Wow!

[LadyHatred]

The LFS guy let me take his diatom filter home. It's been on the tank for just over two hours and omg...what a difference!! The filter inserts in the thing are a greenish brown. I'm so getting myself one of these!! They are like, the ultimate filter!

He was anal about not running it for more than two and a half hours. Said I could very well suck my cycle right out of the tank. lol After seeing what it's done already, Im inclined to believe him!

Which leads me to believe that my AC 50 is just not enough for this tank. Think I'll get an additional 50. As well, using a finer sponge than the name-brand ones might help too. It will mean cutting my tank hood to bits; there will be not much left of the back part.

Also, I noticed my fish are out and about more now that I have the air stones off. Is there such thing as too much air? I have about 15 inches of stone in a 36 inch long tank. On either side of the filter.

So cool!!! thumbs2:

[Lady Hobbs]

You will not loose your cycle. All it does is remove even the tiniest of junk that is in the water leaving it very, very clean. Most run them up to 4 hours and they will even remove ick.

They come in different sizes. The largest filters are for tanks 55 gallon and up.

[LadyHatred]

You will not loose your cycle.

Whew! Good to know!

.....they will even remove ick..

He mentioned that. And like the great n00b that I am, replied "Well I dont have ick...." regretting that remark the moment it left my lips. I know how ick works, I was just stunned that he's loan it to me. Simple as that. (blush)

It would have been nice for him to tell me about the massive amounts of white cloudy stuff that beltched into the tank when I first start it. I thought I was the greatest butt end of some joke.

Also, he said "DONT CLEAN IT AT ALL AFTER! NO TAKIN IT APART, NOTHIN!!" But now that I've got it off the tank, its full of milky chunky floaty water. I'm sure you can clean way more tanks with the cartridges in there...but....dunno what to do with it. Wont it go toxic if I just leave it like he said?

[Dave66]

The white stuff that belched out was the diatoms themselves, or rather, the shells of dead diatoms. Just means the fish store guy didn't backwash his filter.

And to be precise, Nitrifying bacteria colonize firm surfaces; they aren't in the water. And only the motile version of Ich can be removed, not the cysts on the fish themselves or secured on the substrate.

Diatom filters 'polish' the water by taking out floating debris that are too small to see. They aren't meant for continual use because they clog fairly quickly, meaning the motor can burn out trying to move water through the clog.

Dave

[LadyHatred]

Hmm interesting. I've just read through some information of these filters. Really neat to think that using dead diatoms will clear up live ones. To a point; like if I was to rub it all off the decor while it was running. The HOB just spits that stuff back out.

They really are not that expensive either. But if I need a filter to get water this crystal clear, dosen't that mean that I am still doing something wrong with this tank?

It is only this tank that has abnormal amounts of algae and "fuzzy" water. All of my tanks get cleaned on the same day, with the same equipment, from the same tap, with the same conditioner. Although, lately, I've been doing pwc every second day on the algae tank; still trying to get rid of it without using chemicals.

The only thing that differs from problem tank to the other two is food. Problem tank gets fed a veriety of flake and pellet. The tanks in the loft get betta food by Hikari. Mosquito larvae as a treat, say once a month.

[Dave66]

Hmm interesting. I've just read through some information of these filters. Really neat to think that using dead diatoms will clear up live ones. To a point; like if I was to rub it all off the decor while it was running. The HOB just spits that stuff back out.

They really are not that expensive either. But if I need a filter to get water this crystal clear, dosen't that mean that I am still doing something wrong with this tank?

It is only this tank that has abnormal amounts of algae and "fuzzy" water. All of my tanks get cleaned on the same day, with the same equipment, from the same tap, with the same conditioner. Although, lately, I've been doing pwc every second day on the algae tank; still trying to get rid of it without using chemicals.

The only thing that differs from problem tank to the other two is food. Problem tank gets fed a veriety of flake and pellet. The tanks in the loft get betta food by Hikari. Mosquito larvae as a treat, say once a month.

Not really, Lady. Small particulates abound in established aquariums; colloids from fish metabolisms, microscopic life, algae cells, etc. You don't see them, unless you have a really good microscope. Diatomaceous earth is very, very fine grain, meaning it can filter out the tiniest matter in tank water. There's no reason to use a diatom filter on a tank WITHOUT problems like yours.

Been vacuuming that affected tank?

Ever tried feeding each tank the same foods? And you can feed the skeeter larvae weekly; remember, most small fish eat bugs.

Dave

[PostalPenguin]

I have crystal clear water with just filter floss in my Eheim. You could achieve the same effect with another AC50 and filling it with only filter floss. That should polish your water quite well.

[Gayle]

As far as the air goes, the air bubbls can irritate the fish, their eyes mainly and scales. The need for an air stone depends on many factors. If you have noticed the fish out more now that it is off it could be that the air bubbles were too much, you could try getting one of those round flat air stones (volcano) and putting it in one corner of the tank so that the fish can get away from the bubbles. 15/36 sounds a bit much to me. Keep close eye on them to make sure they are not gasping, which would mean they are trying to find oxygen.

[LadyHatred]

Been vacuuming that affected tank?

Yep, with every w/c. I suppose I could just scoop out water but, when I hit the gravel, there always seems to be stuff. So I vac it.

And you can feed the skeeter larvae weekly; remember, most small fish eat bugs.

Cool! They go nuts for those nasty little things. It's the only time the cardinal tetras eat at the surface. lol

As well, I have not tried feeding problem tank betta food. The bettas get "betta" pellets or flakes. I tried peas, fruit, lettuce, cucumber (they seem to play with the seeds), zucchini but they really are not interested in it. Once a week, they get fed nothing at all.

[LadyHatred]

As far as the air goes, the air bubbls can irritate the fish, their eyes mainly and scales. The need for an air stone depends on many factors. If you have noticed the fish out more now that it is off it could be that the air bubbles were too much, you could try getting one of those round flat air stones (volcano) and putting it in one corner of the tank so that the fish can get away from the bubbles. 15/36 sounds a bit much to me. Keep close eye on them to make sure they are not gasping, which would mean they are trying to find oxygen.

Great info Gayle, thanks!

I have the air stones the way they are for two reasons. 1, it looks awesome and 2, without them, I get dead zones with scum on the surface. I will change them to smaller stones though and see what happens.

You'd never know I have fish in there unless it's chow time, Im' cleaning or the power is out.

[Mith]

I have an aqua clear 70 powerhead. I never use the filter pads that you're supposed to se, rather I ise the polishing cloth. In just a day or two my polishing cloth is DARK brown! Best thing is, its about 10 times cheaper than the filters that are made for the power head!

[jackson17]

is it dark brown with good bacteria?

[LadyHatred]

Huh, whaddya know!

He asked me how I liked it and I said "was good while it lasted, fish enjoyed it" I explained how the water was cloudy again within hours of taking it off and by lights on the next morning, was right back where it started.

Its almost like an algae bloom, or the cycle had been set back.

I sat on the floor infront of the tank for a while, thinking...

There is no way in hell that it was cycling.
I haven't fed anything white, like cucumber ect.
There are still oyster shells in there but, with the pleco gone and not leaving 6" long white strands of crap, that wouldn't be it either.
White rocks? No, impossible.
I changed water conditioner from API to Aqua+ as he was out of my usual but that wouldn't do it.
I've mastered the art of "cleaning" the filter box and sponges without killing everything on it.

Thats when the light came on!
That bag of white carbon. Sure, it was rinsed before I shoved it in there. And truth be told, I dont need it as there is no ammonia.

Off comes the cover and I start digging in filter, trying to fish it out. While doing so, massive ammounts of white crap is being pushed out and into the tank.

This morning, even though it's not time for lights on, I turned it on anyway and Ta-daaaah! Crystal clear water. I can watch tv while looking long-ways through the tank again!!! When looking at it, you would almost think the fish are floating in mid-air. Truely amazing.thumbs2:

[Dave66]

Hmm, I thought I heard a light bulb popping early this morning :) Anyway, those zeolite substances (your white carbon) are a complete waste of money. Removing ammonia is removing the 'food' for the bacteria that make aquarium keeping possible.

Dave