Very frustrated right now

[grillermichael]

Here's the situation: have a 37 tall that got set up in May '10. Currently, we have 7 angelfish that were purchased on 11/9/10 along w/2 corys, and as of last week, we added a pearl gourami and a bala shark. I do about 4-6 water changes a week --- anywhere from 30 - 50 %. The angels are now over a silver dollar in size, and growing rapidly ---- that's the good news. The frustration is with the filter. I have an Emperor 280 (marineland) on the tank, and over the last 3 weeks or so, everytime I do a water change and refill the filter to get it restarted, a bunch of junk spews out of the filter. So today, I break down the filter and clean it ---- or so I thought. Do another water change, fire up the filter, and it's like the junk and crap coming out of the filter when it starts is WORSE ------- !!! So, obviously, I need a class in filter cleaning ---- how do you get ALL the crap out of that thing so that junk doesn't spew out when you restart it after a cleaning ??

Thx,

Michael

[supadave]

Clean the intake tube .

[myjohnson]

Don't use HOBs.

[grillermichael]

Ok Supadave ---- I will take off the intake, and try to get into it with a toothbrush or maybe a big pipe cleaner to scrub the insides --- obviously just running the hot water thru it didn't help much, IF indeed that's the problem --- my thought was that the gunk was sitting down around the impeller, but clearly that wasn't it.

myjohnson ---- I know you favor Eheim's ----- and if I can't right the ship, that's what I will do. What size to you recommend for a tank like mine ?? Also, aren't they quiet as well?? This Emperor is starting to sound like a Harley, and when I went to check on it about an hour ago, the biowheel which always turned at a good rate is now hardly turning at all. It's like I actuallty made this thing operate worse by cleaning it ........

Lastly, the water is not superclear ---- somewhat cloudy, but I haven't squawked simply because the fish seem to be doing great ------ the goal of this tank is to really try and get those angels big, and they seem to be doing great. I'm wondering if, since the fish are bigger, if the bioload is bigger than what this filter can keep up with ----- any thoughts on that ??

[myjohnson]

myjohnson ---- I know you favor Eheim's ----- and if I can't right the ship, that's what I will do. What size to you recommend for a tank like mine ?? Also, aren't they quiet as well?? This Emperor is starting to sound like a Harley, and when I went to check on it about an hour ago, the biowheel which always turned at a good rate is now hardly turning at all. It's like I actuallty made this thing operate worse by cleaning it ........

I would go with the 2215 on a tank that size. And yes, ehiems are known for being very quiet. The noise of the motor on most filters come from imperfections on the impeller magnet. If your emperor is starting to make noise it could be because you are getting sand into the motor. So you keep sand substrate?

[armthehomeless]

This Emperor is starting to sound like a Harley, and when I went to check on it about an hour ago, the biowheel which always turned at a good rate is now hardly turning at all. It's like I actuallty made this thing operate worse by cleaning it ........

Lastly, the water is not superclear ---- somewhat cloudy, but I haven't squawked simply because the fish seem to be doing great ------ the goal of this tank is to really try and get those angels big, and they seem to be doing great. I'm wondering if, since the fish are bigger, if the bioload is bigger than what this filter can keep up with ----- any thoughts on that ??

A couple things: You mentioned that the emperor is starting to sound noicy - usually that is a sign that there is gunk down in the motor housing impellor. I'd take everything apart and thoroughly clean out the intake tubes and impellor housing. With that said, I often have a little bit of junk spit out when I restart a filter ... HOB, wet/dry, or canister. It does usually have to do with the tubes as Dave mentioned. I use a wire brush to clean my tubes . . . although I've also had success in the past with my old trumpet cleaner.

To get super clear water, you'll want to add a different kind of filter material- something to filter out the smaller particulate matter. I use filter floss (quilt batting).

I couldn't help but notice your bioload . . . and am assuming that you'll be getting a larger tank. After all - it WILL help your angels et bigger faster. If you are planning on upgrading, I would suggest a 2217 (if you change to eheim) as opposed to a 2215. I have a 2215 on my 30g shrimp tank.

[grillermichael]

myjohnson ----- no sand, gravel, or substrate ---- the tank is bare. Appreciate the input on the right size Eheim.

armthehomeless ---- will break it down once more and really try to go after the intake tubes. But I just want to be clear; once I do the water change , as I am filling up the filter w/water in order to restart it, there is a little leakage of gunk back into the tank. The spewing REALLY starts when you plug it back in. The point is, since there is a little leakage ("little" being not enough to post about) that occurs before you ever turn the thing on, does that sound like an intake tube problem ?? To your question about getting a bigger boat ---- the answer is no, I have not thought about a bigger boat. I am thinking with lots of water changes and lots of food that I can get those angels to max size ........maybe I'm wrong, but that was the thought. What this conversation does tell me is that I might be well served to get a bigger better filter, like the Eheim that you and myjohnson mentioned ...... that would be the next step if I were to do something different.

[black_knight]

I've not had good luck with HOB Marinelands. Usually crud builds up and you can't get it all out unless you scrub the whole inside which gets rid of the good bacteria on the plastic. I tend to use Aquaclear. Canisters are great and efficient, but harder to clean. If you want to grow some huge Angelfish, there's no substitute for good old fashion water changes , and all you need is a sponge filter. A 70-90 gallon bare-bottom tank would be better for your 7 Angelfish. I've grown palm sized angelfish (body) with a sponge and freq. water changes (50% every 2-3 days, rinse the sponge out in old aquarium water- takes about 15-30min. yould could probably get away with weekly). Feed frozen foods occasionally (brine shrimp, black worms, beef heart). They get big fast.