Cloudy 1-mo tank Revisited

[Adam Gottschalk]

Sorry to take up anyone's time ;-)

Frustrated that the cloud still wasn't easing up while the chemistry
remains solid the same and good, I stepped back for a second and thought
"outside the box" just a tiny little bit and realized that my dumb self
had pu and underpowered pump on the UGF thinking it would be adequate. I
got an AP30 (can't remember the brand) which is meant for 10 gallons. My
tank being a 15H, it's not only 150% larger than their rating, but the
lift tube is almost 18" tall as well, with the airstone at the very
bottom. Went in today and bought a Dolphin brand pump with a rheostat.
It's the "1 Star" rated for 55 gallons. It's a much nicer pump anyway,
dead quiet and adjustable no less. When I did a partial water change
today, I put it on and adjusted it so that there is a totally constant
stream of bubbles exiting through the carbon; before, it was a slightly
stuttered stream. The water cleared right up within and hour.

Further, I've realized (with newly clear water :-) that the Kent Pro
Scraper I've been using isn't really cutting it for cleaning the whole
tank inside. I have a larger algae brush thing, which is a little
unweildy, and I'd like to find a similar one, long, but with a smaller
brush head. Haven't seen those. Anyone know of any?

[Eric Schreiber]

Adam Gottschalk wrote:

> The water cleared right up within and hour.

That's good news. You had to be getting pretty tired of having cloudy
water!

> Further, I've realized (with newly clear water :-) that the Kent Pro
> Scraper I've been using isn't really cutting it for cleaning the
> whole tank inside. I have a larger algae brush thing, which is a
> little unweildy, and I'd like to find a similar one, long, but with a
> smaller brush head. Haven't seen those. Anyone know of any?

I haven't found anything better than scraping the glass with a large
razor blade, like the ones used for box cutters. My first time in this
hobby my LFS sold a stick that was designed to hold blades, so you
could scrape the glass without soaking your arm, but I haven't seen
them around here.

--
www.ericschreiber.com

[Mary]

"Eric Schreiber" <eric at ericschreiber dot com> wrote in message
...
> Adam Gottschalk wrote:
>
> > The water cleared right up within and hour.
>
> That's good news. You had to be getting pretty tired of having cloudy
> water!
>
> > Further, I've realized (with newly clear water :-) that the Kent Pro
> > Scraper I've been using isn't really cutting it for cleaning the
> > whole tank inside. I have a larger algae brush thing, which is a
> > little unweildy, and I'd like to find a similar one, long, but with a
> > smaller brush head. Haven't seen those. Anyone know of any?
>
> I haven't found anything better than scraping the glass with a large
> razor blade, like the ones used for box cutters. My first time in this
> hobby my LFS sold a stick that was designed to hold blades, so you
> could scrape the glass without soaking your arm, but I haven't seen
> them around here.
>
> --
> www.ericschreiber.com

On the topic of cleaning the glass inside - I did that the first few water
changes (the tanks been in operation since late Jan) but quit after that
because it didn't seem to be doing anything.

I don't see any brwoth of any kind anywhere in the tank and my sucker fish
seems always to be in search & never stays on the sides for more than a
second.

Am I doing something wrong to not have algea (at least that I can see)?

Thanks,
Mary

[Eric Schreiber]

Mary wrote:

> I don't see any brwoth of any kind anywhere in the tank and my sucker
> fish seems always to be in search & never stays on the sides for more
> than a second.
> Am I doing something wrong to not have algea (at least that I can
> see)?

If your fish are healthy, then you're not doing anything wrong. Some
algae is almost inevitable in a tank. Lots of algae is an indicator
that something is out of whack, most probably the tank is over-crowded
or you're over-feeding.

If you've got little or no algae, it means your water isn't overloaded
with nutrients, and/or your suckermouth is able to keep up with what
does grow.

--
www.ericschreiber.com

[Mary E. Hill]

"Eric Schreiber" <eric at ericschreiber dot com> wrote in message
...
> Mary wrote:
>
> > I don't see any brwoth of any kind anywhere in the tank and my sucker
> > fish seems always to be in search & never stays on the sides for more
> > than a second.
> > Am I doing something wrong to not have algea (at least that I can
> > see)?
>
> If your fish are healthy, then you're not doing anything wrong. Some
> algae is almost inevitable in a tank. Lots of algae is an indicator
> that something is out of whack, most probably the tank is over-crowded
> or you're over-feeding.
>
> If you've got little or no algae, it means your water isn't overloaded
> with nutrients, and/or your suckermouth is able to keep up with what
> does grow.
>
> --
> www.ericschreiber.com

That's good to hear. Gees, did you see how I spelled 'growth'? I can tell
it was before 6am:)

[Eric Schreiber]

Mary E. Hill wrote:

> That's good to hear. Gees, did you see how I spelled 'growth'? I
> can tell it was before 6am:)

I do all my most creative spelling in the wee hours.


--
www.ericschreiber.com

[Adam Gottschalk]

Here's another idiotically simple thought: I was trying to keep this
goldfish tank totally no-frills basic, no heater, no light, no hood
(it's under a northern skylight). Well, we all know how quickly dust
accumulates on every surface in our homes, so I reckoned that the dust
was just that much more for the UGF system to deal with. Got a basic
glass hood to fit today, and while I liked have the bubbling water out
in the open, I also realize that I'd been consciously keeping my drinks
and stuff away from the tank so they wouldn't get drops of aquarium
water in them, and other minor inconveniences. While getting in there
and cleaning and vacuuming will be just slightly tougher, I think it'll
pay off.