What the heck is going on!!

that_fish_Guy

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2013
2,087
313
122
27
CA
For the past year I've had my 180 set up its always had a hazy look. The tank is filtered by a fluval fx6 which has to sit on the left side of the tank because my stand is too short for it to go under and it is heavily airated and circulated.my ammonia is 0 ppm my nitrites are 0 ppm but my nitrates tend to be a little high ALWAYS. I've been doing 50% water changes a week(sometimes more now) and even been cleaning my filter twice a month the past couple months and my water is still hazy. I assumed it was because it was bare bottom so I added in pool filter sand. Still cloudy. I use prime to treat my water and also sometimes aqueon brand water comditioner. What's going on... it seems like when I only had two ac 110s on the 180 back when I didn't have money for a canister my water was way clearer but I would think an fx6 was waaay better. I'm getting mad with this tank and can't find a way to make it clear like it was with my tow ac 110s so I came here for advice. No matter the water changes no matter the substrate and no matter the water conditioner and no matter the cut back on feeding I still have cloudy water... :(
My 145 is currently filtered by two ac 110s and it's doing fine. So it can't be the treated water that's the issue here.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

mudbuttjones

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2014
1,375
58
66
Wisconsin
I would say if you still have the ac110 filters you should put them back on as a control to see if your water clarifies.

Is it more like a "bacterial bloom" look or hazy from poor mechanical filtration?

Sent from my SCH-R950 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

that_fish_Guy

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2013
2,087
313
122
27
CA
I would say if you still have the ac110 filters you should put them back on as a control to see if your water clarifies.

Is it more like a "bacterial bloom" look or hazy from poor mechanical filtration?

Sent from my SCH-R950 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
It's like a milky hazy off white kinda color, I'm using the ac 110s on other tanks now so that's no longer an option ... looks like I should try to get some ASAP. Maybe I will try to trade for some if I even can...
uploadfromtaptalk1412522515878.jpg
It's been this way forever... :/ all my other tanks only have ac 110s lol and they are crystal clear. Makes me think sometimes how a ac110 can out do a fx6, if that's even the issue. All other tanks use same treated tap water same buckets are used for water changes and same conditioner etc...so none of those are the issue I don't think

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

mudbuttjones

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2014
1,375
58
66
Wisconsin
Your parameters are good. That picture looks like what happened to one of my tanks when I had an ammonia spike due to a canister filter shutting off.

Some of that could be residual dust from adding the sand?

I think you have an agressive waterchange and filter cleaning schedule (which is good) maybe the tank is mini cycling or having bacterial bloomsn especially since it was a bare bottom tank.

If it were mine I would add some sort of redundancy to the filtration, like another smaller canister or hob filter like the 110 and rotate your filter maintenance so your not cleaning everything at once. Plus the safety of redundancy is nice should one of your filters decide to take a dive.

Sent from my SCH-R950 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

that_fish_Guy

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2013
2,087
313
122
27
CA
Your parameters are good. That picture looks like what happened to one of my tanks when I had an ammonia spike due to a canister filter shutting off.

Some of that could be residual dust from adding the sand?

I think you have an agressive waterchange and filter cleaning schedule (which is good) maybe the tank is mini cycling or having bacterial bloomsn especially since it was a bare bottom tank.

If it were mine I would add some sort of redundancy to the filtration, like another smaller canister or hob filter like the 110 and rotate your filter maintenance so your not cleaning everything at once. Plus the safety of redundancy is nice should one of your filters decide to take a dive.

Sent from my SCH-R950 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Yeah I would agree about the mini cycle except for the fact that it's been this way for a long time...I used to clean my canister once a month and do 25% water changes a week up until a few months ago then I started doing the regime as stated in my previous post to try and make things better. I will try to get an ac110 probably won't be able to get ago brand new one because I am a senior in high school and there is lots of things to pay for but maybe I can trade.. I will try and trade and see what happens. And yea I agree probably extra filters will help regardless.and also I really don't want to add in more chemicals (ex)water clarifier because sometimes more chemicals do more harm than good

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

reptilerescued

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 19, 2014
264
7
33
nepa
Get a HOB and set it up as just a water polisher.
I did this and my water went from clear to invisible over night on my 160.

I set it up with just cotton and a piece of that nitrate mesh.
Also extended the intake to about two inches off of the bottom.

My filter setup is like this.
one HOB setup bio only draws off the top two inches
one HOB setup polisher only setup 2 inches from the bottom.
one cascade 1200 setup with mechanical, bio, polish, and a sack of purigen. draws mid tank.

canister intake output on the end, HOB's in the center on the back of the tank.
Like you I have sand. unlike you I'm not having any viewing/clarity problems. Mine is a 160 gallon.

Rich
 

that_fish_Guy

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2013
2,087
313
122
27
CA
Get a HOB and set it up as just a water polisher.
I did this and my water went from clear to invisible over night on my 160.

I set it up with just cotton and a piece of that nitrate mesh.
Also extended the intake to about two inches off of the bottom.

My filter setup is like this.
one HOB setup bio only draws off the top two inches
one HOB setup polisher only setup 2 inches from the bottom.
one cascade 1200 setup with mechanical, bio, polish, and a sack of purigen. draws mid tank.

canister intake output on the end, HOB's in the center on the back of the tank.
Like you I have sand. unlike you I'm not having any viewing/clarity problems. Mine is a 160 gallon.

Rich
Will try this! I'm going to try my best to get my hands on a couple ac 110s and see what happens.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

mudbuttjones

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2014
1,375
58
66
Wisconsin
If your strapped for cash the aquaclear quiet flow 55/75 is a solid filter. They run $30 at my lfs. Run 400gph at 12 or 14 watts, the motor is submerged so theres no priming. I've hd one running 3 years.

uploadfromtaptalk1412525025632.jpg
They are huge inside, the bio holsters will hold bulk "cut to fit" poly bonded pads, so you dont have to waste money on cartridges. I cut a hole in the top of the lid for pothos, and theres room behind the pads for small media bags full of biomax

Not as good as a 110, but for $30 you cant touch this thing.

Sent from my SCH-R950 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

Woefulrelic

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Dec 7, 2013
2,521
1,444
179
31
NJ
I stole Jones idea to put pothos in the back of the aquaclear 55/75 a month or two back. I can rarely get nitrates to register on my 75 gallon. I have a bit more pothos than he does judging from the pics.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store