Filter Dilemma

[Scruffeh]

Hello hello again, my name is Cody and I am sorta new to this interesting hobby. I currently have my 14G tank and I am concerned with the filtration. I bought my setup at Wal Mart becuase they were having a sale and I thought that was a great opportunity to try a new hobby. The kit seemed to come with everything except fish, but my main concern is the filter. It doesn't seem to do the job of keeping my tank clear like I wish it would. There is all sorts of floating debris and its really disgusting to me. I am using an Aqua-Tech Power Filter Model 5/15. I hate this piece of equipment because I don't think the intake is as strong as it should be, could it be that I overloaded the filter compartment? It looks as if I have to filter pads or whatever in there, but I don't know what I'm doing, and I fear that I may be endangering my new Tetras. Any advice would be great, and I've already concidered getting an Eheim Aquaball so tell me if that's a good idea. :)

[wolf_eyes]

Usually people get a filter that is double the rated size of their tank. For example you could use a 30 gallon aqua-tech, though I would try to invest in a better one like aquaclear or whisper

[Northernguy]

You are having trouble clearing your water do to pour filtration and possibly an ammonia bloom!
When was your last water change?
What are your water perameters?
How many fish and are they all tetras?

[OscarFan]

I would invest in a better filter. Im a fan of whisper filters.

[schoolbus]

Did You rinse your gravel before putting in the tank?
Do You have water a testing kit? If not do your fish a favor and get one.
It's difficult to say why the water is cloudy without asking you a lot of questions. NGuy asked the most important questions.
I'm new to this hobby to. I'm learning a ton from these folks. LOL with your aquarium!!

Don

[Northernguy]

I like the adjustble flow on the aqua-clear and they have lasted up to 10 yrs for me.But I have never owned any other.

[Sir Tristen]

I have an AquaClear also, and I like it a lot. You could get say and AquaClear 30 and have about the right amount of filteration for your tank. I'd recommend not using the carbon though if you do get one. A second sponge or second bag of biomax is the way to go.

You could also just get a second filter rated for a 15 gallon tank and run both of them. I would look for a filter that allows you to choose what media you put inside it rather than one that comes with only one type of media packet.

Also, if you are in the process of cycling your tank you'll definately want a water test kit to test your Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate to make sure they stay around 1 ppm or lower, otherwise it gets toxic for your fish. There is a good sticky on cycling in the cycling forum or the how to forum.

Good luck and welcome to the forum and hobby

[W_Oz]

Debris in the water column isn't something to get all up in arms about =D

Anyway, So far as a test kit is concerned, they are an advisable piece of equipment to have. If you can swing a master test kit, that's really the way to go, however buying a kit piecemaile isn't too bad either. Ammonia and Nitrite readings shouldn't be detectable after your tank is cycled and Nitrate shouldn't get much higher than 20ppm before you do a water change.

For filters I'm a huge fan of Aqueon for HOBs. Getting much more than an HOB for your tank you'd be looking at a relatively huge canister which will be a lot more expensive. Don't get me wrong, Eheim is an outstanding company and their Aquaball isn't a bad filter. Most of us here however don't seem to like internal types of filters because you need to disrupt the tank environment (occationally a lot) on a regular basis.

Anyway - Best of luck no matter what you end up buying, welcome to the hobby, and umm yeah. Pull up a chair and enjoy your stay

[Lady Hobbs]

I agree on a better filter. I also like the AquaClears because you don't have to buy filter inserts all the time. They come with a sponge and bio cubes in a bag. I also agree it could be gravel particles that were not rinsed well or it could be from overfeeding.

Read the cycling forum as mentioned above, also, to help thru that stage of the game. Good luck.

[Scruffeh]

Thanks everyone, I've already cycled my tank. My Parameters are as follows

Ph: 7.6
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate:0
Ammonia: 0 so far

HOw often should I test my water?? I'll look into getting an Aquaclear for a 30G. Thanks a lot.