Adding Rocks or Change my power head??

[Rigil]

HEllo All,

Got a question to ask regarding my new tank(6ft x 2ft x 2.5ft). The Poo of my fishes are not going away... and it borders me.. is it a problem of my power head(atman-107)? is it not enough?

Or should i add rocks to cover it, have been also advised after adding BacterLife Friendly Bacteria to my tank the poo of my fishes will become a friend bacteria that helps the water. so should i then add rocks to cover the poo since the poo is turn into helpful bacteria?


Here are some pictures.

 

[Rigil]

I meant Bothers me

 

[erk419]

You got some really good looking fish there. Ive never heard about the poo thing and I'm not going to comment to much on that because I don't want to advice your wrong. However from what I have learned leaving poo in a tank is only going to cause an ammonia spike at least I think, I could be wrong see what others have to say about that. As far as your powerhead goes what kind do you have and whats the GPH on it. Maybe its not big enough or maybe you don't have it angled right. One last thing what filtration do you gave on that tank?

 

[Rigil]

For the Power head Atman 107 which cycles 5000 l/hr. And i'm having a 4 ft Sump tank.
What do you mean by maybe you don't have it angled right?

 

[erk419]

Not sure how a sump works because I've never had one or seen one in person but I would imagine theres a intake and a outtake. You want to have the power head on the opposite side of the intake so that all the poo gets blown to it or its just going to set there. So you might need to mess with the angle a little so it does a better job blowing the poo to the intake or think about getting a second powerhead to help out. Another option would be to add a canister or two. Another powerhead would be cheaper though.

 

[DIY.GUY]

lol a substarte is needed to help break down particles. a powerhead helps circulate doesnt matter which angle. dont add additives that u dont have to they are all a money grabber. u wont notice particles of anything as long as u have a substrate to help break everything down so when it circulates it will go through your filter. if you chose not to have substarte then add a small pump the the end of your filter to help it have extra sucking power lol

 

[DIY.GUY]

if u want videos on sumps man check out youtube. basicly they are home made canister filters there great. and cheaper.

 

[Rigil]

Thanks guys will get to your advises and try to figure things out! i rather get substrate (are they rocks?) it will help deco my tank

 

[erk419]

lol a substarte is needed to help break down particles. a powerhead helps circulate doesnt matter which angle. dont add additives that u dont have to they are all a money grabber. u wont notice particles of anything as long as u have a substrate to help break everything down so when it circulates it will go through your filter. if you chose not to have substarte then add a small pump the the end of your filter to help it have extra sucking power lol

I can see how gravel would help break down particles because most fulls through it. But if you have sand as a substrate I don't see how thats going to help break anything down. I've had sand in all my tanks for years and everything stays right on top unless blown some were either by my filters or the fish. Either way the poo looks the same as it did when it came out of the fish. If you have the powerhead on the same side as your intake hose blowing in the opposite direction then all the poo is just going to be setting on the other side of the tank. You need to have the powerhead on the opposite side blowing towards the intake in order for the intake to get the poo out of the tank.

 

[erk419]

Thanks guys will get to your advises and try to figure things out! i rather get substrate (are they rocks?) it will help deco my tank

Some examples of substrate is gravel or sand Gravels nice because most of the food and poo falls through it and its a good place for benifical bacteria to grow. The downsides are you need to gravel vac it when cleaning the tank, and it doesn't look that nautral and in your case can be hard on your catfish. Sand is nice because it looks natural its easy to clean once you get the hang of it its good for bottom dwellers like your catfish and its cheap if you get play or pool sand. The downsides to sand is it can and will get in your filter and can wreck havoc on a impeller (keeping your filter clean will help a lot on this) and all the food and poo sats right on top unless blown or ate by something.