Switching Mag 350 to Filstar XP-3 = continuously cloudy water???

I switched my Mag 350 for an XP-3 approx 20 days ago and now my water is mildly cloudy. When I initially replaced the Magnum there were approx 5 days left til the cycle was completed (new tank) and the water was crystal clear. Since the replacement the cycle has completed the water has become cloudy.

I understand a single Magnum 350 on a 90 gal is a bit on the "barely adequate" side but I never had a problem before. The XP-3 is also rated a 350/gph and has at least 5 times the media capacity of the Mag.

Like everyone else, I've had cloudy water before but it ALWAYS cleared up after a few days, usually going from cloudy to clear in a couple of hours. There aren't any visible particles, just cloudyness.

Is the XP-3 not as good as the Mag at keeping the water clear? I've read reviews on the Mag 350 and in a lot of cases, if the reviewer gave a poor rating, there would be a comment like, "...however, it did do an excellent job on keeping the water clear...". These reviewers were NOT talking about the micron cartridge either.

Is cloudyness a sign that (1) the XP-3 isn't as good as the Mag at keeping the water clear and (2) ultimately, my tank needs more filtration? Orrrrrrr, Should I leave it alone and give it more time to clear?

I know people like extra filtration but is it necessary in my case? Will it have an effect on the cloudyness? All my test results are good. Ammonia-0 pH-7.2 Nitrate-15 Nitrite-0

What's your take?

125gJoe said:

Did your thoroughly rinse any additives to the filter, like "biomedia", etc.? The Filstar will not contribute to cloudy water - it's an excellent filter. Hope you get to the cause of the cloudy water.
Our tap water is rather bad down here, and I had to opt for a UV sterilizer, and also use a Vortex XL diatom filter (along with canister filters - xP-3's) to make sure out water is very clean and clear.

Edit:
Also you may need to remove the driftwood you just put in the tank.
Look for soft spots - a sign of rotting wood.

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Yeah, I rinsed the media extremely thoroughly. The driftwood was added just the other day so I don't think thats the problem. The water was cloudy well before that addition.

On the positive side, it has cleared up considerably since adding the driftwood (!!?? ). It's still not 100% but it's definately better. I never had to wait this long for a tank to clear on its own. Hopefully the clearing trend continues.

I still may add another filter, most likely another Mag 350, as my bioload is fairly heavy. It'll probably make the water cloudy again

I still really love the XP-3. For the $$ it can't be beat.The maintainence aspect is 1000 times easier than the Magnum!

MikefromNH said:

On the positive side, it has cleared up considerably since adding the driftwood (!!?? ). It's still not 100% but it's definately better. I never had to wait this long for a tank to clear on its own. Hopefully the clearing trend continues.

Click to expand...

NOT :mad2

The tank is in fact NOT clear, it is just as bad as before. When I looked today there was a lot of indirect sunlight in the room and the water didn't look as bad. Now, at night, it looks crappy.


What is the deal here? The tank has been cycled for over 2 weeks, I know it's not that long but my test results are always the same, 0 ammo 0 nitrite 10-15 nitrate. From what I understand cloudiness comes from bacterial blooms caused by a disturbance in the bio-balance. I couldn't have disturbed the incomplete cycle that much by switching filters because it finished 5 days later. Shouldn't everything be normalized by now?

OK, here's the deal. ALGAE BLOOM! :mad2 :mad2 :rant: :rant: :rant:

Looking at the tank today I noticed the water is in fact a greenish yellow. I did a search and found high phosphates to be the most likely cause of the problem. I have 3 48" Aqua-Glo's which are on at most 6 hrs a day and there is no direct sunlight on the tank. The tank is 90 gal with a total of 120 watts of light, so it's not really a "bright" tank.

I had a good amount of algae, a week ago, on the glass but it has since been wiped off. Why all the algae? I just bought some phosphate removing pads. We'll see how those work. I may have to resort to the "blackout" method.

Here are a couple of pix. Only 1 48" tube is on. Though it dosen't look it in the pix, the cloud is greenish. Also, it's much worse than it looks.

Here's the front view after a phosphorous absorbing pad and some acurel. Same lighting, 1 48" AG.







Let the flaming begin. Yeah, I know it probably wont stay that way. I added a small powerhead and micron filter for mainly circulation purposes. The micron filter is a bonus, plus it keeps fish out of the death suction zone.