Cloudy Water

You replaced the activated carbon, which is probably 1/2 the filter media in your aquaclear. This is a problem with using carbon......it does help clarify the water, but by replacing it, you've removed 1/2 of your beneficial bacteria which had collected in the media. Your ammonia will spike because of this, but should work its way down fairly quickly, with water changes, until the bacteria gets itself built up again. Those 4 inch sharks build up a fair amount of waste. How big is the lobster?

I'd recommend getting a filter double the size currently on there. Or....just get another of the same size. You'll double the amount of media available to contain the bacteria that you need. I've always been a fan of redundant filtering.
 
The lobster is about 3 1/2" long not including his 2 main claws. So you think the 50 isnt good enough for a 30gal? I'll look into getting the next size up then. Otherwise, i think my problem is when i vaccum, i dont have enough time to get the entire bottom of the tank, if i did, i'd end up having removed about 50% of the water..or more. So i go kinda quick as to keep myself w/in the 25% range. Any tips to get around this?
 
Limit your vacuuming to maybe 1/2 the tank. Next water change, do the other 1/2.

If your AquaClear is a model 50, it passes 200 gph of water. For hang-on-back filters, tank-volume times 10 is my rule. So I'd recommend 300 gph which is an AC model 70. I'd continue to use the 50 and just get another one.....if you have room. I opted for one HOB and one Fluval Cannister on my 55g. The canister holds a ton of media (but is pricey), and the HOB introduces air to the water, so they complement each other. I also never see ammonia spikes when I clean filters. My 20g has a Penguin 125 bio-wheel (no carbon, just fine floss/fiber) and a ViaAqua 265. Even my 10g has two mini HOB's running about 100gph each. So maybe I'm overkill with filtering, but....most will agree, there's no such thing as too much filtering.
 
FishNthings said:
So i go kinda quick as to keep myself w/in the 25% range. Any tips to get around this?
Click to expand...

Why are you limiting yourself to 25%? There's nothing wrong with 50%. Your nitrAtes used to read 40 ppm. Have you measured them lately? Basically, you should find out what percentage water change you need to lower your nitrates below 20 ppm (or even below 10 ppm) each week. You'll have to experiment to see what percentage is right for your tank. Everybody's tank is different.

Although your first priority is keeping your ammonia down. Do whatever water changes are necessary, back to back.
 
Doing a vac. deep into the gravel WILL NOT remove your good bacteria, they adhere to the gravel much more strongly than the vac. can remove, so don't worry about it : )!! The fish will only grow to the tank size when its growth becomes stunted, it will be very unhealthy, disease prone, and will die way before it should. Again, I think you need to find a new store, these people don't seem to know what they are talking about and give out really bad advice :argue: !! I would not trust them for any advice.
Also, ammonia levels can rise very quickly when there is a problem/cause. Literally overnight, so it might have changed that much from their testing to yours
 
Ok, my experimenting started last nite w/ baking soda, i did a partial water change, tested the ammonia in the water that i drained, it was at 4. I added kitchen baking soda to it and it went down to zero immediately....is this safe to add to the tank or should i just wait and do water changes to get the ammonia down? As for the stunting how do i know when they are stunted and its too late to upgrade my tank size? If i get a 110-120gal tank, and two AC 70's would that be adequate filtration? Would that be adequate size for my fish? Thanks for the info.
 
I tend to not use chemicals whenever possible. Keep doing water changes to bring ammonia down. Eventually your filter will catch up to your bio-load and ammonia will disappear the natural way.

Two AC 70's filtering 300gph each. Sounds ok to me, but I still like my 10x rule...I'd probably run two AC 110's at 500gph each. A tank that large probably needs more water flow than two 70's could manage. Two 70's and a large powerhead sounds ok.

Sorry, I have no info about stunted fish. I have two 11-inchers in a 55gal. A bit cramped, but they are both healthy. (edit: Let me take that back. If you know how big your fish are going to get, you should make preparations asap. Don't wait. Get a tank that's big enough or give some fish back to a store, etc.)
 
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Unfortunately, a 110g would not even be enough for one irr. shark, If you wanted to keep all four, think along the lines of 250g+ and even that I think is probably way too small! I would just consider returning them...
Not sure how to really tell "when" they are stunted, its a gradual process, but I think the sooner a fish can be moved to a bigger tank the better. I had 3 balas in a 50g before I knew better, and even though they were only a few inches long, it was obvious that they were not happy, they were very spastic and would hit the lid and sides of the tank if you moved too fast by them. They are now in a 180g tank, and they act like they don't have a care in the world :D
 
Wow no way i'd ever be able to afford anything over a 110 or 120. Wouldnt that be better than nothing though? And then maybe in a year or two i'll be able to jump up to 200+?
 
Better than nothing?? Yes, but IMO I would just return it... Who wants to constantly feel stressed to upgrade b/c you have this massive fish bashing into the sides of your tank and spend all your time and money devoted to this one fish? If you could get a massive tank for it, great!! But most of us don't have the money or space to properly keep these fish. Its really a shame that they are sold at all :confused:

Also, if you've ever heard a fish hit the side/lid of a tank, it is a sickening sound (like a bird hitting a window) you won't want to hear it regularly. My balas guilted me into a 180g tank after a few leaps into the glass lids :eek:
 
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