B

 

[Caliban07]

Ditto to the above.
Ideally the water in your filter should run through course filter media (ceramic tubes or bio balls), then course sponge, then fine sponge and finally a layer of floss. The course media is only rinsed in a bucket of tank water, the sponged squeezed out in same bucket until free of grunge (but not too clean) and the floss replaced if clogged.
The floss in my filter is probably only one tenth of the canister volume. Cleaning the filter in this way retains the bacteria integrity, avoids mini-cycles and, as you have experienced, bacterial blooms.
Hope that's of some help.


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There's your answer right there bud. Your forcing a fresh cycle every time you throw away the sponge. If you want to keep the water free of bacterial blooms (cloudy water) then stick a sponge in and leave it. If you want to keep the water column free of suspended solids then use floss as well. I replace my floss every 1-2 months but never the sponge which should be cleaned in the same way as your decor.

Problem solved


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[Caliban07]

There's plenty of beneficial bacteria growing on all surfaces inside the tank, so the tank wouldn't go through the nitrogen cycle again.

B

Hello B

Whilst this may be true in an established tank it is not completely accurate in a new tank that has never been allowed to cycle.

When a large quantity of 'newly available' surface area is presented in a tank. Free floating heterotrophic bacteria are formed until the new surface area has been repopulated. If this surface area is constantly presented in a young tank the subsequent bloom and cloudiness will reoccur and continue to occur once the surface area has been populated as seen in this example.


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[Caliban07]

Edit once = until


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