Emperor 280 Reduced Flow Rate?

[A NA kick]

My tank : 55 Gallon , 0 Nitrates, 0 Nitrites, 0 ammonium (well, maybe not zero, but negligble according to my tests), 250 Watt Ebo-Jager Heater, 2 Emperor 280 Filters.

This tank has been setup for about 8 months stocked with 5 (then baby, now 3-4 inches) piranha. In the begining, the tank was crystal clear, however, in the last month or so, the tank is murky and slightly green.

I do 20% water changes weekly, and when I missed a week, (last week) I changed about 50 percent. When I did the large water change, I took apart the filters and wiped off the all the gunk on the impellar and the media chambers.

It seems to me that the filters are not filtering as quickly and thoroughly as they did in the past. One example is that the filters will not filter unless the water level of the tank is very high.

The emperors are about 4 years old and previously they were run on a Cichlid tank. The cichlid tank was never cloudy, always crystal clear.

Any thoughts or ideas? Is it worth changing the impellars? Are the impellars the problem? Im tempted to purchase a Eheim canister used. I hear they are built like tanks.

I wanna see my piranhas!

TIA,
Marc

[brianfl]

It is probably worth calling Marineland. They are very good and very helpful and they have sent me free parts at times even on older filters.

[NJ Devils Fan]

Uhh, few questions. Are the filters on the highest flow rate? When was the last time you changes the filter media? Have you ever fully cleaned the filter, meaning taking everything out and thoroughly cleaned each part? Where is the tank in relation to any windows in the room?

[zzyzx]

Follow the maintenance procedure in the Emporer manual. Don't forget to clean the inside of the lift tube.

Green water is usually indicating an algae bloom. Try decreasing water changes intervals and perhaps increasing water change amount. Vacuum the heck out of the gravel/bottom of the tank. Don't forget to get under any decorations.


Check your nitrate level. Is it elevated?

[A NA kick]

Devils,
Yep, they are on the highest flow rate and the media was rinsed with the last water change (its about 3 weeks old, still looks good). I just ripped apart and totally cleaned both filters two days ago. The tank is not in direct sunlight.

Zz,
The odd thing is that my gravel is spotless. I notice no gunk or..well..poop when I vacuum the gravel. Well, not none, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Whats Marineland's number?

Thanks all,
Marc

[brianfl]

800-322-1266