I have a 300 gallon tank with an fx6, an fx5, 2 large sponge filters, a large powerful internal filter and 2 large wave makers. Stock is a silver aro approx 12", five cichla approx 6" a 16" fire eel and a 15" common pleco. The tank lately always seems to have a bit of a cloudy look when I look at it from the side, almost like a mini bacterial bloom but it's constant.. I do a 50% wc twice weekly and use seachem safe. Do I just need more filtration?
Do I need more filtration?
- Thread starter Jhncf
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It doesn't sound like any additional filtration is necessary but it does sound like you're having something cause your tank to get cloudy. How long has the tank been set up?
Tank has been running for around 3 years now, it's also tile bottom so no uneaten food etc builds up.
How often do you clean out your filters? (Rinse them in tank water and rinse out detritus?)
Also, have you measured ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels? It could be a mini cycle causing the cloudy water.
One other cause of cloudy (bacterial bloom) water is excess protein.
If you are feeding fish fillets or similar high protein source foods, this could be your problem. And normal filtration will probably not make a dent in it.
Also agree about waste by-products as a possibility under the tiles.
In cases of high protein buildup (DOC, amino acids, etc etc) I use foam fractionation, to remove these kinds of un-filterable substances.
If you are feeding fish fillets or similar high protein source foods, this could be your problem. And normal filtration will probably not make a dent in it.
Also agree about waste by-products as a possibility under the tiles.
In cases of high protein buildup (DOC, amino acids, etc etc) I use foam fractionation, to remove these kinds of un-filterable substances.
There's no chance of waste under the tiles as there's no space between any of them, I cleaned out the fx5 a week ago and the fx6 a week before that, just the usual rinsing in tank water but it was cloudy before that too. I do feed prawn, squid and mussel every day as that's all my fire eel will eat. I don't overfeed, I feed pellets first to the cichla then a few prawns/mussels to the arowana and eel.
Are the tiles glued down and sealed ? I was surprised how much gunk was under my tiles in my 240.. anaerobic bacteria can form in stagnant water .. how long between canister cleanings .? may sound strange but I knew a guy who kept his cainsters too clean... . I know you dont want to hear this maybe your overstocked based upon your bio capacity ? GL.. once Ive ruled out potential sources , Id skip a water change and let it cycle through .. Id just monitor AMM and dose with prime daily as needed.
I would do the opposite, I would up the water changes. Several consecutive large changes and I would think that would clear things up
With a large bio load clean water is always good
With a large bio load clean water is always good