Doc Holiday Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 I am in a situation that after running the aquarium for about two months, there is alot of carbon dust from the ceramic noodles in the water. How do I get rid of this with out cleaning out the noodles and filter system and losing my bacteria colony? :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 Never had this problem. Surely it will clear as the filter filters it over time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 If it's carbon dust it's not from the ceramic noodles. You should have rinsed them before using them. But, they shouldn't be giving off dust after a few minutes of use and that should be picked up by the filter and caught eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 Is it suspended particles in the water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 Did you rinse the noodles before setting up your filter?? Did you rinse the stones/gravel before putting it in the tank?? Is this the same tank you have been losing fish from?? How long exactly has the tank been set up?? What percentage do you do of water changes?? How often do you do water changes?? Have you PH, Nitrate & Nitrite test kits - what are their readings?? Do you have ammonia test kits - what is the reading?? Doc I have all the test kits if you are stuck and you are welcome to borrow them. How big is the tank and what sort of fish/plants are in it?? Your answers to these questions will help us to offer suggestions for your problem. Are you on the Ashburton town supply for your water or are you on well water?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Holiday Posted February 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2004 hey Goldie!! The info you asked for is: The tank has been running for 2 1/2 months now. Everything was thoroughly rinsed before the tank was set up. I do a 20% water change weekly. The ammonia and nitrate readings are at 0 and nitrite around 30, I did have high ph readings but have managed to stabilise this to around 6.5. I have 5 healthy plants and 8 healthy fish at the moment consisting of 2 small oscars, a small texas cichlid, a small leopard spot pleco and 2 small clown loaches. The tank holds 100L and circulates 6 times an hour. And as Warren asked I have little white suspended particals in the water. If there is anything else you need to know please ask! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted February 9, 2004 Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 If you have, or can get the use of a diatom filter, that WILL clean your problem up. In fact, if your tank has no scatches in the viewing area, you will think you have no water, because it is so clean (polished). Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted February 9, 2004 Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 Hi Doc, Alan's suggestion of a diatom filter is a good one but not all of us have access to them. You could try one of the basic air driven box filters, packed with filter floss. I started with these types of filters (being a poor student at the time) and still use them in a number of my tanks (in combo with assorted power filters). The good thing about them is that they become more efficient at removing fine particles the longer they run (yes the flow rate through them does diminish though). I'm also not sure on the media you've got in your filter - I'm assuming there is a reasonably coarse sponge as mainly a mechanical filter and then the noodles as high surface area substrates for bacterial colonies (at least that's what my canister filter had in it when I bought it). I found this setup didn't remove the particulate matter as well as I would have liked so I ended up adding in a layer of filter floss after the coarse sponge. The reasoning for that placement was the coarse sponge removes the larger particles, then the filter floss removes the finer particles and finally the bacteria on the noodles break down the nitrogen compounds. Means that you will probably have to service the filter more often but hopefully the water is alot clearer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted February 9, 2004 Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 Rob's filter floss idea should work pretty good. You could also use a pleated cartridge filter - like on a pool or spa pool. I use these and my tanks don't have any visible suspended particles. You'll need and external filter with a pump on it. You may also need an extra booster pump to help overcome the pressure drop. They work really well as prefilters on a trickle filter. I clean mine once a week and have never had to clean the main filter in 8 years. I periodically check it but so far it hasn't needed cleaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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