maggie

so my filter seems to be overflowing :P. anyway i know the obvious answer would be to change the filter cartridge but it's not even 2 weeks old yet. the filter is a topfin 10 and was working fine. when i first set it up i also added a thin piece of aqua clear filter foam for my bio filtration. the water was crystal clear but for the past 2 days its been looking a bit cloudy. at first i thought it was the filter foam so i took it out to see, but it was still overflowing. any suggestions?

i have also heard that the filter cartridges don't really need the carbon they come with because the carbon causes the water to cloud, then there was something about carbon raising the ph. does that sound right?

sgould

Hi, maggie. Does your filter have a way to adjust the speed/flow? I have Whisper filters, and there is a dial I can turn to speed up or slow down the amount of water being drawn into the filter. Slowing yours down a bit might help your problem. I have never had a topfin, but it seems I have read some negative things about them...at some point you may give some consideration to a different kind.

As for your water turning cloudy, if your tank is new in the past couple weeks, it sounds like you are experiencing a bacteria bloom. That is actually a good thing, and the water will clear up on its own.

Carbon in the filters: The argument I have heard most often against carbon is that it can only absorb so much pollutants from the tank water before it reaches its capacity and starts leaching stuff right back into the water. Consequently, you have to either be very diligent about changing the carbon frequently, or, as many at Fishlore have done, simply leave the carbon out. As to carbon clouding the water, that really should not be much of an issue if you rinse it thoroughly before putting it in the tank.

maggie

yea, i have heard some negatives on the topfin too. it came with the tank so i didn't think anything of it until i actually started reading up on things. i'm thinking i'll switch to a different one later on since i have emptied my pockets pretty severely on this whole aquarium thing, i ended up having to buy two tanks since my betta got fin rot ...he is much better by the way .

i've had the bacteria bloom before but then i was forced to do a major water change about a week ago because of someone in my family getting very carried away with feeding (there was a layer of food over the gravel of the entire tank.) so that might explain the cloudiness again. however today i ended up having to do another water change because of the filter spewing some stuff back in. i tested the water and the ammonia was much to high. grrr. this is beginning to get a bit frustrating. i did a 20% water change and the ammonia reading is still a 1.0 it was a 2.0. should i leave it alone or do another change? i feel like i have done way too many water changes...

anyway, i'll be heading over to petsmart for some empty cartridges, i was already leaning towards taking out the carbon so you were my deciding vote lol.

sgould

That much food in the tank could easily account for cloudiness. If your ammonia is at 1.0, I would definately do another water change...probably more like 50%. Check again daily and do a 50% change as often as needed to keep the ammonia below 1. Sounds like this is a new tank? How long has it been up and running? I know with all the water changing it is a lot of work and attention in the beginning. That will continue for the first 1-2 months, as you need to stay on top of the ammonia and nitrite. You may be in for daily 50% water changes for awhile. It gets better though once you are cycled! You will be able to cut back to weekly changes of 20-25%.

Glad to hear the fin rot is under control!

COBettaCouple

I'd keep up daily water changes until you get the ammonia below or at .25. We use carbon in our whisper filters, but change it every 2 weeks. This also gives us a reason to clean the filter pouch in a bowl of tank water. Are you using the API master fw kit to test? what are you treating your tap water with?

atmmachine816

Didn't read the whole post, finishing some homework so I can go paintballing tomorrow but thought I'd say that 2weeks is the maximum on running carbon, sooner is better sometimes. After about 1-2weeks it is no longer "active" and will start leaching chemicals back into the tank.

COBettaCouple

Try:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113805 or
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113805

the better carbon lasts longer. i haven't tried the 2nd one yet, but think i'll give it a test run on a couple tanks soon to see what it does for the tank.

atmmachine816

I use aquatech and the second one, the premium one. I don't use it much but I never know a difference. My water has always been clear, odor free, and my plants remove organic wastes so I don't use it anymore. I'll periodically use it in my Saltwater tank for a few days but can't tell a difference.

Luniyn

I believe the top fin are knock off whisper filters (a Petsmart Branded version if I'm remembering the right name). In my whisper filter, if I push the mechanical filter in to far (the one with the carbon in it) till it touches the bottom, then I start to get overflowing at the intake pipe. All I do is pull up a bit on the filter a tiny bit and it starts to flow properly again. Maybe give that a try?

maggie

i did another water change and i finally got the ammonia at .25, i'm planning on doing one more change tomorrow to see if that will get it under control. i also took the carbon out to see what would happen and filter is actually working better since i took it out. i am using the API master test kit, and i am treating the water with API stress coat water conditioner.

COBettaCouple

great. sounds like you've got the situation going well there.

maggie

yea finally lol. i'm glad i joined this forum because i'd be totally lost if i didn't. everyone has been super helpful. thanx!

COBettaCouple

that sounds SO familiar! ...oh yea, that's what we said about fishlore when we started to participate back in march. i felt like slapping myself for joining, then not doing anything here for 2 months while we listened to the 'expert' at petco. i still wonder if our 1st Betta, Super Mario, would be alive now had we been getting advice from all the experienced members here. There are a number of good sites for an aquarium owner, but fishlore really is the only forum that i've found and wanted to be part of.. and Mike's been hard at work lately with many new features. the pet stores should have a sign "don't listen to our employees, just go to fishlore.com" - that's what i advise people we meet in there.

griffin

that would be a great sign! "we hire idiots, go to fishlore.com for real info!"

armadillo

. That sign would be very funny.

COBettaCouple

Talk about "Truth In Advertising"!