Loach (or anyone else who can assist),
Would appreciate if you could analyze the latest readings I took and advise what to do next; I have been having some major issues with my Aqueon filter, in that it's developed a horrible vibration that doesn't seem to improve no matter how we adjust the lid as well as loud splashing noises since I removed those ammonia pads in front (I also noticed, after taking the lid off the filter and looking at the floss cartridges, that there was major overflow around them, so the filter wasn't actually FILTERING anything for god knows how long -- these were the floss pads that came in the box with the filter, and I since took them out and replaced them with new ones from a three-pack we had purchased...but it doesn't make any sense that these were already clogged, because they didn't look THAT bad when I removed them and I had previously dunked/rinsed them in removed tank water during a small water change).
I'll get to some more filter questions after I post my readings here...
Today (7/10)'s readings were:
Ammonia: Somewhere between 0.25 and 0.50
Nitrite: STILL 0
Nitrate: Somewhere between 0 and 5.0 (STILL the dark yellow color)
I also don't understand why, at this point, we STILL have a bacterial bloom in the tank. Shouldn't this have cleared up by now?
I have some filtration questions that I hinted at above; I am thinking that we either got a defective Aqueon unit (it is now making a loud bubbling sound from the media chamber that's seemingly unrelated to the return flow issue) or this HOB just isn't right for my needs anymore -- I was considering changing it out for another AquaClear, possibly the 70 model, but do you think this is wise? Should I swap the Aqueon for the AquaClear at this point, and would the 70 be enough filtration alongside the 110 model I already have on the tank?