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I cant clear up my green water with the vortex d-1, i have a 20 gallon tank and set up the filter like this:

when i set up my filter i pour the powder in a bucket of water that is running through the filter, then after it is mostly clear i add the carbon, after about 5 minutes the bucket is crystal clear. then i tranfer the hoses to my tank by submeging the bucket and pulling the hoses out without letting air in. i have let it run for 6+ hours after doing this and it doesn't do anything to clear my tank water.

is there anything that i am doing wrong, or what could be wrong with the filter that is causing this.

edit:

another thing, the water in the intake tube is always clear, it doesn't show any evidence of sucking in any new water except the fact that there is a steady flow of water coming out the output, which is also clear.

thanks for the help, this filter is making me mad.

Last edited by Sonic2041 at 22-Apr-2005 15:44

Hi,
With the Vortex Diatom filter, you need a bag of diatomaceous earth
(a white, flour like powder), and a mixing bowl or
tray with a ridge around it to set the assembled
filter in.

Take the glass jar and fill it to within an inch and a
half of the top.

Add one cup of the earth to the water.

Next, attach the bag assembly to the bottom of the pump.

Press the round plastic top of the filter bag assembly
into the matching hole in the bottom of the pump assembly.

Insert the filter bag with the pump assembly into the
jar of water and powder. Seat the pump assembly on the
top of the jar, and tighten the plastic ring on the jar.

Take the intake and ouput hoses and connect them to the
proper (they are marked) ports on the bottom of the pump.

With a measuring cup (what I use) and fill the hoses full
of water.

Take a small ( I use a 4 inch piece) of rigid tubing of the
proper diameter to fit inside the input and output hoses,
and connect the two. Shake up the jar to get the powder
mixed with the water, and then plug in the pump.

Do not use any Carbon.

The pump will circulate the water through the filter and
the powder will coat the filter bag. When the water
is clear, then unplug the pump, and put the hoses into the
aquarium. I generally put the input at one end and the
output at the opposite. Set the assembled filter in the
pan, (catches any leaking water) and plug in the filter.

In less than no time, the tank will become crystal clear.


Now that you know how to assemble and prime the system,
you need to know that using it to clear up green water is
not the best thing to do. The algae will be caught by the
filter, but it will rapidly clog, and the motor could easily
over heat. They are not designed for 24/7 use. Rather, they
are designed to use as an additional filter on some interval
( once a quarter, etc.) for a few hours to "polish"
the water.

To clear up green water you need to understand why it occurs
and remove the causes.

Read the information in this site before you start:

http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/greenwater.html


Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 22-Apr-2005 17:30

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

thanks for the help, why not use any carbon? should i use it after i have ran it once without? i have read that people use it to clean up green water tanks before. If it clogs would water still be coming out of the output, just not through the bag?

It is hard for me to tell what is causing the green water because it is hard to test when it is green. but it is probably because nitrates are at 0.

Hi,
The Vortex is designed to run only with the diatomaceous
earth as the medium. If you must run carbon, put it in
your "other" filter. It won't do any good in the vortex.
Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

the carbon i got is a very fine powder carbon made by vortex specifically for use in diatom filters.

here are my water readings

KH = 4 degrees
GH = 5 degrees
pH = 6.8-7.0
CO2 = 12-18
NO3 = 0
NO2 = 0
NH4 = 0
PO4 = .5

It is a 20 gallon tank and i use a singe 55 watt 6700K PC bulb.

I think the lack of nitrates is causing the green water. would adding more fish solve this.

Right now i have 2 rosy barbs, i rainbow shark, i clown loach, 1 rubber lipped pleco, and 3 bamboo shrimp. i used to have 1 more rosy barb and 6 tiger barbs, but lost them to ammoniaproblems when i moved them to an uncycled quarintine tank when i was trying to fix the green water before.

Last edited by Sonic2041 at 23-Apr-2005 11:20

Last edited by Sonic2041 at 23-Apr-2005 15:11

i got my water clear. you have to run the filter many times and do a couple water changes to lower the density of the algae and then it will clear it up without clogging the filter. I am going to try adding a few more fish to see if i can get my nitrates up.

Hi,
I'm glad that you cleared up the water, and are trying
to correct the cause so it won't return. You don't mention
what, if any plants are in the tank, and if it is heavily
planted or not. Generally a low nitrate is caused by a
lack of fish in a large tank, or lots of plants using up
the nitrate.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

i have plants in the tank, i would say it is inbetween heavily planted and light planted. i just started using CO2 when this started to happen so the co2 probbably allowed the plants to use up the nutrients. i will try adding more fish, if that doesn't help i will have to find somewhere to buy a nitrate fertilizer like pottassium nitrate or something.

Hi,
Go to any hardware store, even a Wal or K Mart store and
in the gardening dept, purchase a product called Grant's
Stump Remover. Be sure to read the labels, many stump
removers have extra additives for faster action etc.
Purchase plain stump remover.
Likewise, at any pharmacy or large grocery store, purchase
a small container of Epsom Salts. Between those and the
CO2, you will cover 90% of the needed ferts.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--