I have a 65 gallon tank with 6 large goldfish. We hooked up a 5 stage canister filter and the water continues to become cloudy and discolored. I am not sure whats going on. The output where the spray bar is has an adequate flow but the intake where the strainer is has very little suction its hardly removing any particles from the water. What can I do to increase the suction? I've checked and it several times on both ends and it isn't clogged. I have also removed all the filter media and rinsed it. Is the sudden cloudy water just a normal bi-product of a filter that has just been hooked up? It would be nice to see the fish again and to capture some of the waste before is sinks to the bottom. Please help any and all advice would be greatly appreciated
Problems With Our Canister Filter
- Thread starter Bozrahct
- Start date
The problem is probably bacterial bloom which is caused by excess organic waste in the water. The cure is to throughly vacumn your substrate and make sure to get rid of any dead material like dead plants or fish.
A few things that would be helpful are :
How often do you water change and how much?
How long has the tank been running ? Did you cycle it or the filter. was there a different filter on there previously ?
What are your water stats ? Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate?
Is the tank planted ?
If your sure it's particles and not bacterial bloom filter floss is very good at removing particals.
Also what make of filter is it ?
JEBO 839 Large Canister Filter - 5 Ply
We had a filter that sits on the side/ top of the tank but we removed it when we put the canister on the tank Christmas eve. We have 4 other fish 2 small cory cats and 2 platies and some snails. So in other words the canister has been on the tank solo for 8 days. We added the 6 goldfish yesterday. In addition to the fish the tank has two live plants a java fern and a very large amazon sword. We took the water to be tested the day we recieved the goldfish. I do not know what the levels were. We were just told they were safe/normal. I am positive that the floaters are poop and food. The intake for the canister filter has ery very poor suction. I have removed the strainer several times to make sure it isnt clogged. Unless your palm is directly under the tube without the strainer on it you cant any suction. with the strainer on if you hold it directly over the poo it strugles to take it in. Its a huge tank and i am not sure how to move the water/waste toward the intake tube. I really dont want to vacume every day. Please tell me there is another way.
The goldfish are a coldwater fish only not tropical, so shouldnt really be in a tropical environment with cories and platies. How long has the tank been running? Really would advise you to get your own test kit, because sometimes the shops make the results up. An API liquid master test kit is the best one:Test kit. Also do you have a link for the filter?
Hmm, I wish I talked to you guys first. I guess I shoudn't trust someone who is atempting to sell us something. They said that the goldfish would be fine in the tank with the other fish because the water is set at 74 degrees and all of the fish including the gold fish would be conforable. That it was a misconception that goldfish prefer cold water. Now I feel horrible. We took the goldies from a young women who was moving accross country because we had the big tank. We have another tank with tetras and fancy guppies would the cories and platies be happier in with them? I cant move the goldfish into the other tank because they are much to big. You made a valid point about the folks at the store I will buy our own test kit this weekend. The tank has been running with this filter on it for 8 days now and before that it was running with another filter for about 10 days. The water was not cloudy until we added the goldfish. What is a link for the filter?
Aqua Tom
Fish Gatherer
100% yes
Dont feel bad about bieng misled by a shop, we all have at one time or another.
Always do your own research before buying ANYTHING. The goldfish will probably be ok but just with a shortened life span because of the increased motabolism of the higher water temperature, they would be much happier in there own tank that is say 19c which is 66.2F. What size is the other tank with the tetras and guppies in? Also how many tetras and guppies? Did you cycle the original filter? If you dont have know what cycling is then look at the cycling bit in this link
My daughter has had her guppies and tetras for 2 years. We have a 1.5 gallon tank and a 6 1/2 gallon tank. We also have a male betta in a 1.5 gallon tank all three of those use internal filters. I tried to research about the gold fish. I ask a ton of questions at two seperate pet shops starting back in October when we bought her 65 gallon tank. I wanted to adiquitly prepair it for her christmas fish. I broutght a list of questions to the shop with me ranging from which fish were compatable, how many fish per tank, what temperateure, and how to cycle the new filter. I would say i was absolutly mislead in every area. I was told to start to cycle the big tank as soon as possible. But i was told cycling was all about the water in the tank and not told that it was to make the filter its self work properly. I was also told that it would take between 72 hours and 10 days to cycle it. I just read about cycling a few moments ago at fish tank guide.net everything they told me was wrong. this site says it can take 4-8 weeks to cycle the tank and filter media. I did what i was told to do with at the pet shop. I'll try to include as much info as i can so you guys can help as much as possible. We used the filter that the tank had with it with no fish in it just adding a pinch of fish food each day as instructed (we also had it regulated to 74 degs the entire time in our garage).On Christmas Eve Day we added her cories and platies with something for stress that they had sold me back in Oct before I ever got the fish. We were then told that to move the tank from the garage to the living area to remove only as much of the water as nessary to transport the tank. Its a huge tank so we drained half of the water and placed an additional 15 gallons in clean buckets. Then four huculan male relations moved the tank like ninjas in the middle of the night. Because the canister filter was just attached on the 24th we waited as long as we could to take on the wayward goldfish because i wanted to make sure that the tank was safe for the fish. So the day prior to getting the goldies we brought a sample of the water to the shop. We were told that everything was perfect. At this point the canister filter had been running solo on the tank for 8 days. From what i read today everything is absolutly screwed up. My best intentions on taking in someone elses fish rather than buying new fish was flawed. This site says never cycle with Goldfish which we are unintentionally doing (i think). Because we put the new fitler on the tank and remove the old filter and because we drained so much water that we are back at square one with cycling,is that correct. This web page says to change 10 to 15% of the water every couple of days. As soon as my friend arrive we are off to purchase our own water testing kit. Please help. I really appreciate the corrective critisism. I promise we will come here with all future questions. I am so upset about all the bad information. I never wanted to potentally harm any fish. This is our first canister filter and our first large tank. The canister filter its self is doing a horrible job at removing the waste from the water. it wont remove the larger particals. Can anyone tell me why? the suction is horrible almost not there. The internal whispers have better suction. After i remove the cories and the platies. I can remove the heater from that tank for the goldies if you are all in agreeance that the heater is actually harmful for them. Also I am sorry i have to ask a second time what is a link for the filter?
Sorry I skiped a question about the quantity of fish. Miss Bailey has 5 small young guppies about 9 months old and a tetra in one tank and a mom and 9 tiny new babies in the other. She would like to start a local fish club/swap for livebearer fish and when she is an adult she wants to run Mystic aquarium (shes 9). I never had fish so this is all new to me and as i said i really appreciate honesty, corrective critsim and factual advice. Its hard to learn when you aren't give truthful information. Its also hard to teach a child about proper care when you are misinformed. Would you guys mind if I brought her onboard to read what you say and allow her to ask questions as well.
Harlequins
***Corydora Crazy***
Basically its the filter that holds the good bacteria and not the tank water,so running the old filter solo for 8 days the cycled bacteria has died off,then you removed it for the new filter.So yes you are starting the cycing of your new filter from scratch...
Has you are in a fish in cycle,read the beginners section(link under my pic)
basically to keep the fish alive you need to test the water for ammonia and nitrite and do waterchanges with dechlorinator if levels are above zero and with 6 large goldfish in there its going to be hard going,has they are major poo machines...
You may be better off rehoming the goldies to someone with a pond,has even 65 gals is going to be too small for 6 of them and they will more than likely eat any smaller fish...
Cloudy water is bacteria bloom,which normally happens on either newly set up tanks or water that has ammonia/nitrite.
I would perform a large waterchange if you haven't a tester for either of these.
Has for the filter,i'm unsure what to suggest,its possible that because the goldies are messy fish.
Has you are in a fish in cycle,read the beginners section(link under my pic)
basically to keep the fish alive you need to test the water for ammonia and nitrite and do waterchanges with dechlorinator if levels are above zero and with 6 large goldfish in there its going to be hard going,has they are major poo machines...You may be better off rehoming the goldies to someone with a pond,has even 65 gals is going to be too small for 6 of them and they will more than likely eat any smaller fish...
Cloudy water is bacteria bloom,which normally happens on either newly set up tanks or water that has ammonia/nitrite.
I would perform a large waterchange if you haven't a tester for either of these.
Has for the filter,i'm unsure what to suggest,its possible that because the goldies are messy fish.
Ok.Right I would first suggest that you move all the fish that are in with the goldfish into the 6 gallon and if the tiny new babies are in that 6 gallon then get a breeding trap or move them into the 1.5 gallon as they might be eaten, but dont quote me on the babies getting eaten. Now you should have a tank with just goldfish in, yes? Yes an internet link for the filter so I can see the tech specs and other info. No I wouldnt take the heater out just turn it down to about 19c which is 66F, this stops unhealthy temperature swings. Has the filter got a prime button? If so press that because there might be air in the filter which will be slowing the flow down. If there is no button just shake the filter around a little to get the air out. Also where do you live because you might be able to get some filter media from a fellow member, that will sort you problems out.
Babies are in the 1.5 with mama. I can move the other four in with the older guppies and the tetra with no no problem. They made cycling the tank sound like it was all about the water in the tank they didnt mention that it was done by creating good bacteria in the filter media. I will go to the newbie fish page asap. I measured the water level in the tank and took out 1/4 of it. If I continue to do this and replace it with fresh water will the fish be ok and will the tank cycle properly? I can do this daily if nessary. They didnt have anything at walmart to check the PH or any of that at walmart. So i will order the kit off amazon it should be here in 2 days. The goldies are poo machines
Yes its all about creating good bacteria in the filter. yes for now keep doing a 1/2 water change in a day, but not 1/2 at once, just two 1/4 changes. When you get the test kit then you can test for ammonia and nitrite, when you are testing if you see a detectable level of either of these then do a water change until they are 0. When you get to a stage that they NEVER get over 0 then you are cycled.
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
373 -
209 -
188 -
181 -
164 -
146 -
139 -
126 -
126
-
108 -
90 -
86 -
75 -
74 -
73