scuba guy

I have a new 500 gallon aquarium (yeah - baby!). But it's new - new filters, new sump pumps, new everything.

So the water is going through cycling. I am 3 weeks into it and ammonia is now zero (been that way for days now) - but I still have a 'milky' haze to the water. It is certainly not crystal clear.

I am getting ready to put in Annubias and Amazon swords in a few days.

I thought I would put my Vortex XL diatom filter on the aquarium to see if it can polish and clear the water - but wonder if I am wasting time.

How long will it take for the Vortex XL to clear a 500 gallon aquarium - or am I just spinning wheels?

Also - the tank has 6 red Mellon discus in it. They held up beautifully.

(p.s. I did prime the bio-filter with bio-spira - otherwise no way would I use Discus to cycle!! - seems to have worked).

Thoughts on the Vortex most welcome - thanks

Andy Ritter

500 gallons. Wow! Sounds impressive!

I'm not sure, but it sounds to me like you have a bacterial bloom. I also use Vortex diatom filters, and in my experience, they won't help with a bacterial bloom at all. It should clear up on it's own fairly soon. However, it definitely won't hurt to try and use the diatom filter. Vortex claims that they can be used continuously, so I'd just charge it up and put it on the tank and see what happens. I have used mine for a couple of days before when I wanted to clean the water thoroughly after medicating the tank (also had the Vortex Super-Char activated carbon in it for absorbing the chemicals). I think that if you go ahead and add the plants that the water will clear up a little quicker, but again, I'm not sure.

Good luck! I hope you start a journal so I can enjoy your tank too!

Andy

scuba guy

Once I get the aquarium organized and settled, I'll post some pics. I added 100 Cardinals today and 100 Rummy Nose. They are schooling real nice. I suspect I have a few more weeks to go before the aquarium stabilizes. I suspected a bacteria bloom, but hoped it would clear out quicker than this. We'll see how the Vortex works.

No ammonia - but I don't know if Nitrites are loading up yet. I am changing about 10% of the water every day just to stay ahead. I'm looking forward to when the water is crystal clear.