Filter Problems?

[Mosdefenante]

Hi my names jon im 14, and we have a 120 gallon tank here, and recently i bought a few cichlids / oscars since my mom doesnt really like animals and i try cleaning the filter once or twice a month, and change the water about every other week? but it seems the tank stays clean for only a few days, i know that cichlids are very messy but in the back of my tank behind the castle theres alot of waste / food just gathering up, and somtimes the water gets a weird odor but its like only a one time thing, so im wondering if anyone can help me out, maybe we need a better filter? more rocks / gravel? all help is greatly appreciated thanks

 

[alanchown]

Hi my names jon im 14, and we have a 120 gallon tank here, and recently i bought a few cichlids / oscars since my mom doesnt really like animals and i try cleaning the filter once or twice a month, and change the water about every other week? but it seems the tank stays clean for only a few days, i know that cichlids are very messy but in the back of my tank behind the castle theres alot of waste / food just gathering up, and somtimes the water gets a weird odor but its like only a one time thing, so im wondering if anyone can help me out, maybe we need a better filter? more rocks / gravel? all help is greatly appreciated thanks

A 120 gallon tank is pretty large. What filter have you got and is it up to the job?

Alan

 

[dylema]

theres alot of waste / food just gathering up

Pehaps you are feeding them too much which is not helping the problem. How do you clean the filter? I clean mine by squeezing the sponges a bit in tank water (in a bucket not in the tank) and jiggle the other media (ceramic noodles/bioballs) in some tank water to get any bigger bits off. You should always do your filter cleaning in tank water to keep the bateria alive.

 

[BigIan]

when you do a water change how well do you vac the gravel??

do you have a test kit for the water chemistry? if so what ae the stats?

 

[andywg]

theres alot of waste / food just gathering up

Pehaps you are feeding them too much which is not helping the problem. How do you clean the filter? I clean mine by squeezing the sponges a bit in tank water (in a bucket not in the tank) and jiggle the other media (ceramic noodles/bioballs) in some tank water to get any bigger bits off. You should always do your filter cleaning in tank water to keep the bateria alive.

If you have a larger filter with multi stage filtration with dedicated media for both mechanical and filtration then you will be fine rinsing the mechanical media under the tap. The bio media will have the capacity to filter the tank and by using the tap you can get sponges far cleaner than just squeezing them out, thus ensuring no food waste in the middle of the sponge becomes a huge nitrate source.

 

[Mosdefenante]

Hi my names jon im 14, and we have a 120 gallon tank here, and recently i bought a few cichlids / oscars since my mom doesnt really like animals and i try cleaning the filter once or twice a month, and change the water about every other week? but it seems the tank stays clean for only a few days, i know that cichlids are very messy but in the back of my tank behind the castle theres alot of waste / food just gathering up, and somtimes the water gets a weird odor but its like only a one time thing, so im wondering if anyone can help me out, maybe we need a better filter? more rocks / gravel? all help is greatly appreciated thanks

A 120 gallon tank is pretty large. What filter have you got and is it up to the job?

Alan

yea it is but we had it here for some while doing nothing so i decided to buy some fish that would entertain me since my mom wouldnt let me get a dog or somthing, and we have a Magnum Canister Filter 350gph it keeps the water clean but it seems it doesnt keep it suppppeerrr clean because when i go over my friends house his water is as clear as drinking water and i go back to mine and its not so clean

theres alot of waste / food just gathering up

Pehaps you are feeding them too much which is not helping the problem. How do you clean the filter? I clean mine by squeezing the sponges a bit in tank water (in a bucket not in the tank) and jiggle the other media (ceramic noodles/bioballs) in some tank water to get any bigger bits off. You should always do your filter cleaning in tank water to keep the bateria alive.

well i feed them once in the morning before i go to school, and once in the evening when i return from school they seem to eat it all but im not so sure. Well our filter has a sponge like thing around the inside and inside of that theres a thing u put charcoal into, so we change the sponge like thing and replace the charcoal, and that seems to do the job, and after we do that i put those little things u squeeze in a few drops to keep the water safe i guess? it comes. But do you know if i should add things to the water after i change the filter? or am i doing it wrong?

when you do a water change how well do you vac the gravel??

do you have a test kit for the water chemistry? if so what ae the stats?

Well we dont really have gravel, we have more of "rocks" but they are pretty easy to get into i get most of the waste out from the look in the bucket that the water comes out in, and i dont have a test kit=(

 

[dylema]

If you have a larger filter with multi stage filtration with dedicated media for both mechanical and filtration then you will be fine rinsing the mechanical media under the tap.

This is fair enough, I guess I just ere on the side of caution. I do occasionally thougherly wash the fine sponge in tap water to get it really clean.

well i feed them once in the morning before i go to school, and once in the evening when i return from school they seem to eat it all but im not so sure. Well our filter has a sponge like thing around the inside and inside of that theres a thing u put charcoal into, so we change the sponge like thing and replace the charcoal, and that seems to do the job, and after we do that i put those little things u squeeze in a few drops to keep the water safe i guess? it comes. But do you know if i should add things to the water after i change the filter? or am i doing it wrong?

I would be wary about changing the sponge and charcoal because good bacteria live in your filter which help stop the water becoming poisonous for your fish. You can get things to put inside your filter (like bioballs etc)that stay there and don't need replacing very often at all and then the good bacteria can stay living on this. also you can squeeze out your sponge in tank water instead of replacing it, untill it gets too gunked up then replace it.

The fish should eat all the food you give them fairly quickly (in a few minutes I think) so if there is still plenty of food after 5 minutes it might be too much.

lastly IMO you could do with another filter as well as the one you have so you can turn the water over about 4 or more times an hour, so your 350gph and at least another 150gph or another 350gph would be good.

I hope this helps.

 

[Mosdefenante]

If you have a larger filter with multi stage filtration with dedicated media for both mechanical and filtration then you will be fine rinsing the mechanical media under the tap.

This is fair enough, I guess I just ere on the side of caution. I do occasionally thougherly wash the fine sponge in tap water to get it really clean.

well i feed them once in the morning before i go to school, and once in the evening when i return from school they seem to eat it all but im not so sure. Well our filter has a sponge like thing around the inside and inside of that theres a thing u put charcoal into, so we change the sponge like thing and replace the charcoal, and that seems to do the job, and after we do that i put those little things u squeeze in a few drops to keep the water safe i guess? it comes. But do you know if i should add things to the water after i change the filter? or am i doing it wrong?

I would be wary about changing the sponge and charcoal because good bacteria live in your filter which help stop the water becoming poisonous for your fish. You can get things to put inside your filter (like bioballs etc)that stay there and don't need replacing very often at all and then the good bacteria can stay living on this. also you can squeeze out your sponge in tank water instead of replacing it, untill it gets too gunked up then replace it.

The fish should eat all the food you give them fairly quickly (in a few minutes I think) so if there is still plenty of food after 5 minutes it might be too much.

lastly IMO you could do with another filter as well as the one you have so you can turn the water over about 4 or more times an hour, so your 350gph and at least another 150gph or another 350gph would be good.

I hope this helps.

Well yesterday i changed the sponge and the charcoal and everything cleared up by this morning but i realized when i feed them, because before i feed them they all swim up to the top so the food i give them is a mix between floating and sinking so for awhile they all attack the floating and semi sinking but when they fall to the rocks they some what just leave it alone. But when i go to the store today ill check how much another 350 or 150 will cost and hopefully this all should help me little problem

Oh yea does having a "little" amounts of rocks affect much?