Detritus

[andyniceday]

Hi,

I have a 240l tank which was running a fluval 305 external filter alongside my powerhead/spraybar setup. My plant mass has been steadily growing over the months and I have very little algae problems, however something I have always struggled with is detritus build up. As the plant mass has grown it has built up quicker and quicker in my filter and pipes, meaning i have been having to clean the filter twice a week. Is this normal?

This week, in effort to try and control the problem I have added a second external filer which has probably tripled the total amount of filtration media. Obviously it will take some time for the bacteria to develop in the additional filter and start working, but should I see a benefit from installing it? Are there any other tips for reducing detritus?

Thanks.

 

[ceg4048]

Yes, reduce your lighting, CO2 injection and nutrient loading and/or plant mass. All living things produce waste and they eject that waste into the environment. It should be no surprise that plants produce waste, and that the more you feed them the more waste they produce. Adding a second filter cannot possibly reduce the waste production but it will simply redistribute the waste among the two filters. So now you'll clean two filters, but the interval between each filter clean can be half of what it was for a single filter.

Adding a second filter will increase the flow rate and better nutrient/CO2 distribution, which will produce better growth, which will in turn produce more waste.

Cheers,

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Ceg is right, high tech increases the production of everything, and not just plant growth.

I'd put a pre-filter on the filter intake. You can either use a sponge, DIY or bought or Eheim sell a good one, this will reduce the need to clean the filter media.

I think you can also reduce the amount of dead leaves etc. by changing some off the stem plants for rosette plants with larger more persistent leaves, like Amazon Swords, Cryptocoryne spp., Java Fern, Anubias etc.

Another thing you can do is add some detritus eaters, shrimps are an obvious answer and, I know they aren't to every-ones taste, but Red Ramshorn and MTS are also effective. The final thing I use is a good option if you have shrimp eating fish, and it is the native crustacean Asellus ("Water Hog") <http://parosphromenus-project.org/e...ebrates-in-breeding-tank.html?limit=6&start=6>, these are entirely safe and nocturnal, so tend to survive more successfully than Cherry Shrimps.

cheers Darrel

 

[Antipofish]

Just to add to what Darrel and Clive has said... If you have detritus in a fish only tank, you syphon it out when you do a water change right ? The same applies to a planted tank. You still have to put the effort in to getting it out, and not expect your filters to do it for you. I had similar issues until Clive pointed this out to me. I had previously thought that you can just leave it all to "compost down" and form yet more plant nutrition. In the wild, this of course happens. But in the wild the water is a lot more murky than the gin clear liquid we all aspire to.

So to repeat what I was told... Get in there and shake the plants about a bit to loosen any dying leaves and help get the biofilm off of the plants. Use a smaller syphon so the water change takes longer and you have more time to get to the roots of the plants and suck it all out. If it does not all go by the time you have removed your 50% water, fill the tank and repeat. Don't leave it there to mount up.

This was some of the best advice I received regarding tank maintenance and I ALWAYS know when I have been a bit lax in that area as my tank shows me ! It makes it a little harder work, but then you don't achieve a perfect tank without the effort.

Good luck

Incidentally, I have found in the past that fluvals seem to get more messy. I dont know if its because the foam is vertical, but even with a messy tank I find I only need to clean my Eheim prefilter every 3 weeks and the main compartment every 4 to 6 months or so. But as Clive said, theres no harm in an extra filter as far as flow and distribution is concerned, but remember you have to clean two then

 

[Mark Evans]

I'd agree with Clive. Slowing things down with light, co2 etc is a good thing.

I'd also suggest to 'hoover' at substrate level. It's quite amazing to see how much detritus comes from this level of the tank...even when you think it's clean.