New tank accumulating way to much poop

I recently upgraded from a 10 to a 30 gallon tank cleaned and moved everything front old tank to the new one everything went fine fish are loving it but every time I vacuum the bottom it's covered with poop again with in a 3-4 days tops the smaller tank never had that problem the new filter I got is supposed to be way better then the old one the 10 gallon had a tetra 30 gallon hang on back the 30 gallon has a ehiem 4-250 canister filter I have a 50 gallon tank with way bigger fish and it hardly ever has any noticeable poop ... I plan to keep cleaning the 30 gallon same way I did the 10gallon 20-25% water changes every week ,30% and clean the whole tank out once every 3-4 weeks I've only had it two weeks so I've only done 2 20% water changes but Ive had to start vacuuming every other day I refill the tank twice a week to put back the water that gets sucked out while vacuuming the water is always clean the tank just has a ton of poop on the bottom any help or recommendations ,suggestions ,would be greatly appreciated I don't understand how 5 tiny fish and a somewhat big pleco poop that much it's insane .... They get fed 2 maybe 3 times a day small amounts and the pleco get wafers every other day and a different vegetable twice a week . Please help

 

I have had good luck with this product.
Seachem - Pristine

Also unless your fish are babies feed once a day.

 

Ok , thank you I'll give it a try . And cut down on feeding but don't think that's the problem I fed them the same amount when I had them in a 10 gallon tank but the poop problem wasn't as bad as it is now how can I tell if the filter isn't strong enough ?any reason it might not work as well as it should .?

 

Plecos are poop machines anyway. You sound like you are going down the road of overcleaning everything til the fish all day. Spotless tanks usually mean deathtrap tanks.

 

Plecos are messy, but I agree it's strange you didn't have this problem in the smaller tank. If the filter is the correct size and running properly, it shouldn't be WORSE in a bigger tank. I only run HOB and sponge so can't help with info on canisters. There are plenty on the forum that can though.

 

I ordered

I have had good luck with this product.
Seachem - Pristine

Also unless your fish are babies feed once a day.

I ordered seachem pristine should be here tomorrow and I only fed them once yesterday and this morning I vacuumed last night so far this morning it already has poop not a lot but some I also cleaned the canister and it wasn't really dirty I think it might be a issue with the new filter after running for a week it should have way more stuff in it Im going to try and figure out if it's broken or maybe I didn't set it up correctly but thank you for your help I do appreciate it
Thank you everyone for your help I appreciate it !! I don't know what I'd do with out the help of all the great people on this forum it's amazing and I truly thank you all so much

 

Is the pleco new or was it in the smaller tank too ? What kind is it?
Is it a new substrate or re used from the old tank? I’m just wondering if it’s a finer sandy substrate it does tend to accumulate , or at least show it , more .

 

Pleco came from old tank I actually upgraded cause of him it was too big for the 10 gallon I felt bad having him in there so I upgraded everything... Substrate is small rocks not sand also from old tank I haven't used sand yet eventually I want a aquascape but I haven't had the time to do the necessary research or learn enough about it to feel comfortable with doing it yet so for now it's just small blue and black rocks. With a few live plants some drift wood and a small barrel decoration that the pleco has used since I got him to hide in he's way to big for it now so he sticks half way out that's why I put a big piece of drift wood behind it to give him a place to hide

Pleco came from old tank I actually upgraded cause of him it was too big for the 10 gallon I felt bad having him in there so I upgraded everything... Substrate is small rocks not sand also from old tank I haven't used sand yet eventually I want a aquascape but I haven't had the time to do the necessary research or learn enough about it to feel comfortable with doing it yet so for now it's just small blue and black rocks. With a few live plants some drift wood and a small barrel decoration that the pleco has used since I got him to hide in he's way to big for it now so he sticks half way out that's why I put a big piece of drift wood behind it to give him a place to hide

I think the way I have it set up on the tank might be preventing the water flow from being pushed back into the filter intake not sure if that's the issue but something I'm going to try and figure out next Im new to all this so it's just a guess .... My plan now is to learn more about how the canister filter works and proper set up I thought I set it up correctly but might work differently then the one I have on my 50 gallon tank

 

If it’s the same pleco and same substrate I’d lean to the filter flow being an issue . Did you remove snails from the old tank ?

 

If it’s the same pleco and same substrate I’d lean to the filter flow being an issue . Did you remove snails from the old tank ?I don't have any snails just the fish and live plants I think your right about it being the filter don't know if it's not working right or if I set it up wrong I'm going to try and figure that out when I get home from work

Definitely something wrong with the filter don't know if it's something I did or if it's actually broken the water is coming out if the exit tube so it's obvious taking water in but it has very little waste in it seems like it's not passing through the filter media it doesn't look like the intake is pulling water in with any force I dropped a little fish food and even the food that was pretty close to it didn't get sucked in I don't know what would cause that maybe it's just not taking water in at the rate it's suppose to not sure but I think it's time to return it and get a different filter or if any one knows what the issue might be PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!

 

Can you strip it , clean and put it all back together , if you’re confident you know how to , and see if that helps at all.

 

When you installed the new filter did you take it all apart to rinse all the filter media and if any is wraped in any plastic take it off.

 

A lot of canister filters will allow you to adjust the flow, is it possible you have got it set on the minimum setting? If the cannister is not new, have you checked the intake pipe for blockages?

 

A lot of canister filters will allow you to adjust the flow, is it possible you have got it set on the minimum setting? If the cannister is not new, have you checked the intake pipe for blockages?

It's new no blockage it does have a knob to adjust the flow rate and it has a knob to bypass part of the filter I made sure flow is as high as it goes and tried the bypass knob in both on and off but no change I'm thinking it's broken im probably going to return it I was hoping to get it working I've heard good things about ehiem but no luck on this one any suggestions on what I should get for a 30 gallon tank

 

Make sure your filter turbine is turning. I'm not familiar with your model or with canister filters in general, so it may not be accessible once turned on, but I do know with my aquaclear HOBs sometimes the little turbine that pulls up the water will take a little kickstarting after I turn it off for a water change. Basically the turbine doesn't fully connect to the motor at first, so if you just quickly push it down quickly a couple times that should get it going.
Also, you might have some dead spots in your water. Put the input and output on opposite sides of the tank to get the most water circulation possible.
Other than that I think returning it for a different unit would be a good bet if the intake isn't sucking anything up.

 

Did you add the driftwood with the new tank? Some plecos chew on wood an poop sawdust. It is healthy for them but it creates a mess.

 

Make sure your filter turbine is turning. I'm not familiar with your model or with canister filters in general, so it may not be accessible once turned on, but I do know with my aquaclear HOBs sometimes the little turbine that pulls up the water will take a little kickstarting after I turn it off for a water change. Basically the turbine doesn't fully connect to the motor at first, so if you just quickly push it down quickly a couple times that should get it going.
Also, you might have some dead spots in your water. Put the input and output on opposite sides of the tank to get the most water circulation possible.
Other than that I think returning it for a different unit would be a good bet if the intake isn't sucking anything up.

I tried moving the intake to the opposite side of the output and it works a lot better great suggestion I think Im going to get a small water circulation pump to it actually works really well now thank you

Make sure your filter turbine is turning. I'm not familiar with your model or with canister filters in general, so it may not be accessible once turned on, but I do know with my aquaclear HOBs sometimes the little turbine that pulls up the water will take a little kickstarting after I turn it off for a water change. Basically the turbine doesn't fully connect to the motor at first, so if you just quickly push it down quickly a couple times that should get it going.
Also, you might have some dead spots in your water. Put the input and output on opposite sides of the tank to get the most water circulation possible.
Other than that I think returning it for a different unit would be a good bet if the intake isn't sucking anything up.

I tried moving the intake to the opposite side of the output and it works a lot better great suggestion I think Im going to get a small water circulation pump to it actually works

Did you add the driftwood with the new tank? Some plecos chew on wood an poop sawdust. It is healthy for them but it creates a mess.

Yeah I added it after I got the new tank haven't noticed if he eats it or not I'll keep a eye out for that thank you
really well now thank you
After moving the intake I've noticed the poop and small amount of left over food are moving to the side that the intake is on I think the pressure from the water coming out was preventing it from getting to the intake

 

A picture will help. Another idea is put the tetra filter back on the tank for more water movement. I’m not a fan of canisters. For a 30g I’d get a seachem tidal 75 hob. More than enough filtration easy to clean and adjustable flow rate. Also can remove water from the bottom and the top. Return the ehime.

 

A picture will help. Another idea is put the tetra filter back on the tank for more water movement. I’m not a fan of canisters. For a 30g I’d get a seachem tidal 75 hob. More than enough filtration easy to clean and adjustable flow rate. Also can remove water from the bottom and the top. Return the ehime.

I'll take pics as soon as I get home from work today is a long day probably 14 hours but I'll be sure to do it once I get home
One thing worrying me is my water is starting to turn brown and I don't know why ....

 

It's probably the tannins from the new driftwood. You did say you added new driftwood, didn't you?

 

Lol had to go to ehime to find flowrate. Sellers ain’t bragging about it. It moves 110gph. So you’re moveing 3x oh the water in your tank. Reviews have lots of complaints about flow rate and priming. You need to fill the canister up before plugging it in to prime.
Tidal is about $80 on eBay and moves 350gph. Big difference!
Yes tannins from driftwood. A better flowing filter will also remove that quicker.

 

W

Lol had to go to ehime to find flowrate. Sellers ain’t bragging about it. It moves 110gph. So you’re moveing 3x oh the water in your tank. Reviews have lots of complaints about flow rate and priming. You need to fill the canister up before plugging it in to prime.
Tidal is about $80 on eBay and moves 350gph. Big difference!
Yes tannins from driftwood. A better flowing filter will also remove that quicker.

Wow that's good to know can't believe the flow rate is that low I'm going to return to I did fill it up to prime it you actually have to fill it up and turn the flow rate to as high as it will go then push the button like 10 times to prime it then rock it back and forth a few times after it's running to get it working Im going to go with your suggestion and get the tidal if you know of a better filter please let me know even if it cost more I'd rather just get one that I won't have to worry about not working or breaking would be nice to not have to clean it out that often hopefully no more then once a week but if that's not possible then guess I just have to deal with it either way i just want to be able to keep the water clean and more importantly the fish healthy.

 

Better flow won’t remove tannin stained water . Just saying ..

But why would you want to remove that anyway ?? It’s beneficial . I get folk don’t like the look of it but is it honestly brown ? It’ll reduce in time with water changes naturally but it’s providing a lot of beneficial substances, which in a newish tank could massively help the fish. By all means improve filter flow , of course that’s important , but tannic stained water isn’t bad, more the opposite.

 

Better flow won’t remove tannin stained water . Just saying ..

But why would you want to remove that anyway ?? It’s beneficial . I get folk don’t like the look of it but is it honestly brown ? It’ll reduce in time with water changes naturally but it’s providing a lot of beneficial substances, which in a newish tank could massively help the fish. By all means improve filter flow , of course that’s important , but tannic stained water isn’t bad, more the opposite.

I Didn't know that thank you