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My Waters Not Right Is It?

Smells Fishy

Smells Fishy

Member
Joined
25 Oct 2015
Messages
474
Location
Scarbourgh, UK
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Crappy 5mp phone shot but you get the picture. Haha. That's with the lights off during the day, with them on its fine to view the fish, but the water clarity is still pretty bad from the side. So much I can't make out the door opposite the external.

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I understand there's a difference in how certain aquarium glass is made, like how transparent it is. Not sure what glass mine is but I can say for sure its cheap, the tanks an Aquael classic 100. I got carbon with my ex 800's but I'm put off using it because when I rinsed it through in the sink it just wouldn't stop running black water, I tried soaking both of them over night with the water changed in between and no joy. Sod putting that in my tank I thought. The thing is I don't know if this is normal with carbon and maybe it might sort its self out somehow if it's in the filter?

I'm struggling to think what's the problem. Filtration shouldn't be the problem since it's about 2200 lph with x2 externals, for a 200l ish. My fancy's and plecs are messy fish that get around about 40% changed every week. I don't feed pellets anymore , since its best to soak them first but I think that didn't help the water out by poring soggy pellets in. If I looked closely I could see tiny bits, like dust float of them when they first go in. Yeah not a standard practice for most of you but it is for the goldfish nutters out there.

Anyway I'd like you opinion. Cheers

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Yes, it looks pretty cloudy.
What is the filter media in the externals? If you don't have sponges, buy some coarse or medium sponges and put a layer of sponges in each filter. This helps tremendously with water clarity. Dump the filter floss if there's any in the filters.

It's possible you also have green water. I am not sure though. If you can get a picture with the lights on, would be best. Even with the old tick glass tanks with greenish glass won't make the water look like that. I had one like that so you should be able to clear that water.
 
john dory said:
Catfish on a powdery substrate may be the cause of the problem
Click to expand...
In the first picture there is an area in the corner which tells me your fish like flicking about in your substrate. I've had plecs get under gravel into my substrate and decimate a planted tank, I came down in the morning to every plant swirling on the surface and my Bristlenose sitting smugly in the middle of the mess like butter wouldn't melt.
What substrate is that?
 
Tank is bare aswell.
Don't know much about catfish,but don't they like a place to hide?
Maybe it's trying to hide.
 
Hi, do you or would you consider using seachem purigen. Although it wouldn't solve the cause of the problem - it is a great aid with 'water polishing'. I 'think' it binds certain nitrogen compounds that produce cloudy water. Apologies for the duff scientific explanation - I can't quite remember how it works!
 
sciencefiction said:
Yes, it looks pretty cloudy.
What is the filter media in the externals? If you don't have sponges, buy some coarse or medium sponges and put a layer of sponges in each filter. This helps tremendously with water clarity. Dump the filter floss if there's any in the filters.

It's possible you also have green water. I am not sure though. If you can get a picture with the lights on, would be best. Even with the old tick glass tanks with greenish glass won't make the water look like that. I had one like that so you should be able to clear that water.
Click to expand...

The ex800 has filter floss and thinking about it yeah it could do with being taken out since it looks grimy even when its just been cleaned. Also it has a selection of foams and bioballs with ceramic bio balls from an old fluval u3 i had. I didn't use the ceramic rings that came the ex800, I'll all ways prefer foam over them. The sunsun only has 3 trays but there big ones, two foam and the other has bioballs that are double the size of the ex800's. I'm pleased with my new sunsun, one day i might do a thread about how the two face up to each other, its to early atm, to make it fair maybe in 6 months time.

The second picture did have the lights on lol! I'll add some pics from a few days ago taken with a nikon D3300, not long after a 50% water change. So it hasn't taken long for my water to go to sh1t.maybe its my lighting thats part of the problem? I have 3 different types a hidom 5w 64 led, x2 old boyu t5's and a clip on 5w led lightbulb thats colour is warm i think. I had a read about your new indoor pond/tank last night, not read it all but it was good reading/looking. I would pop a banana plant in there and maybe a crinum since you have the space. Food for thought.

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@john dory @Jester
You can see the gravel in more detail now, its just plain black gravel from wilko with some little rocks and pieces of coal from the beach that fit in well. Its not the catfish that move the gravel around so much,its more likely the fancys being pigs.

@Wizard_g
Cheers man thats a new sort of filtration to me. Quickly read up on it on a marine site and they use loads of them in sumps. Do you use them? Would it go in an external then, sort of like filter foss but different, would i just scrunch it up in the filter?

@Manisha

Thats new to me as well so no i don't use it. Might consider it though after reading some reviews on amazon. Need to find out if my API water conditioner contains amines first becuase it makes the purigen useless.
 
Smells Fishy said:
@Wizard_g
Cheers man thats a new sort of filtration to me. Quickly read up on it on a marine site and they use loads of them in sumps. Do you use them? Would it go in an external then, sort of like filter foss but different, would i just scrunch it up in the filter?
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I use it in the filter outflow for few hours a day.... pictures attached, of my setup...
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IMG-20161028-WA0019.jpg
 
Manisha said:
Love your giant black moor so healthy & unusual to see on ukaps!
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Cheers. Yeah your right he is getting rather big. He's 2 years old and I got him as I baby when he was like an inch, moors look super cute when there baby's, as they age there belly turns goldie bronze and thats starting to happen. He's probably 6inch now mainly because he eats way more than the rest of the fish, when I put algae wafers in he shallows one right away the pig.

To me he's an attractive fish, a different class to pocksie fish like tetras. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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Wizard_g said:
I use it in the filter outflow for few hours a day.... pictures attached, of my setup...
View attachment 91979 View attachment 91980
Click to expand...
I remember seeing this tank on goldfish keepers when it had loads of guppies in it. It's changed a bit but its still by far the best fancy tank I've ever seen. If I had the time and money I would definitely do something like yours. I mean what goldfish keeper wouldn't?

What's your damage limation tactics, egeria? I tried that but it turns out to be expensive food for the fish, I'd rather not waste my money. I bet you've gone through a load of plants, same here and settled on anubias barteri. Its annoying because I've had a few new leaves munched just as I think its growing again. I'm yet to know of a truly bullet proof plant, I think anubias is top of the list but mine still has tears.

How does your lilly face up to the goldfish? I want one but I'm worried my fish will munch the new leaves forming when there still soft, or even worse dig up the bulb before its roots are strong enough.

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rebel said:
Time to try purigen if the filter floss idea fails. It could still be green water though.

Those fish look so alien!!
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I'll need to get rid of the filter floss do another water change and see.

You've got me imagining fancy goldfish as some sort of intelligent space creatures with they own space ships, taking over planets. Basically star wars lol.

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Haha just that this picture makes me think of them as alien... With that black one standing on it's head etc..

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looks more like a bacterial bloom or "green water" (which may not actually look very green) to me - see of you can borrow/rent a UV or micron filter, either will usually quickly clear the water
I'd not invest in Purigen for this

Are you feeding your goldfish any vegetative matter? also algae based pellets?

If you ensure good amount of vegetable matter in diet & add loads of plants, fish are less likely to target any plants additions
Also make sure that tank conditions are suitable to plants so that growth can overcome fish "predation"
 
alto said:
Are you feeding your goldfish any vegetative matter? also algae based pellets?
Click to expand...

I used to be big on feeding my fish fresh fruit and veg but then i had a baby so it died down to not even once a week most of the time, instead relying on pellets. Now though since my kid is older and is weaning i'm starting to add fruit and veg again a bit more, i read your post earlier tonight and thought i'd feed the fish some broccoli and they all loved it, gone in 10mins. I've tried them with a lot of different fresh fruit and veg and a firm favourite is boiled sweet potato and broccoli but thats more messy. Thinking about it, i don't like feeding it as much anyway because it can be messy so it means cleaning the filters a lot more. The repashy soilent green i feed daily is very high in algae, plus the algae wafers.
 
Been so tired from the gym and are kid i haven't even removed the filter floss yet. Sort it out man, off to make some water change water up.
 
Smells Fishy said:
I got carbon with my ex 800's but I'm put off using it because when I rinsed it through in the sink it just wouldn't stop running black water, I tried soaking both of them over night with the water changed in between and no joy. Sod putting that in my tank I thought. The thing is I don't know if this is normal with carbon and maybe it might sort its self out somehow if it's in the filter?


Sent from my XT1021 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Can anyone help me out here? I'm wondering if i have dud activated carbon.
 
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