Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => General Fishkeeping advice => Topic started by: dbaggie on November 06, 2014, 09:34:34 PM
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Hi all
I've noticed recently that I seem to have a lot of very small white-ish fibres (or something along these lines) suspended within my tank water. It doesn't seem to be bothering the fish but I can't seem to get rid. I've given my filter media a bit of a clean (in tank water of course!) and have replaced the filter wool/floss but it hasn't made any difference.
I'm not sure whether the filter wool itself could be the culprit as I use a large pond filter pad which I then trim down. However I've been using this for a while and have only recently noticed the fibres.
Any ideas as to what it could be??
Thanks
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leave the filter wool / floss out of the filter see if it improves
its all really trial and error i dont use filter floss or wool i replaced
it with different grades of sponges helps extend maintenance times
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It's certainly worth a try
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If you already have coarse sponge(s) in the filter, try some fine sponge. I don't have any filter wool in my filters either but the one in my main tank does have a fine sponge last in the water flow direction.
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Hi Sue, it's a fairly standard Juwel internal so there's a coarse sponge, cirax media, a 'nitrate removal' sponge which I just view as a medium-fine sponge and then two fine sponges. I took the filter wool from the top out this morning but have left a bit right at bottom (which I know isn't how Juwels are supposed to be) just to see how it goes. If there doesn't seem to be any changes in the fibres then I'll take the other bit out as well. Will feedback how I get on! Thanks
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The filter wool in Juwel filters is placed at the beginning of the water flow, which is unusual. Most other filters have it at the end to remove fine particles. Juwel's idea is to stop debris getting into the sponges so they don't get clogged as quickly. Maybe putting a thin layer of fine sponge on top would do the same job. Or if you don't mind cleaning the media more often, just leave the filter wool out.
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Maybe putting a thin layer of fine sponge on top would do the same job.
I had wondered about that- was thinking of just cutting up a kitchen sponge (unused!).
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Maybe putting a thin layer of fine sponge on top would do the same job.
I had wondered about that- was thinking of just cutting up a kitchen sponge (unused!).
you could try them green kitchen scourer's i use them
in my filters some times cheap but effective
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That's exactly what I've just done ;D
I cut the scourer bits off though first, not sure if I needed to but it only took a few seconds.
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That's exactly what I've just done ;D
I cut the scourer bits off though first, not sure if I needed to but it only took a few seconds.
i used to get the big green ones that look like a scotchbrite pad
and cut them to size
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Just make sure they are plain scourers, not impregnated with detergent or anti-bac or some such.
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there just plain the ones i get from the pound shop
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I know you'd use plain ones biffster ;) I just worry someone else won't realise they need to check.
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very true people should always double check
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Episode IV: A New Theory
Well I've removed the filter wool and added the kitchen sponge (plain!), and whilst it's obviously still early days, I can't see any difference!
However I'm now wondering whether it's something to do with the roots of my Amazon Frogbit? The 'hairs' on the root look to be exactly what I've got suspended in the water and the appearance of the suspended fibres did seem to follow shortly after the introduction of the Frogbit (I thought I had Frogbit previously but have since realised it was Dwarf Water Lettuce, so I added some actual Frogbit).
Has anyone experienced something along these lines with Frogbit? Perhaps it could even be some sort of algae growing off the roots?
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My Amazon Frogbit has these but they are just normal root hairs. It's through these that the plants absorb nutrients. I find that the less nitrates in the tank, the longer and hairier the roots get as they try to extract enough nutrients. The hairs don't seem to break off mine, though. Maybe some of your fish nibble and pull them off??
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It could be unrelated but the root hairs do look remarkably like the fibres in the water and I definitely didn't have them before introducing the Frogbit. It is growing like lightning though - some of the roots are getting on for the 6'' mark now (were about 1-2" when I got them). I don't suppose they could somehow be shedding the hairs as the roots grow??
The other possible cause I can think of is some cyanobacteria I'm battling with at the moment (my tank is now in black-out for the next few days), although I haven't read anything which suggests it could cause a problem such as this.
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Just an update on this:
My tank is now out of it's 3 day blackout and it does look like the cyanobacteria has gone. I will keep a close eye on it though in case it starts to return.
However, the fibres are still there so the changes to the filter media (removing filter wool, adding kitchen sponge) prior to the blackout doesn't appear to have made any difference.
I'm wondering about talking the Frogbit out temporarily to see whether this makes a difference. At the very least it could rule out one of my suspicions. If I just place it some unheated/unfiltered tank water near a window for a week or so is it likely to survive?
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Just a quick update on this for anyone who may be interested - somewhat surprisingly it does seem as if the Frogbit was the culprit :(
I removed all the Frogbit from the tank and left it in a bucket of water for a while and since it was removed it my tank water has pretty much cleared. I then checked the water in the bucket and the fibres were there. I can only assume they were the tiny root hairs which are being shed in some fashion.
Bit of a shame really as I quite liked the Frogbit!