water clarity question

[venzi]

Hi.  I've been noticing these white specs of dust floating around in the water.  They're only noticeable in the evenings and when the aquarium light is turned on and there's a dark background to give the specs enough contrast to show.  Otherwise, to casual observer, the water looks pretty clear with the aquarium lights turned off.  I wouldn't say the water is milky/cloudy looking.  The water seems clear, but there's a bunch of these white specs floating around.  The water has been like this for months now and the fish seem healthy and thriving.

I'm been feeding xtreme nano pellets and am thinking of switching up the food to see if it helps.  

I've attached a picture (which is rather grainy b/c it's so hard to focus on these specs) and a video which manages to focus on them a bit better.

Edited April 3, 2023 by venzi

[nabokovfan87]

What is your filtration and how is it setup?

What is the tank size?

[venzi]

On 4/3/2023 at 12:35 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

What is your filtration and how is it setup?

What is the tank size?

Hi @nabokovfan87.  UGF with 2 pump heads and 20gallons.  This tank has been running for about 6 months now.

[DaveO]

A photo of the whole tank would be helpful.

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/3/2023 at 3:32 AM, venzi said:

2 pump heads and 20gallons. 

When was the last time pumps were cleaned and UGF tubes maintained?

[venzi]

On 4/3/2023 at 7:56 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

When was the last time pumps were cleaned and UGF tubes maintained?

never lol.

[venzi]

On 4/3/2023 at 5:30 AM, DaveO said:

A photo of the whole tank would be helpful.

Here you go.

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/3/2023 at 11:31 AM, venzi said:

never lol.

you need to clean impellers and pumps at least every few months, better is every month.  There's no issue with using a pipe cleaner on the pumps either (or stuffing some sponge in there to protect the pumps from junk getting in there.

[Tommy Vercetti]

On 4/3/2023 at 3:32 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

you need to clean impellers and pumps at least every few months, better is every month.  There's no issue with using a pipe cleaner on the pumps either (or stuffing some sponge in there to protect the pumps from junk getting in there.

It's been a long time for me, but if I remember correctly, most under gravel filters were powered by air stones. 

 

 

I see he has two pump heads in this setup. Carry on. 

Edited April 4, 2023 by Tommy Vercetti

[DaveO]

My best guess is the ugf is actually pulling sediment clear through the substrate and back into the water column. If the gravel is course and the uplift is strong that could happen. You can put a layer of sand on top of the gravel to filter more gunk and/or slow the flow by using airstones in place of pumps.

[Tanked]

As mentioned above, cleaning the impellers/pumps will help.  If the problem is the UGF recirculating finer particles, adding sand will possibly make the problem worse.  It may also damage the pumps and clog the UGF.  I would start with a deep gravel cleaning at every water change. This might help.  I occasionally siphon the water directly from the lift tubes, and find tiny pieces of gravel.  Adding a HOB to polish the water, will help.  I have had some success with water clarifiers, but when the blue lights come on some of the floaters are still there.

[DaveO]

 Very small grained  sand will possibly cause those problems. May I suggest this sand. I use it and do not have those problems. It is a little bit larger grain that does not waft up into the water column. 

[DaveO]

Oops.

I kinda forgot to say what it is. This is the Peace River blend.

[nabokovfan87]

I don't think there is sand involved here, but I very well could have missed that in the above.  I think the gravel is dirty, that particulate (or air... microbubbles) from the junk in the pumps isn't allowed to be cleaned. 

Adding a prefilter gives you some form of mechanical filtration, it can be done on UGFs.  Second to that, maintain the substrate and the filtration (including pumps) as a whole to allow them to function as you desire. 

An UGF is NOT a "set it and forget it" system.  You still need to do maintenance.

 

Having the pump on the system (two of them) turns the volume to 11 so to speak.  Meaning, it's much easier, more critical, for that maintenance to happen.

Edited April 4, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[nabokovfan87]

The end of this video is also a good visual to show you what's going on underneath the plates.   That "gunk" is basically going to go everywhere and having a mechanical filtration method would help to resolve some of the issues you're experiencing.
 

 

[nabokovfan87]

I found this.  Very experienced user of UGFs and he discusses his methods for cleaning and care. Nice video!
 

 

[venzi]

So I wanted to post an update.  I've been so busy with life and my family being sick that I haven't had time to do the cleaning recommended by others in this thread.  I did try something low effort on my part though.  I switched from nano pellets to 1.5mm pellets and cut down on how much I was feeding the fish and within days my tank cleared up to have crystal clear water again.  I'm guessing the nano pellets had an effect similar to gel foods or flake foods "muddying" up the water too much.  I was able to target feed the betta fish far more easily with the bigger 1.5mm pellets (only giving them like 4 pellets or so) and I could have more control how much I feed the fish.  So I'm glad things are in order again.  Hope this helps someone else down the line.