Opinions needed

KarlS

Hey how goes it everyone...?

SO I have officially hit my 1st brick wall in my aquarium life. I have 2 astro 2212 filters that i use for my 150g tank. Within the last week both have stopd pumpin water out as fast & hard as when I 1st got them which was in JUNE!!!!!! it' almost as if they are working at 1/2 power. I've lost my 3 blood parrots, and one gold gourami. The rest of the fish seem to be hanging aroud the two output tubes from the filters. I have some descently expensive fish in my tank. So my options that i can think of are,

1- buy a fluval pond filter which is about 450$$ and replace my sand with gravel for another 150$

2- buy 2 Fluval 405 External Filter at 259 a piece and do the gravel thing for 150$.

3- buy a brand new aquarium kit. It's a jebo system with the top filters it's a 190 gallon if I remember correctly and it's a whpping 1200$. The good thing is i have a year to pay it off.. the other options i would have to fork out the $$ on the spot.

4- give up all my fish (about $$300.00) and shut down my aquarium. :'(


please leave me you opinions / answers and reasons why.

Thanks Karl

KarlS

Common people I know ur out there... I watching though your windows as you read this.. mwahahahahaah... j/k ... or am I.

Ok.. There really isn't a wrong answer.. unless it's eat the hearts of the fish to imbue myself with there life-force..

I'm really split down the middle on this one so i'm looking for some pros and cons that I have yet to see. Example has anyone had experience with Jebo aquariums the filters tha are built into the tops are they good?? are the renound for porblems??? Anyone use a pond filter for an aquarium before or heard of someone doing so, was a horrble idea or a great one?

:) anyone got anything?? :)

aunt kymmie

While I'm the last person to give advice when it comes to "equipment" I can most assurdly say that option #4 that you list above is not an option!

iamntbatman

Hmm I'm not really sure why you're considering those options. I'm not familiar with the brand name of filter you're using, but it makes sense that after some time, stuff is going to build up in the filters and reduce flow.

We can't tell you if the reduced flow is the reason your fish are dying. The only problems reduced flow will have are:
1) fish that like high flow will suffer, but none of the fish you listed as dying need high flow
2) there is less oxygen in the water. I doubt this killed your fish either, since your gourami is a labyrinth breather and the blood parrots come from lineage that's used to slow-moving, low-oxygen water
3) The reduced flow is making it impossible for the bacteria in your filters to process all of the waste chemicals in your water.

#3 could be the reason, but you'd know that right away by simply testing your water parameters. Do you have ammonia and nitrite? What do your nitrate levels look like? You can always add more filters to the tank, but I strongly advise against replacing them altogether in one go as this will basically start your cycle over. I also wouldn't replace all of your substrate at once for the same reason. What substrate are you using? I doubt that your substrate is the likely culprit. Switching to a completely new aquarium will mean your fish will have to endure that cycle as well, which certainly won't be good for them.

So, my guess is either that you've got water quality issues, your fish are dying from some sort of illness, or both. Giving us your water parameters would be helpful. Pictures of your fish would also help, especially since hanging out by filter outputs is often a sign of illness.

Don't give up yet! There's a cause to your problems, and I really doubt that changing filters or your aquarium will solve them.

KarlS

ya, # 4 is like a fart in a wind storm; there one second and then gone the next ... Im leaning toward the jebo aquarium.. I've just never heard of anything bad or good about them...

KarlS

I wasn't able to buy a test kit so I took a sample over to the store where they do testing for their clients. I do this once in a while just to make sure everything is in order. I was told that my water levels were good. I did this a few days before the the 1st death, the reason being all the fish seemed to be hanging around the outflow tubes. My Ghost was the 1st tell tail sighn becuase he's always hiding and all of a sudden he started to come out all day long. As for the exact parameters I didn't bother to take down the information, I've been dealing with them for a while now always with good results. But now thinking about it I should have tested the water again after the deaths occured... I'll go back to the store tonight and ask them to run the test again.. and get the parameters this time. Maybe the water parameters changed over the course of a few days that i had it tested and the 1st fish dying...

The substrate is Cichlid sand. The reason for my potential desicion to change it is I was told that it is possible for it to screw up the filters if it gets inside them, & I have a large pleco who tends to stir things up every night so I assumed ths might be the problem.

As for the reduced water flow, im not sure what to do , the flow is at least 1/2 of what is was before.. I cleaned out the canisters and the tubes.. the only thing left is the motor, and I'm really not comfortable tinkering with that.

iamntbatman

I'm not familiar with the Jebo aquarium, but personally I don't like "all-in-one" units like that. They limit your ability to upgrade particular parts of the aquarium, like filtration and lighting, and they force you to buy really specific replacement parts from the company that makes it.

willow

hi
i hope i don't frustrate you with my questions. :(
what media is in your filters. ? how did you wash it out.
does it look like this

i am wondering if the impellor is dirty and needs cleaning,if it's slipping
then that will effect the flow.
have you checked the heaters,in your tank if the temperature has risen
that will depleat the oxygen levels and can effect the fish.

KarlS

Does seem like it could be a problem..

KarlS

That is it.. I use the on the bottom tray the black sponge, second tray chracoal, third (top) I use biomax. Once a month I replace all the media. But i alternate always. so example jan replace media in filter 1, feb filter 2, march filter 1.. etc etc.. I was told that this is good to keep the cycle going. When i replace teh media I always run it through hot/warm water for about 5-10 mins just to clean it up before use.. as for the heater I have 2 and with 2 thermometers at both ends of teh tank.. and they always read 25-27, (77-80.6)