Filter changing

[cassie]

OK, I know you're not supposed to actually change the filter cartridges. I read it everywhere except on the manufacturer directions (sneaky manufacturers!). But in a single week the filter bag thingie in my filter gets absolutely CHOKED with algae. I've been pulling it out every few days and rinsing it with aquarium water but the gunk still builds up until at the end of a month or so it's really disgusting and I can't imagine that being healthy for the fish. I also wonder how much of that is contributing to the algae problem in the tank. Is there something else I need to be doing in light of the algae?

 

[Purrbox]

Unfortunately until you deal with the algae problem your going to have problems with the filter cartridge getting clogged not matter what you do.

Details about your setup (especially whether or not you're keeping plants) and the types of algae you are dealing with will help us to determine what you need to do to address the situation.

 

[7Enigma]

90% chance it is due to ammonia in the water (ie uncycled tank or dead fish). Answer Purrbox's questions and we can help.

 

[cassie]

I can give you my current set-up, but I'm not sure how much that will help.

Currently I have a 10 gallon with 1 juvenile molly. Tetra Whisper HOB filter and powerhead with undergrav. Testing with API test kit indicates water parameters are:
Ammonia: 0 ppm
NitrIte: 0 ppm
NitrAte: 35 ppm
pH: 7.4

I do weekly PWCs of 25% with a siphon while vacuuming 1/3 of the gravel, rotating which third so that it all gets done. I do water testing before and after each PWC. Water is RO water treated with Kent RO Right and Prime. Monthly I remove the powerhead and stick the gravel vac straight to the intake tube of the undergrav. I get very little out, no more than I get vacing the gravel. At that time, I also clean the powerhead completely using only water, no detergents of any sort.

It took about 4 weeks to completely cycle the tank where there were no more ammonia or nitrIte readings (helped along with bio-spira). I didn't use seed material from one of the other tanks that were running at that time because of the algae problem.

The tank has been established for 8 months. It sits in a darkened room, no direct and almost no indirect sunlight. What sunlight does get into the room is filtered through blinds and three layers of fabric, so we're talking very minimal natural lighting. I've changed the florescent bulb once in the 8 months that the tank has been running, at the 6 month mark.

No plants, only plastic. And a resin cave and a resin "driftwood".

The tank initially had 4 neon tetras, two adult mollies, and two juvenile mollies. The single molly is the last remaining. All the deceased fish were removed within hours of death. The molly's been on her own for about three months now.

The thing is, at one point we had THREE different tanks running and all three were overrun with algae like this. There's the common greenish-brown variety that likes to cover every relatively flat surface and then some. There's some jet black stuff that looks kind of like pills of lint growing on the plastic plants, and there's some blue-ish stringy algae (hair or beard? I'm not sure the difference if there is one) also growing on some of the plastic plants, especially the "grass" style plants. The main type on the filter is the green-brown and the black. Talk about slimy and disgusting. All three varieties were present in all three tanks.


Is there anything I forgot to detail? If so, let me know. I swear to you guys, when I got back into aquarium keeping three years ago, I did my research and I did it by the book. I'm not the standard n00b that bought a tank and dumped in whatever fish were pretty. I've made mistakes along the way, yes, but I've bypassed the really stupid ones. I read, I research, I learn, I ask questions. But frankly it's been three years of heck. My husband wants to just let the last molly die of "natural causes," which he figures with our track record will be any day, and then sell the aquariums in a garage sale. When I was a kid and a teen I NEVER had problems like this and I'm completely stymied.

 

[Purrbox]

Okay since we aren't dealing with plants, the goal is to limit nutrients and light. Your Nitrates are running a bit high, so you will want to either cut back on your feeding and/or increase the size of your water changes. Also make sure that you aren't keeping your light on for more than 8 hrs a day.

Since you're using reconstitued RO water you shouldn't have to worry about what's being added to the tank with your water changes. If you own the RO unit you might want to double check to ensure that none of the media, etc needs to be replaced. If it's coming from the grocery store, or someplace similar you might want to ask them how long since they've refreshed the media.

Next I would recommend doing a blackout for at least 3-5 days. The longer you can stand to have the tank covered the better. Before covering the tank remove as much of the algae as you can and do a water change. Then cover the tank making sure that no light gets in and don't feed the fish. They'll be fine fasting for a few days. After the blackout is done remove the dead algae and do another water change. This should remove the existing algae, while limiting the nutrients and light should keep it from coming back.

You may also want to consider get rid of the undergravel filter. A good HOB filter is plenty of filtration for a tank and much easier to maintain properly. There could be enough gunk stuck under the filter plate that it's helping to cause the problems. The only way to be certain is to pull up the plates to clean under them.

BTW that was an excellant response that you gave in response to the request for more information. Most of the time we have to keep asking until we get all the necessary information to start troubleshooting. Makes the job much easier when you are this thorough.

 

[cassie]

Purrbox,

Thanks for the response. I am planning to get rid of the undergrav. I've talked the hubster into giving the 30 gallon one more go before we give up and we'll move the molly to it along with tetras and when we set that back up in a few weeks to start cycling, the undergrav is gone and the Tetra filter that's been on it is going to be replaced with an Emperor 400 dual biowheel. I'm thinking that should be more than adequate filtration. We've also switched where we'll be getting our future fish from, which I can only believe will help.

For now, I'll do a PWC and algae scrub tomorrow and start the blackout. Will it work to leave the cover on until next Tuesday or so?

As far as feeding, I'm giving the molly two flakes, broken up into smaller pieces right now. Is that too much? She eats almost every bite within two minutes while I stand there and watch. The only part that doesn't get eaten is if anything gets caught in a top current from the filter or powerhead and gets sucked rapidly to the bottom, which is usually an amount slightly smaller than a pinhead.

 

[7Enigma]

cassie,

Just wanted to echo Purrbox and thank you for such a detailed post. I saw your post count and mistook you for a complete newbie to the aqarium hobby and I apologize.

I'm wondering how adequate your tank current is. It sounds like you have a PH which makes me even more baffled, but check to make sure you don't have any dead spots in the tank (if you do think about getting another small PH just to stir up the tank, or use this time to get a HOB filter which will accomplish both). Some of the algae you describe sounds like BGA which is known to thrive in either low nitrAte situations (definitely not you), and in stagnant areas (where the current never reaches).

I would do 50% PWC's for the next week or two instead of 25%. It will help get your nitrAtes down and should remove some of the DO and possibly some of the algae. I like to clean off what algae I can first, then do the PWC's so you can suck up the free floating algae.

Last question, is your lighting stock (~10-15w), or do you have something upgraded? And how long do you keep it on for?

 

[cassie]

Unless I tell you, I know you have no way of knowing what my experience level might be. I'm not fussed.

I suspect my current tank is very inadequate, though I figured for a lone molly it would be ok for a while. Honestly, the tank is a Wal-mart kit jobbie and we bought it because after getting our 30 we made a few stocking "mistakes" that could only be rectified by rehoming some of the fish or setting up new tanks pronto. Namely, we learned how to tell a molly was pregnant by making the mistake of bringing one home that dropped fry the next day. The hubs and kids couldn't bear the thought of all those fry being eaten so we ran to Wally's and picked up a 10 gal kit which was all our local store carries and scooped the survivors over to it, uncycled, with the theory that it still offered a better survival chance than leaving them with the other fish in the community tank. Turns out it did since the current molly is one of those fry.

The PH is one of those tiny ones that frankly isn't adequate at all. I can tell you just looking that there are dead spots in the current. In fact, all the current is surface only. Even plastic plants two inches below the PH and filter outlet level have no movement whatsoever. I didn't realize that the low current could be causing the algae, though. Thanks for the heads up on that one! I'll get busy correcting that.

I'll do a 50% PWC today before I blackout the tank and continue it for a couple of weeks while the 30 gallon gets set up and cycled.

The lighting is stock florescent. I've been keeping it on for 10 hours a day but will cut it down to 8 as Purrbox suggested.

I just have to add, with all the heck we've had with these aquariums, I've checked out a lot of forums and this is by far my favorite. The advice is good and the people are really great. On several of the other forums I've been to, I get the feeling that beyond the topic heading, posts never get read and are responded to with "stock" answers pertaining to that general topic. I don't feel that way at all here, which is really nice. I think you folks can actually make me a better aquarium hobbyist.

 

[7Enigma]

Dead spots can cause havok in any tank because the water chemistry in those areas is drastically different from the rest of the tank. Bacteria/algae that previously couldn't survive or would be outcompeted in a normal healthy tank can thrive and produce all kinds of nasty chemicals from their metabolic byproducts (similar to how we emit CO2 and consume oxygen).

The #1 think you want to do is get a inexpensive PH that can keep the tank well-circulated. It doesn't need to be strong, just consistent. Or as mentioned before a HOB filter which will do double duty.

8 hours of light is probably good for the tank since you have no plants and your fish don't require long photoperiods. If you can get a small airstone I would to keep the oxygen levels up in the tank during the blackout. And remember to do a large PWC after the blackout because there will probably be some free ammonia or nitrIte in the water from all the dead/dying algae/bacteria.