Cheap or free filter fix?

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Nights85

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 16, 2008
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Wyoming
I have a Aqua-tech 30-60 on my 70 gallon tank I find that the cartridges
kind of suck you can pretty much see right through them they get the
bigger stuff just fine but everything else just passes right through....

So I've read that filter floss / filter wool is capable of removing the finer
particles and polishing the water as well as holding alot more bacteria..

So I put the stuff some in as I could only figure it working and I am simply
not seeing much of a difference I am wondering if there's any special way to put / place it?

I have a weirder haze in my water the past 2 days it doesn't seem to be bacterial bloom as the particles are fairly visible but small enough not
to be filtered? I am guessing its something from the tap...
 
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K well I assume and hope no ones replied because they didn't
understand... :| took a pic today to ask if this is how you should
use the filter wool in a HOB filter..

If not please tell me otherwise I am wanting to try and polish my water
without having to spend much and from what I understood this was how..
 
Hi. That looks right, the last thing the water passes before it goes out is the floss. Are your water tests ok? Any new fish or plants? Is the bottom sand?
 
The bottom is empty just glass the fish and plants I have I've had for awhile now.
I did get a new hornwort I should mention I suppose but I think it was that way before
getting it aside from some of the needles coming free I got it to help remove the waste
these fish produce figured it would grow like crazy hah

I have a Pleco, Koi, Goldfish and Pindani Cichlid as far as water tests go I can only really
test the PH for now and I believe it should be fine around 7 generally.

What seems weird is the fact the waters fairly clear but you can visibly see these particles?
I just don't get why if they are visible that its not being filtered... :|
 
It could be because your filter is way too small for your tank. It's made for filtering 30-60 gallons of water, and you're trying to filter 70 gallons with it. In my opinion, that "30-60" filter probably shouldn't do more than 45 gallons. Meaning you basically need two or more for that tank.

I believe the rule of thumb for a HOB filter is that it should turn over your water 5-10x per hour, the more the better. At 300GPH, that filter is only turning over your water 4.3x per hour. I a Marineland Penguin 150 on a 20 gallon, and it's not enough to keep the water truly clear. There's still debris floating sometimes. And that's turning the water over 7.5x per hour.


Also, instead of just stuffing the wool in there like you did, it may work better if you wrap it around a frame to one of the filter cartridges made for the Aquatech filter. Then it will fit in perfectly.

I don't know how big your fish are, but they're all big waste producers. Plecos, koi and goldfish produce a TON of waste. You need pretty good filtration for those fish. And if you don't get something working better soon, say goodbye to that koi- they're sensitive to water quality.

I don't really know that there's a "free" fix. As for a cheap fix. . . AquaClear filters aren't expensive. Buy another filter and put it on the tank. Sorry, not much else of an option for you.
 
Yeah I try to keep my water clear and clean as possible the 3 are about 5-6 inches Koi being the biggest of all cichlid is only about an inch or so I shal try wrapping the cartridges thanks for the reply!

Also if anything what would be the best way to do this if I do end up buying another filter? would something like an Emporer 400 work or should I go about some type of sump?
 
I would add another filter. I have 2 aquatech 30-60's hanging on my 50g. The water stays crystal clear. But I do add an extra Tetra large filter cartridge to the filter. They are designed to just fit into the chambers without any plastic clamps or anything. I just rinse them and then slide them in right behind the regular filter cartridge. I have also used the repto filter cartridges in this manner. It works for me.
 
You don't have enough filtration and a bunch of fish that will get really big.

A canister filter or another large HOB filter would work well. Eventually you are going to have to do something with the fish though.
 
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