Hey me again with a FW Question

lionstorm

lionstorm

Member
Hey its me, still no lionfish yet but you guys' remember that deal I made with my parents right? Well we were going to do that with the tank we already had which turned out is way too small for a starter salt water tank (only a 10 gallon) so I'm doing freshwater instead for a month and my fish are alive and well. I have two plants and two japanese koi's and one very fat goldfish who pushes them around. Also a sucker fish named spot but he doesn't do much.
So my question is I have a filter and its a Whisper Power Filter for 10-20 gallon tanks and two filters and they claim you can clean the filters so you don't have to turn around and buy a new one every time you turn around....we'll i've been trying this and my tank gets cloudy so i clean that filter and put in the other one. I'm cleaning them by rinsing them off in the sink and running water through them, then soaking them in normal water without using any harmful cleaning supplies, letting them dry, and then switching.
So I need to know is it my filters fault the tank keeps getting cloudy, is it my fault for not buying completely new filters, or is the filter all together a POS?
Feedback would be very much appreciated thank you guys, my fish will thank you also!
 
A

alti

Guest
dont rinse the sponges in tap water. the chlorine will kill all the nitrifying bacteria and you could throw your tank back into the cycle. the tank is probably cloudy due to overfeeding or just overstocking. koi are way too big to keep in a 10 gal.
 
A

alti

Guest
dont rinse the sponges in tap water. the chlorine will kill all the nitrifying bacteria and you could throw your tank back into the cycle. rinse the filter in old tank water. the tank is probably cloudy due to overfeeding or just overstocking. koi are way too big to keep in a 10 gal.
 
katara

katara

Member
you are definitley overstocking.Do a water change and try "sta-clear" to take out the cloudiness that may occur w/future water changes.I'm sure you know that a 10 gallon tank is not at all appropriate for koi fish, I just hope you do something about it.
 
mousers68

mousers68

Member
Koi produce a lot of ammonia. They are great for out door ponds or very large tanks. They grow quickly also. You may need to watch how much you are feeding. Have you checked the ammo level? You can add some plants. Do you have an underground filter? Or just the wisper? I missed how many fish you have? Did you rinse the rock well? When you pull the filter out is it nasty? Or are you doing frequently?
Lots of ? to look at first before we come to the right answer.
You were mislead that a 10 is too small. You can do a 10 gallon in salt. You need to do more work as time goes on and the larger ones are easier, but it can be done.
 
lionstorm

lionstorm

Member
I have plants in there now and the whisper is the only type of filtration i have, i am trying to change the filter our regularly now since it accumulates deposits very rapidly. I did not rinse the rocks and I don't see how a 10-15 gallon tank is too small for my 3 fish, (2 are kois and one is a goldfish) i mean i realize fish are used to having an entire lake or ocean but im doing the best i can here, they haven't flopped over and died yet. When they do you can all do your little i told you so dances I don't care because the tank looks more than roomy for all of them.
That being said I'm sorry but coming to this site has its +'s and -'s some people will give you constructive criticism and some people just give you criticism.
I'm really only looking for the constructive type.
So does anyone out there have any practical advice to go along with their nagging?
 
kev

kev

Member
Ten gallon tanks are pretty easy to keep up, even more so if you just do a FO. The only thing that you have to watch with a 10 is your top offs, the salt lvl changes very quickly if your not payin attention to it. Not to say get rid of your FW fish, but all you would need is a little bit salt, LS and LR, let it cycle and get a pair of clowns or somethin... You could use the filters you have now, I have that same filter on my QT tank and it does just fine(I run it without the filter pad also.) :D
 
mousers68

mousers68

Member
Look
I am sorry I didn't give you the answer you wanted to hear. Check out some fresh water sites for info on FW tanks then.
 
scottyok

scottyok

New Member
I don't know where you get the impression that someone is nagging you (even read the posts twice). Anyway, I have a 55 gallon FW tank that remains sparkly clear after I took the advise of a local fish store "pro". He only feeds his fish Mon, Wed, and Fri. I've taken to that habit in both my fresh water and 90 SW tank and it's remarkable how much clearer the water stays. All the nasty nitrate/nitrite/ammonia levels stay within tolerance.
I use a HOT magnum filter on the FW tank with a couple bio-wheels. I'm not exactly familiar with your filter but if it doesn't have some kinda biological process I'd look into getting into that Magnum filter, it's a complete system and fairly inexpensive.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
LionStorm,
People reading this thread will find your signature quote ironic. Please listen to them. When people try and make a point clear, and you don't want to seem to hear it, they make it more blunt each time. But we are trying to help you. Please listen.
You have way too many LARGE fish in that 10g tank, and it is a good thing you spent your money on goldfish and koi which can tolerate bad water conditions. If you can't see how 3 3" fish is too much for that tank, then please do not go into saltwater fish.
A 10g tank may be fine for 5-8 small tertas or platys, but not for 3 large goldfish! Just like a 55g may be fine for 5 community salt water fish but not 5 lionfish or groupers!
I never like to sell Koi into a fish tank, and have only done it once, to someone with a 150g reef ready tank with a wet dry filter. They knew they are messy fish, and they prepared for it. I still told them I thought it was a bad idea. But at least there was some room in there.
If you have to clean your filter out that much, you are over feeding. Koi and goldfish are masters of the puppy eye beg. They should only be getting about 3-4 goldfish pellets per fish per day. Their stomach is about as big as their eye. They should eat the food within a minute. That is all. If you want to feed more often, then you have to feed less each time. They will keep acting like they are hungry, and if you feed them, they have YOU well trained.
If you have live plants in there with those fish, and the plants are still intact, then the fish are probably getting plenty to eat.
When you wash out the filter, you should only wash the part with the white bag with the carbon in it and the black frame. There is a sponge in front of that if it is a newer model Whisper. It should never be rinsed in tap water. That is your biological filter. You should only rinse out the filter pad, which is your mechanical/chemical filter.
You must replace these pads with new one's each month, because carbon becomes ineffective after a month. With dirty fish, I would suggest replacing them more often. But if you have to rinse these out more than once every two weeks, there is way too much food in there.
I have used whisper power filters almost continuously for over 15 years, and think they are just great.
How often do you do a water change? How long has this tank been set up? Take some water to your LFS and have them do a freshwater profile on it. This will be very important, just like if you had a saltwater tank.
Often the problem is too many fish, too much food, and too much messing with the tank. I had a similar experience as a kid, and didn't fully understand what I was doing wrong until I was much older. I didn't have the benefit of the internet, and access to people with much more experience than I did.
 
killafins

killafins

Active Member
I agree with ^^^^^, u need to listen to what we say and whether or not it seems critisism it isn't. Everyone hear just want to help you. I also have to agree with mouser. The regualar gallon to fish ration is one gallon to an inch fish. Now I think its great that you are trying new things; and trust me i have done it to, but overstocking is serious. You see koi need more space. For them you need four gallons perinch. If saying your goldfish is an inch long; than you have 25 gallons needed in a ten gallon tank. Now you don't want to rise you sponge with tap water, the clorine will ruin that important stuff. But what you do is you clean the gravel once a week. Oh yeah, remember that the pleco (sucker fish) takes up room too. And they grow big! Now if you take care of it it shouldn't be a problem until the koi get to big for the tank itself... for the ration is for their junk and stuff... use your personal opinion on that one. For now, clean the rocks; plants, etc... at least once a week and it should be okay.
Good luck
 
mousers68

mousers68

Member
No Scotty it is not out of line-
That is a great schedule. The point we were trying to make is that he has too many large fish in the small tank. The koi grow quickly and will be over crowded.
People can make it work with a ton of water changes and the koi can take a lot- heck my pond froze over and they were still there the next summer. It was crazy. I poked holes in the ice so the bad stuff would be let out but they were good in the spring.
This person will learn the hard way which is the way some people do.
 
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