I'm Looking for suggestions on how to clear my tank up. I currently have 2 Eheim pro II 2028 canister filters on my 120G tank, it has been set up for about 5 months was just wondering if mabe it's just taking a while to cycle or if I need added filtration. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appricated. This is my first African Cichlid tank and I have around 24 fish in it. I'll post some pick as soon as a figure out how LOL.

Hi,
I would test for ammonia, nitrtie and nitrate. This will tell us if the filtration is working.

Always clean filters in used aqaurium water so as not to kill off good bacteria.

Increase wc's. Maybe 25% 2 times per wk.

What do you feed?


hth
Ardan

Hey,

In addition to Ardan's good suggestions\questions, what is your substrate?

If you have sand and if it wasn't 100% cleaned (ie. for hours), your cichlids may be moving it around a lot it can make the tank look cloudy. If no sand, then it may be algae or a bacteria bloom.

I use some polywool type filter material in a couple of my filters to help remove tiny particles in the water, keeps my tank crystal clear.

dragonfyre

Do you use carbon in your tanks? Carbon is great for helping water clarity and removing odors.

If you just can't seem to get it clean enough to your liking, you could look into purchasing a diatom filter to polish the water. These are the ultimate in polishing water to a crystal clear look.

Do either of your filters break the surface on the output? You may have poor O2 which will slow the nitrogen cycle and could cause a small ammonia bloom which in turn would make your tank cloudy.

i had some trouble before with cloudiness, all it took for me was regular routine W/C. and i cut back a bit on the feedings. it took a couple weeks (i do waterchanges on all my tanks every sunday) but it worked, and now my tank is sparkling! i looked into diatom filters, and water chemicals.. all kinds of stuff, but i held out and said one mroe change and if it doesnt work I'll buy it! turns out i didnt have to! try the simple things first, if they dont work look into another solution. good luck! :)

regular water changes will do the trick. I'm just saying there is a level of clarity you can only get with a diatom filter. I can do a 75% wate change on my 125 then run my diatom, it will turn black within 24-48 hrs. I probably would not purchase one myself as they are kind of pricey I was just very fortunate enough to acquire my fathers from his old tanks. If you can afford it get it, if not then increase your water changes. Ardan gave a good suggestion of 2 25% changes weekly.

ohhh trust me bk1300, i want one, but my hubby is a scrooge and says i dont need it now! I want to see if my mom in law wants to split on one cuz she has a 125 gal that im sure she would love to put a diatom filter to.. hmmmmm im calling her! LOL

Hey Jester74, welcome to ACF!!

I have an Eheim pro II 2026 and must say that these canisters are awesome.

Great suggestions above, and the water test results will help in determining if the filtration is working as it should.

What is your routine for cleaning the filters? Am also wondering what type of media do you have in the canisters? If there is not a fine filter pad, you may not be filtering out the small stuff which will make your water appear cloudy.

Check out this Link for info on how to post pictures.

Ya they are great malawibeauty and could very easily be split between two people. I run mine for a day or 2 maybe once every couple of weeks and this one is over 20 years old at least.

yet another great selling point! thanks bk1300! i remember awhile ago you were talking about them and i looked into them when i was having water issues. the guy at the fish store said not too many people know about them anymore, unless they are true hobbyists. i thought that was strange, but it didnt change my mind. now that you said yours is over 20 its well worth it to me! nothing like spending all that cash and it busts on you in a year!

ya i hate that about so many new products. This design has not changed whatsoever in these, ill go into a store and see one and it looks identical to mine that is ooooold. but still works perfect everytime, a full hard stream everytime

so how exactly does it work? you just hang it off the side and let it do its thing?

Pretty much its relatively simple. I actually sit mine on a chair and hook up a couple of tubes a few feet long so i can suck water from watever part of my tank I want and put it back in with the current of my tank too. I find using the tubes are easy for transferring.

You fill it up with water and stick the tubes in a bucket, create the suction by either sucking on the output or tipping it upside down. You put the diatomaceous earth, powder, in the bucket and let it cling to the filter pad inside by running it for a few minutes. Then I just plug the two tubes with my fingers and toss em on in the tank and let it run for the next day or 2. Make sure you put some sort of filter over the input, I have lossed a fish by it getting stuck to the input tube as it is powerful.

next time i get down to Larry's store im gonna take a look at them. I know my mom in law somtimes has some trouble keeping her tank clear. she has a shnook (sp?) and 2 clown knife's in a 125 gal. i told her about your diatom filter and shes interested! thanks for the tips!

NO problem at all. I bet her tank gets messy, does she feed a lot of live foods? Let me know if you have any other questions.

ugh.. all she feeds them is live foods. well actually its her b/f, to him its better than tv to throw in a crapload of feeders and watch them go. he overfeeds them wayyyyyy too much. We've been warning them but it falls on deaf ears. ive seen them go through 2 doz in 2 days!

Malawibeauty,

Talked to my dad this diatom filter is over 35 years old he said he got it before he was married so
At least 35