Whisper 10i Filter Questions

[drewhosick]

So I am new to the hobby and I've probably screwed up a few times so far but the fish are still living.

I have 3 plattys in a 10g tank for 2 weeks now

Anyways, it's been cloudy and I've had a few issues with water leaking over the back of the filter if I've put the cover on the filter a few minutes to make water changes. Long story short though I noticed that the water was coming overtop the biobag instead of through it. It's like the filter can't handle the flow. I took the biobag out and without knowing I shouldn't do this, I cleaned it under tap water because I thought it was cause it was so dirty that it was causing the issue of flowing over.

now if I pull the bag out about an 1/8 of an inch it seems to not flow over but I'm guessing some water is flowing under the biobag so it's still not getting clean. Is this common or is it a big deal if some water flows over the bag and so forth?

Also is it true you're not suppose to change the filter bag once a month because Tetra's site says they should be replaced once a month.

 

[Fresh2o]

This is an uncycled tank (read up on cycling) and the cloudiness is most likely a bacterial bloom which is not unheard of in a new tank. The tank will become cycled over time. The beneficial bacteria that help convert wastes to less toxic forms can be found throughout the tank but are concentrated in the filter cartridge. Next time you do a water change, take the cartridge and swish it in the water that was removed. This will help preserve the bacteria.
I would make sure that water changes (30-50%) are carried out each week.
The bio bag is probably clogging because of too much waste. This may be a sign of over feeding.


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[drewhosick]

Have I messed something up permanently or can I just let it go on as if I didn't mess up?

 

[Fresh2o]

Have I messed something up permanently or can I just let it go on as if I didn't mess up?

Nah, it's not permanent. Just keep up with the water changes. Feed less. Rinse the cartridge in old tank water.


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[drewhosick]

Here's a link to a video I posted to show what I'm running into. Also at the end you can see the buildup on the log. Maybe that will help with explaining what type of cloudiness I'm getting but the beginning shows what's happening to the filter. Let me know if you can give me more details as to what you think might be the problem.

 

[drewhosick]

Oops, video was set to private. It's fixed now.

 

[Fresh2o]

Edit: bad auto correct! "awful" should read "self" ?

Video was pretty awful explanatory. The cloudiness is a bacterial bloom which can happen in a new tank. The filamentous buildup might be some type of bacteria or could be fungal and it appears to be prematurely clogging up the filter. Since you are early into this, you could try one of the following. First you would do a big water change (50-75%) and:
1. A new cartridge. From a cycling standpoint you would be starting from scratch.
2. Really rinse and shake out the existing cartridge in old water to unclog it.
In either case, doing 50% weekly water changes will help. You could break it up into 2x weekly 25% WCs. Hopefully this will dilute whatever is fueling the not so beneficial bacterial growth.
If you have not already, a decent test kit (API FW master) will help guide you through the cycling process. Good luck with this.


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