brown junk in filters PLEASE HELP

[KaiserSousay]

I hear of people on here who dont clean their FX5 for months at a time. I was wondering why i have to clean mine out every 1 to 2 weeks because of brown junk everywhere inside the filter. I also have the same problem in the Rena xp3. 75% water changes per week. I must be doing somthing wrong. Iv seen people on here with much heavier bioloads and not have problems with this.



Consider this, maybe those who neglect their filters for that long are wrong in doing it.
Constant recirculation of microbe rich water through the trapped detritus of a filter is not a good thing, eh?
This is just mechanically trapped gunk that the filter is designed to get rid of and for you to clean/change the media to ensure the best water quality for your fish.
Sounds like you are doing the right thing for you fish.

 

[honda237]

hey, i am on the same boat, i haven't been able to cure it yet. If i don't clear out my filter pads in my sumps, the look like they are covered in mud. I also have brown algae in my tanks. parameters are perfect tho.

 

[yzf450motoxrider]

honda that is the same exact situation i also have the evil brown algea i battle weekly. and just like you perameters are very good. wish i knew y this happens

 

[yzf450motoxrider]

Tcars. I wont be able to get pics for another week b/c i just cleaned the filters out. However like honda said it looks like mud in the filters

 

[honda237]

honda that is the same exact situation i also have the evil brown algea i battle weekly. and just like you perameters are very good. wish i knew y this happens

Ya, i have been looking for a while now. i might try a uv sterilizer in the future. I gravel vac/water change on sundays then water change again on wensdays.

 

[Ade]

The fx5 should not gunk up that bad so quickly based on your stockin levels, neither should the xp3. I have 2 fx5s runnin on a 125 with 12 tiger fish. I clean my
fx 5 every 12-16 weeks. That's it.

I know those silly circular polishin pads r no good, and cause the fx 5 to gunk up REAL quick. R u using these ?

 

[zennzzo]

What else could/would you want?! ??
Near perfect Parameters,
with the
ditrus and crud in an easy to clean location?

 

[vfc]

You folks that have brown gunk build up; do you have driftwood in the tank?

My biggest source of filter crud comes from driftwood. I pulled it out of two tanks and I can easily go 6 months without cleaning out my canisters.

My 150G has a very large DW log and two BNs gnawing on it constantly. The two canisters fill up with brown gunk and need to be cleaned every month (if not sooner).

 

[Fat Homer]

^ Ahhhhh... that explains a lot for my filters as well since i get that mud like gunk in my 2 canister filters and have a fair bit of driftwood in the tank...

 

[honda237]

i have some smaller piece in my 100g but they are little, not enought to do this much damage. If i go two weeks without cleaning the sump pads, i can fill up a sink with clean water and drop one pad in and it will turn the water to dark brown. it takes like 10 minutes to clean the pads.