Archived message board.
Filtertube
Hey guys sorry its been a while since I got back to you on my problem.
There has been no change in my water. Its not really cloudy, but kinda
hazy. Its a white haze. I just can't figure out the relation ship
between my filter tube being dirty with this brown and purple like
substance, and my tank being clear as can be. Then the stuff in the
tube is gone and my tank gets hazy. I'm having problems with my ammonia
level. No matter what I do I don' seem to be able to get it down really
low. And when the tank does start to get clear, its time to clean
the bottom of the tank again, and then it gets cloudy again. I don't
know what or if I am doing something wrong. But all the fish seem
healthy. I'm feeding them once every other right now to try and clear
the tank out. But nothing seems to be working. I just wish that brown
purple stuff would come back into my filter tube again so my tank
would be clear:o) I know this is a long message but I want to explain
everything that is going on. Here are my specs. I have a 25g tank.
I have 2 tiger barbs, 2 black mallows, 1 Dalmatian molly, 5 cardinal
tetras, 2 other mollies, their name isn't comming to me right now.
And an algae eater. So anyone with any help or ideas it would make
my day! Thanks
- Test all the parameters of your tap waterspout some in a small glass
from the faucet and test it. First make sure that it is not the actual
water itself that is causing any of your problems(sounds strange).
How often are you doing water changes and how much? PS hate to go
off subject, but those 2 tigers are a really bad idea.
- Joyces advise sounds like a good place to start..test your tap water...bob
just be sure you are not destroying your bacterial bed on and cleaning/maintaince
it just sounds weird. Maybe test your water parameters before you
do your maintenance and if everything checks out OK..then leave it
for another week and see if everything clears up.....
- Thanks for the advice. I got a couple more questions though. I've
checked my tap water before. And there is no ammonia in it, and its
Ph is about 6.8. So I don't see anything in my water that would be
bad. Unless there is something in there I'm not looking for? One other
thing, I HAD 3 tiger barbs..one died of Friday and one died today,
so now I am down to 1. I had them in there by mistake anyway. I only
started this hobby in January, so they where one of the first fish
I got. So I'm not upset that they are gone. But I don't know why they
are gone. The showed no signs of being sick or anything. So if you
can tell if I need to look for something else in my water that would
be helpful. I usually change the water every 2 weeks, about 20% and
once a month a clean the bottom. About once a month I also clean my
filter but not at the same time I clean the bottom of the tank. But
it doesn't seem to matter whenever I do either the tank gets cloudy.
So the more I think about it the more I think I must be doing something
wrong right? Well any help would be great. Thanks
- bob....when you say clean the filter what exactly are you doing?...That's
where alot of people make a mistake by cleaning out the filter too
well and destroying the good bacteria....also as I said check your
water before changing it and see what the nitrate levels are cause
if they are too high you may get yet another algae bloom from the
nitrates in the water the algae is feeding on...still thinking on
this...
- Bob I have 3 undergravel filters which I really dislike but the
tanks came with them. I very rarely have to bother with cleaning filter
tubes...so something really strange is going on in your tank. You
can add a filter like a aquaclear 100 if you think there is a filtration
problem. My 29 gallon that is 5 years old has a pretty plugged undergravel
and I added the aquaclear for better filtration. Just do not pull
out the ug. For one thing it will take about 4 weeks to condition
the new one, for another sometimes the ammonia and bacteria bed can
really built up under those. If you ever want to remove one you almost
have to take out the fish and do a tear down then recycle the tank.
I had 2 fish die when I move a 15gallon with a UG. Anyways tell us
EVERYTHING that is in your tank other than the water and fish. I mean
any plants, decor,heater,filters, substrate or chemicals.Also list
the location of your tank and approximately how much light it receives.Also
you can change about 15%-20% water per week. A PH of 6.8 is pretty
low compared to most areas of the country. It is good for most soft
h20 fish, but you will have to be little careful that it doesn't drop
to lower than 6.5 be sure not to overfeed.
- Just another brief note. Please don't panic if you do lose your
fish. Cardinals and neons are very hard fish to keep (although you
have good ph for them). Your mollies on the other hand prefer a higher
ph and a little salt. The cardinals won't like the salt...the tigers
will attack the mollies. Before you add any more fish please check
out some profiles and go a little easier on yourself. Most tetras
would be great for your tank, but you did pick one of the hard ones.Ps
my African red eyes are 5 years old and my serpae about 4 years old.
Also if your tank has cycled there is no reason you can't vacuum that
gravel weekly.
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