Matured filters

[Golfmad]

Hi

How do I know when my biological filters are working ? How long does this normally take ? What sort/brand of commercial bacteria should I buy ?

Tks,

[Allen_1971]

Your biofilter starts working the moment you put some fish in your tank.

What I think you want to know is when your filter is stable and running full swing (in equilibrium)... and the answer is roughly a month (assuming your filter is left to run undisturbed and your bioload is constant).

As for adding bacteria, thats controversial... so say it works some say it doesn't... me? I sit on the fence

[David]

hi allen

i used to use the bacterial thingy....works or not i am not too sure but one of the positive effect of it is that it clears the cloudy water faster than it would be leaving the water alone.

[Golfmad]

Tks Allen

I asked 'cos my new filter is more than 3 months old, but I keep getting hair/beard algae. I understand that this may be caused by biofilteration not working. So want to know what and how you test for working filter ?

Tks.

[David]

hi golfmad

if you already have fish in your tank for 3mths or so, your biological should be up and running unless during filter maintnence, you accidently use untreated tap water and the cholrine knocked it off.

If your fish shows no unusual behavior, leave the filter alone. As for hair and beard algae, it is usually due to lights and lighting duration, element inbalance, and water circulation. could you give alittle bit more details on this area?

incidentally what kind of plants are your keeping and what does your algae cleaning crew consist of and how many?

[zac08]

This is not due to the filter, but more of the higher light source and also an abundunce of food for the algae, meaning the nitrates.... That has to be removed by water changes.... So if you like to keep this level low, do a weekly 20 - 30% change....

And also check if you light has too high a rating... Lights of more than 9000K can and will result in more algae growth.

[Golfmad]

Hi David

Sorry for the late reply as I was out for most of Dec. The algae grows on my Java moss only which is on my driffwood. I have a assortment of plants in my tank but cannotID them at this stage as I buy them based on looks(am new to this). Once I collect the book from Vinz, I will ID the plants.

Rgds,