Fluvo 304 Anyone

[RHitman]

Hello All
Do's anyone have and use the Floval 304 Filtration system.
I have a couple of questions about them.
I have been useing them for a about a year now, I have noticed that the sponges are turning pink in color and I don't know why.

I recently lost all my fish to Amonia build up and I am starting all over.
I used ammo-lock and then took out about 75 prcent of the water and rince and clean everything includeing the gravel.
then filled with clean decorenated water. I have to floval 304 for a 60 gallon tank. The media right now is Sponges, Carbon, Ammo chips & the little stones.
I am running this for the cycle process.
What I ushully run is Sponges, Carbon, Amonnia media & Stone media.
I am wondering is you whould run something diffrent as for media.
Since I lost all my fish I am not sure what I will be putting back in put it will not be Goldfish. At the moment I do not have live plants.

1. Is the discoloration of the sponges normal or is the something in the water that is causing it.
2. Whould you run a diffrent Media in the Floval's.
3. There is a tint to the water like Greyish/Blue But this ushully goes away with in a couple of days I always see the discoloration in the water after a media change.
Thank you in advance
Hitman

[Junkzoo]

Hmmm, did not have a good response to you questions , til you mentioned goldfish,,,,the my answer turned into FOOD.....or more like the dyes that come along with some foods, 'specially goldfish food,,(not sure what you were feeding them)
another thought,,,,it could also be if it's a fairly new tank and equiptment)
rock/gravel -leaching of same into the water,,,,
other than that, i myself have no other thoughts on this,,,,sorry
My cousin started a African Cichlid tank,,and could not get the cloudiness out of the tank (me either) he removed the rocks he had gotten from the LFS,,and replaced them with another kind,,,,tank cleared up ,,,,,,,

[Junkzoo]

Oh,,,Welcome to TRT!

[RHitman]

Hello Junkzoo,
Well I did try not to over feed the fish but when I was cleaning the tank this time around, there did seem to be some un eaten food in the rock. Although it did not look like much it very likly could be I find it hard to tell.
I was only feeding once a day like a good pinch.

What I am useing for rock Is natural river rock I do not think it is dyied but I will check to make sure. I really could not find anything in the stores that I liked
so I went with this rock. I did boil it before I put it in the tank.
I really never thought about the discoloration coming from the rock.
Thanks I will check this out and replace if nessary.
Always RHitman

[Junkzoo]

RH,,,I was no way implying you were overfeeding, only meant to say that sometimes dyes/pigments in flake,,and a lot of times, in pelleted food,release the "color" into the water......only to show up in the filter material,,,a long time ago i remember having something along your lines happen to me in a FW tank...

[RHitman]

Hey ZooJunk

Zoo Wrote:
I was no way implying you were overfeeding

I did not think you where implying anything I was thinking that maybe I was over feeding before I started this post becuase I really can not figure out how the ammonia got so high with in 2 days and my fish died over night. I had just tested the water and all was perfect I fed them in the morning they where going nuts as always, I stoped in about 4 hours later and they where dead.
I had one of them for 15 years the others where with in 5 years. I know there fish and all but to take care of them and watch them grow Well it just S....K's.

Anyway I tested the River rock I rubbed them and nothing came off as to say any dye. It could have been the food never even thought about that.
I am posting a before and after shot of the aquarium It is hard to see the discoloration or fog in the water but maybe it will help.
But I do appreceaite your help .
Always RHitman

[Junkzoo]

Jeff,or anyone else,,,have any input on this?

[Stang69]

With the pink it could be a form of cyno bacteria on the sponges as far as the water discoloration do you bleach the plants and stuff? Color could be leaching outa them snd the carbon is catching the discoloration



Jeff

[RHitman]

Hello Guys,

Strange69 Wrote:
do you bleach the plants and stuff?

No I have never bleached the plants before putting then in when they where first bought I soaked them in very hot water and soak then and rinse them in declorenated water. And I only rince them in declorenated water when doing tank mantenance.
? should the plants be bleached before hand, I am always worried that useing such things and then some cemical getting in to the water.

? Also what is cyno bacteria & I do I find out if this is the problem on the sponges and what to do if it is.

Thank you,
RHitman

[Stang69]

Cyno is caused from a overabundance of waste or escess food that has been uneaten or built up in a filter sponge or substrate. This can be fixed by water changes and a good gravel vac.



Jeff


we will figure out what this is yet ehhehehe

[SaltBlock]

I have used the Fluval 304 on my 40 gal freshwater tank for about two years. The tank has been through three phases and each has had a varying degree of sucess. When it was a cichlid tank, the 304 needed to be cleaned 2-3 times a week (what a pain). Then I moved to a mixed cichlid/community tank, but I still had nitrate problems and a frequent maintenance schedule.

The final and current setup is a planted community tank (really basic plants like hornwort). The Fluval seems to be very well suited for this application. I only clean the Fluval once a month, and I have zero measurable ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates. In fact, when I clean the Fluval, the plants seem to stop growing for about a week, and then they take off again.

I couldn't tell what type of livestock you had in the tank, but I noticed that if you have even a moderate bioload, replacing the foam sponges often significantly helps keep down nitrates and ammonia. Cleaning them often just doesn't seem to be enough.

As far as the discoloration of the water, have you tried running a high quality carbon (I have had good luck with ChemiPure carbon granules).

Finally, I would highly recommend getting a few basic live plants that do not require fertilization or CO2 supplementation (also be aware of the light requirements). Just a few live plants can help suck the waste out of a tank. If you start your tank over, I would recommend a few live plants and a just a couple fish for at least a month and see how it goes. Depending on the condition of your substrate, you may want to consider washing it well. If you were overfeeding and you didn't have any sort of bottom feeding fish, your substrate may be loaded with decaying food and organics.

Hope this helps,

AEB

[RHitman]

Hello All
1st Thanks for the help and anwsers

Well I have and I am still running 2 Flovals in my 60 G. It is clearing slowly but surly I Re-Ran the Amonia test a couple of hours a go an none was found the test tube was clear. The discoloration is there but I can tell it is disapating.

What I am going to do tommorow when I get home Is put in new sponges and new Carbon & as (Recomended by Saltblock) is get a high quality carbon.
I do have a couple of questions
1. I have been running amino chips the last few days.
Can or should amino chips be used all the time.

2. SaltBlock mention a couple of live plants
I just cleaned out the rock and there is not much or anything for the plant to eat should I wait for a month or so or will the plants be ok to get and put in with in the next couple of days. Also do you have a plant recomendation.
This is what I am running and what will be living in the tank.
60G tank
2 Flovals 304
2 Powerheads
1 Power air pump
1 Heater at or about 82 degrees
Lighting not sure what it is

Will be living in the tank soon
Angels
Swords
Tigers
Something else but do not remember the name at the moment Starts with a G. hehehehehehe.
I spotted a few others that I liked and the onwer of the pet shop said these fish will not eat each other and can be in the same tank.
I whould also like to get some ground dwellers I have an Alge eater but I whould like some thing diffrent that will help with the waste and kinda kool looking.
Thanks in advance
RHitman

[SaltBlock]

No info on the amino chips. IMO, if you get everything setup and working properly you probably shouldn't need them.

As far as plants, hornwort is very easy to keep (although it can make a big mess if it dies). They do not root, but tend to just float around freely. Or you can try to lodge it under a rock or log. Potted plants may be something to consider if your substrate is very clean (be aware of their requirements though, they often require lots of light). What kind of lights do you have on the tank (it should say right on the bulb assuming they are flourescents)?

One caution with live plants, if you notice a couple of snails after introducing the plants, these few will turn into many. If you dont want snails, kill every one that you find. But, IMO they are a great part of a healthy tank.

If you have algae in the tank and you are having some water quality problems, leave the algae alone, it will help clean your water up. As your water quality improves, the algae will dissapate due to a lack of proper nutrients.

Anyway, sounds like you are on the right track. The fish you mentioned should do well together (although, be aware that angels get pretty large and need lots of room, so be careful not to overstock these).

AEB

[JennM]

Could the discolouration of the sponges be due to bacterial growth? I've seen this before.

Carbon is good... but the ammonia... could it have been caused by an outside source? Anybody clean the glass with Windex or the like? I've had people cause spikes in their tank because somebody sprayed Windex (which contains lots of ammonia) in the same room.

Ammonia will not build up in a properly stocked/fed/maintained tank - how often were you cleaning the media and changing the parts that exhaust? Never change all of the biological media at once, or you will cycle again.

Jenn

[chrisf9801]

RHitman,

On the sponges turning Pink.....
Do you feed TetraMin? Most of their stuff has dye in it for color enhancement and to attract fish, good stuff, but makes your sponges turn funny colors. I wouldn't worry about it, just rinse them well with warm water to get rid of the gunk and put em back in. If you replace em, you lose all of the bacteria built up on em and that is what makes your water go a little gray.

Like Jen mentioned, changing all of the media is bad. You shouldn't need to ever change the ceramic rings (little stone things) just rinse the gunk off of em and put em back. Stick em between filter floss to keep most of the gross stuff off of em.

You can alos lose the Ammo Chips if you Amonia levels are at or near zero. replace em with some filter floss or some other type of media designed to catch large debris, fish poop, uneaten food, etc...

The Fluval line is pretty good, the hoses are a little small in diameter but good nonetheless.

You may also want to lower the water temp, higher water temps, especially above the 80 degree mark where your at, make it difficult to stabilize Amonia. Heat speeds rot! Food or otherwise. it also lowers the dissolved oxygen in the water. You can really see this as the fish will probably be at the surface gasping.

HTH
chris