Clear water battle

[cor]

Recently my 125g tank with an ac110 and an XP1 won't seem to stay clean. I have increased my water changes but still nothing.

When I do my water changes I always shut off my filters and turn them back on after. Finally I got to checking over everything and discovered my ac110 wasn't flowing very well.

It has been about 1 year sense I cleaned the intake tube. I took it off and much to my surprise it was VERY plugged with slimey stuff. I would say I was down to about 20% of the flow rate. Being a bit under filtered and only having an XP1 for backup no wonder the tank wouldn't stay clean.


I'm doing a bit of hunting to see if I can find any good deals on AC110's right away!

 

[wow_it_esploded]

You are very under-filtered even with the ac running at full potential.

HOB filters should filter about 1/10th of their flowrate in gallons. So that AC110 can filter about 45-50 gallons.

Canisters should do about 1/4th of their flowrate in gallons. So should be about 60 gallons.

But the problem is that neither of those filters hold very much media at all. For that tank I would suggest an XP3 (click here for a GREAT discount, $75 off!!!) and the AC110 (click here to save $5).

 

[Toby_H]

I agree that you are generally underfiltered... although I do not agree with the bulk of the rest of the above suggestions...

If your ammonia and nitrites stay at zero, your bio filtration is fine despite common hype...

General rules of thumb such as "the full volume of your tank shuold go through your filter X times per hour" or any other vague suggestion is overlooking any and every detail of your aquarium except volume and will mislead you. Stock list, decor and every other detail of your set up will greatly impact your filtration needs and make any basic guideline misleading at best...

When you say your water is not clear enough...what do you mean? Is the water itself slightly brown? Does it have tiny particles suspended in the water column? Does waste/debris collect on the bottom to quickly?

In my opinion people on this site are much to quick to send people out to spend money without understanding the actual issue we are trying to address...

If you don't understand the problem... you cannot offer an intelligent answer...

 

[wow_it_esploded]

The information I provided was based on what I was given and the pure nature of this site. Overstocked (IMO) and somewhat under-maintenanced tanks plague these boards. More filtration can only be help.

Cloudy white: Heterotrophic bacteria, too much solid waste. Waterchanges waterchanges waterchanges. Then increase filtration. It will go away.

Cloudy green: Too much light/nutrients. Waterchanges and less light.

Yellowish: Waterchanges. Carbon (last resort).

 

[cor]

When you say your water is not clear enough...what do you mean? Is the water itself slightly brown? Does it have tiny particles suspended in the water column? Does waste/debris collect on the bottom to quickly?


Yes, Yes, and Yes!

My water is usually a bit cloudy for a day after a water change. After that there is still a brown tint to the water that gets worse over time.

I had previously come from a 55g that had the ac100 and the xp1 on it.
My stock list consists of the following:
9" Male JD
5" Female JD
3 Large Convicts
4 African Cichlids
2 4" Red Devils

 

[BigDaddyMagnum]

yea man you kinda gotta give us a general overview of your water... params... hue of the water.... tint.. lol it sounds like alot but if we dont know the real problem cant give you a real answer..... we can all say "NEW FILTER NEW FILTER NEW FILTER" but generally thats the last resort to a prob that can be fixed with a few minor adjustments....

 

[Toby_H]

I apologize if my post came off as harsh… that wasn’t my intent…

I do feel that there is a TON of misinformation that is commonly passed around the internet, including this site… and I really really really wish people would seek to educate those with questions on the topic of their questions and not just throw answers at them…

I don’t necessarily think the information WowItEsploded offered in his first post was “wrong”, I just think it was too vague to be truly helpful…

Any frustration read in my first post here was with thie site as a whole, not you Wow...

 

[cor]

Here is a pic when I built my new stand. That XP3 is a nice price. I wish the days of $50 AC110s still existed.

 

[Toby_H]

When you say your water is not clear enough...what do you mean? Is the water itself slightly brown? Does it have tiny particles suspended in the water column? Does waste/debris collect on the bottom to quickly?

Yes, Yes, and Yes!

My water is usually a bit cloudy for a day after a water change. After that there is still a brown tint to the water that gets worse over time.

I had previously come from a 55g that had the ac100 and the xp1 on it.

My stock list consists of the following:
9" Male JD
5" Female JD
3 Large Convicts
4 African Cichlids
2 4" Red Devils

Now we’re getting somewhere…

Your tank is a bit overstocked…

The large amount of waste produced is breaking down and the build up of waste is tinting your water… if you have any driftwood in the tank this is likely also tinting your water…

The high volume of waste is a prime environment for bacterial/algae blooms which can appear as cloudy water or fine particles suspended in the water column…

If the Canister filter is collecting waste and not being cleaned frequently then it is a big source of the issue. Imagine a filter pad caked with waste and water being pushed through that waste. Do you see why your water is turning brown?

I suggest you add another AC 110... Clean the sponges in both of them weekly… clean out the canister & put a quality prefilter on it… Do water changes to keep your nitrates 40 ppm or below… and consider changes in your stock list. Besides, if you don’t make some changes yourself those Red Devils are going to remove some fish for you

 

[swede]

with that sized tank, in addition to upping the filtration, you may want to add a powerhead or 2 to make sure that the flow doesn't have any dead areas where things can buildup