- Dec 18, 2001
- 24,036
- 21
- 81
I have a 37 gallon tank. I had a cheaper filter that used those cotton filter inserts with charcoal, but it would get clogged fast and was noisy because the water splashed back into the tank.
I bought a much better filter that sits in the cabinet, and siphons water from one tube and feeds it back in another. This thing has a lot more throughput per hour and has multiple layers of filtering - a coarse pore sponge, a finer pore sponge, then some biomaterial for bacterial colony, then a thick bag of charcoal and finally a thin layer of cotton filter.
Many years ago, with a different tank in my apartment, my water was heavily chlorinated city water. The water would stay clear for months, then all of the sudden there would be a bacterial outbreak and the water turned cloudy white. I had to often medicate the water to return it to normal. The PH from the tap was very alkaline - 8.5 - oddly enough my fish gave birth a lot in this water. I had to use acidifying buffer to keep the ph down.
In my last house, the tap water was not heavily chlorinated, but it was very poor quality. We had mold problems in our bathrooms because of it and my tank quickly filled with algae. I had to buy a lot of sucky fish and use algae killer to keep it from being overwhelmed, but even then it was too much. The tap water PH was acidic - around 6 and 6.5. I had to use alkaline buffer to keep it up, but I was using so much that it would calcify all over the hood of the tank. Fish never gave birth in this water.
Now in my current home, I have the new better filter and my tap water seems to be from a spring - it is some A+ quality stuff. No chlorine, but very clean, tastes better than Avon. When I first setup the tank with the new filter, new water, and even new gravel, it stayed crystal clear for along time. The tap PH is around 7, and I use a little alkaline buffer to get it to 7.5 at least.
Okay so now the problem. The fish I have are big belly Mollies, Platys, and now a few guppies. It's been about 5 months with no problem, but now my fish are hurting again. In every scenario, all of my fish end up getting diseases. The Mollies tend to develop Ick and sometimes a big bulging eye. The Platys get red gills and their fins start staying closed, as if stuck. This is just now happening. I haven't added any new fish since I setup the tank. A few months ago I did add A LOT of plants to the tank, it looks like a jungle. The fish have been steadily having babies since I added the plants (about 3 or 4 at a time).
The water doesn't look horrible, it is not crystal clear like it was but there are no signs of algae or bacterial outbreak. I have been keeping the filter clean and each time I clean it I add some liquid of good bacteria to the biomaterial. I also keep a little freshwater salt in the water because Mollies enjoy slightly brackish water.
What am I not doing?
The tank is in the best shape it's ever been and it still degraded.
I bought a much better filter that sits in the cabinet, and siphons water from one tube and feeds it back in another. This thing has a lot more throughput per hour and has multiple layers of filtering - a coarse pore sponge, a finer pore sponge, then some biomaterial for bacterial colony, then a thick bag of charcoal and finally a thin layer of cotton filter.
Many years ago, with a different tank in my apartment, my water was heavily chlorinated city water. The water would stay clear for months, then all of the sudden there would be a bacterial outbreak and the water turned cloudy white. I had to often medicate the water to return it to normal. The PH from the tap was very alkaline - 8.5 - oddly enough my fish gave birth a lot in this water. I had to use acidifying buffer to keep the ph down.
In my last house, the tap water was not heavily chlorinated, but it was very poor quality. We had mold problems in our bathrooms because of it and my tank quickly filled with algae. I had to buy a lot of sucky fish and use algae killer to keep it from being overwhelmed, but even then it was too much. The tap water PH was acidic - around 6 and 6.5. I had to use alkaline buffer to keep it up, but I was using so much that it would calcify all over the hood of the tank. Fish never gave birth in this water.
Now in my current home, I have the new better filter and my tap water seems to be from a spring - it is some A+ quality stuff. No chlorine, but very clean, tastes better than Avon. When I first setup the tank with the new filter, new water, and even new gravel, it stayed crystal clear for along time. The tap PH is around 7, and I use a little alkaline buffer to get it to 7.5 at least.
Okay so now the problem. The fish I have are big belly Mollies, Platys, and now a few guppies. It's been about 5 months with no problem, but now my fish are hurting again. In every scenario, all of my fish end up getting diseases. The Mollies tend to develop Ick and sometimes a big bulging eye. The Platys get red gills and their fins start staying closed, as if stuck. This is just now happening. I haven't added any new fish since I setup the tank. A few months ago I did add A LOT of plants to the tank, it looks like a jungle. The fish have been steadily having babies since I added the plants (about 3 or 4 at a time).
The water doesn't look horrible, it is not crystal clear like it was but there are no signs of algae or bacterial outbreak. I have been keeping the filter clean and each time I clean it I add some liquid of good bacteria to the biomaterial. I also keep a little freshwater salt in the water because Mollies enjoy slightly brackish water.
What am I not doing?
The tank is in the best shape it's ever been and it still degraded.
Facebook
Twitter