Water Doesnt Look Right?

[RMcdowell]

Ok ive got a 4foot tank (48X18X15) and have recently noticed that the water is not as crystal clear as it used to be.
It looks like lots of tiny particles in the water that just churn around (I have a high flow rate in my tank) and dont seam to be absorbed by
the filters the particles also seam to be sticking to the side of the glass.
I was paranoid that it was white spot (as it seams to be white particles) but my fish appear to be fine and exhibit no illness.

Ive got an Under Gravel Filter with a 1000L Power Head at each end on each of the drop tubes (I replaced the old airstones with the power heads a few weeks ago).
Also have a Fluval 2 at one end a a Fluval 3 at the other so the tank is probably over filtered if anything.
Tank isnt overstocked and water parameters are fine (PH 7.4, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5, amonia 0) its a 2 year mature tank.

I do weekly 30% water changes with dechlorinated water and hoover alternate halfs of the tank each week. (I rinse the Fluval filter sponges with tank water alternate weeks aswell - the oposite
one to the half of the gravel ive hoovered, ive noticed that the fluval sponges seam more clogged than they used too as I used to clean them once a month)

Only changes ive made recently are the powerheads, some java moss (soaked overnight in tank water), some malmo balls (soaked and squeezed out for 2 days), 3 X new clown loaches and 15
new cherry shrimps (who are thriving) also a few new plants (that I soaked for 2 days in tank water)
Ive noticed a few times cloudy water comming out of the undergravel filter tubes but asume this is the more powerful powerheads pulling through the water more efficiently than the old airstones used to
and it gets cleared up Very fast by the filters and I check water stats just in case (they are fine).

Should I use a different kind of sponge for the Fluvals? (they currently use the standard sponge they came with and to be honest I dont really know much about the alternative filter media)

Ive also dropped my lighting regime to 10-11 hours a day (It used to be on 15 hours a day and I was concened it was algae in the water)

Any help in clearing up the water particles would be much appreciated.

 

[WILDER]

Do you have filter mating in the filters.
Undergravel filters are crap there more trouble than there worth.

 

[WILDER]

Its the fine fluval white filter pads that remove the fine particles from the water.
They need replacing now and then as once there been rinsed in tank water a few times they don't seem to work aswell.

 

[RMcdowell]

Do you have filter mating in the filters.
Undergravel filters are crap there more trouble than there worth.

Filter matting?
Theres the standard sponges in the Fluvals nothing else should I put something else in??

Ref the UGF, I have been thinking of ditching it and the 2 powerheads (but not the fluvals) and going sand or very fine black
gravel (better for my plants aswell) but am concerned about the trapped gasses ive heard can be a tank killer??

The UGV I have at mo is just a standard full size tray, 2 inches of gravel above it, a drop tube with a 1000L powerhead at each end fully open pumping
water at a very high rate.
The powerheads are quite noisy unless you remove a cap off the side that you can plug a tube into to empty the tank (as advised by the seller)
At the moment the caps are off.

 

[WILDER]

In the fluval trys you have your sponges but you should have a white filter pad mating that you add aswell that removes the fine particles from the water.It sandwiches between the two sponges.
I had no luck with undergravel filter the tube kept getting blocked so ripped it out, Never looked back.
You can only remove undergravel filters when your internal filters are cycled.

 

[nitro7]

Do you have filter mating in the filters.
Undergravel filters are crap there more trouble than there worth.

Filter matting?
Theres the standard sponges in the Fluvals nothing else should I put something else in??

Ref the UGF, I have been thinking of ditching it and the 2 powerheads (but not the fluvals) and going sand or very fine black
gravel (better for my plants aswell) but am concerned about the trapped gasses ive heard can be a tank killer??

The UGV I have at mo is just a standard full size tray, 2 inches of gravel above it, a drop tube with a 1000L powerhead at each end fully open pumping
water at a very high rate.
The powerheads are quite noisy unless you remove a cap off the side that you can plug a tube into to empty the tank (as advised by the seller)
At the moment the caps are off.

hi rmc have you just got the cloudieness in your tank since you put the power heads on,because air stones dont pull that much water up.but when you put power heads on you pull all the crap up from under the filter plate if you change to sand you will be amazed how much crap is under there

 

[WILDER]

Scroll down to fluval pads, spare foam inserts.
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