Product for Keeping Water Clear?

[Twoapennything]

Hey AAers - is there a product that is good for keeping tank water crystal clear> I use Prime as my water conditioner, but am having a bit of cloudiness despite PWCs every 1-2 days (I'm having to cycle a 10 gal. tank WITH fish due to my black velvet molly having what I think/thought was Ich; I'm doing a fishless cycle on my 40 gal.)

OTOH, the crappy Tetra Fin filter in the 10 gal. isn't working very well - hardly any water is coming through, but I'm not about to change out the filter because of the cycling. I think I'm going to get a new filter today, and pack the old bacteria-filled filter into the new filter's filter (can I use the word filter enough times?). My readings in the 10 gal. tank today are: Ammonia .145 (just the slightest hint of greenish-yellow), NitrIte 1.0, and NitrAte 10. I've already done a PWC and added 2 drops of pH Down to try and boost the cycle.

I've also had an algae bloom - I don't know if this is significant or not. It's not a massive bloom, but it's definitely there and it came on suddenly. I have a product called Algae Fix (Top Fin), which I don't know whether I should use or not.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[DragonFish71]

While cycling or treating for illness I don't recommend using anything other than the medication or water dechlor with water changes. IMHO all the other stuff is useless and can create more problems. In some cases it can kill off the good bacteria, as can medications. When medicating, I use at half dose for extended times. Less stress on the fish, plants, inverts and bacteria.

For the filter issue, try taking the intake tube out and cleaning the impeller, also clean where it fits back into the filter. I use brushes like the ones I posted. They can get gunked up.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

I just changed over and am in the process of changing all my filters over to non chemical, but i had a lot of success clearing my water to crazy clearness with seachem purigen. Its pretty expensive and is kind of a science experiment IMO but it worked.

 

[Lowryder]

IMO it is better to fix the problem rather than treat the symptoms. Find out what is causing your cloudy water and fix it, you will be better off in the long run.

 

[Twoapennything]

When medicating, I use at half dose for extended times. Less stress on the fish, plants, inverts and bacteria.

I will try this starting tonight - thanks for the suggestion.

For the filter issue, try taking the intake tube out and cleaning the impeller, also clean where it fits back into the filter. I use brushes like the ones I posted. They can get gunked up.

I figured it was something like that. I'll pick up some brushes and clean out the filter and intake tube. I did get a new filter today, but I like to have a working back up filter, just in case something happens (like it stops working because it's all gunked up!)

 

[Twoapennything]

IMO it is better to fix the problem rather than treat the symptoms. Find out what is causing your cloudy water and fix it, you will be better off in the long run.

Very sound advice - thanks for reminding me of this I think when something suddenly changes with my tank(s), I have a mini freak-out and feel like I need to do something immediately to solve the problem. But, like you said, it's just band-aids.

 

[Dbmatt]

I have a 30 gallon tank that had a 30 gallon HOB Whisper filter. It only had clear water for a few days after changing out the filter pack and I could never quite get rid of the algae. I recently acquired a Fluval 205 canister and the difference is amazing. The water is always clear and the algae is all but gone. Only a few small spots that get taken care of with PWC. The Fluval 205 is rated for a 70 gallon tank. Over filtering makes a world of difference. When I changed the filter, I took the cartridge out of the whisper and added it to one of the baskets in the Fluval to maintain the cycle.

Just my 2 cents.

Dave

 

[WhiteDevil]

products to keep water clear..

filter(s) gravel vac, water,less amount of food at chow time.

My filters are filthy but in intakes and impellers as well as where media goes is crystal clean.

What do you feed the fish and how often?
what filter are you using?
how old is the filter?

you want 4x the filtration for every gallon so say you have a 10g tank, get a 40g rated or even a 30g rated filter. There really is no such thing as overfiltering there is overkill but thats in people opinions, I got 4 filters on a 52g I flow over 450gph when I only need 208gph of filtration, My fish like it enough to breed in it.