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Does anybody have any experience of Fluval Clearmax? Any advise would be gratefuly received.

The description says that it traps phospate, nitrite and nitrate and that it should be placed in the last stage after all the other filter media and changed every 6-8 weeks.

Hi Tony,
No, I've never used that product so I can't comment on
your question directly.
I am curious, however, as to why you are considering
its use?

Have you actually tested your water for Phosphate, Nitrite
and Nitrate?

Phosphate can come naturally in your tap water. Many
fish foods (read the labels) come with phosphate, and
others have none. If you have phosphate problems try to
isolate its source (tap and or fish food).

In a cycled tank, there will be no nitrite. Remember, a
tank is fully cycled when tests for ammonia and nitrite
yield zero readings.

As far as Nitrate is concerned, it is the end product of
the Nitrogen Cycle. In planted tanks we would look for
a nitrate reading of around 10. In a fish only tank, we
would strive for a zero reading. Tanks with Nitrate
readings of 40+ are tanks that are in need of maintenance.

You can control the nitrate by the number, size, and type
of fish are in the tank, by adding plants - particularly
the floating type or fast growing stem plants, and by
regular gravel vacuuming.

Water changes should be done regularly. Most of us do it
weekly. How often and how much water is exchanged depends
upon the number, size, and type of fish. A good start is
weekly. When doing the water change you should also vacuum
the gravel. Look at the tank and mentally divide the tank
into four sections. With each water change, vacuum a
different section of the tank. I use the Python brand
siphon. I push the suction end into the gravel right down
to the bottom of the tank, it sucks the gravel up into the
head, where the gravel swirls around and the detritus is
freed and flows out the end to the sink. I do one "push"
release the gravel to fall back into place, move over the
diameter of the siphon head and repeat the process till
the section for the week is cleaned.
That way, in a month, you will have cleaned the gravel
in the entire tank.

As for the question, I personally try never to use
chemicals to regulate something that can be done,
efficiently, and naturally. They get expensive, and in the
long run, tend to encourage us to slack off on tank
maintenance.

Frank

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

Frank,

Many thanks for the very comprehensive reply. I have an established 55 gallon water tropical planted aquarium. With a Fluval 404 filter with pre-filter, carbon (x2) and BioMax in the 4 canisters. I do 33% water changes about once a month and have had no unexplained recent fatalities. The fish appear to thrive and I choose the varieties that would help with the maintenance: a few bottom feeders, algae eaters and snail eaters. I hope that I have achieved a balanced environment.

Currently I have 2 problems: the nitrates build up over time and the plants only last for 2-3 months. I keep the nitrates building up by the regular water changes: I would prefer to make much smaller and more frequent water changes (5% twice a week) but I don’t have the time. The plants are a more complex problem. I know that there is not enough CO2 in the water, I don’t feed them and the fish eat them (specially the algae eaters). I have tried adding CO2 to the water but I had to switch off the air for some time during the day and this stressed the fish. I have yet to start feeding the plants, what I do is regularly replace the plants that look poorly but this is expensive. Apart from replacing the herbivores by carnivores I’m not sure what the answer is.

I bought the Clearmax on impulse: I needed carbon and the Local Fish Shop had a 3 for 2 offer that included the Clearmax. I don’t believe I need carbon as I have not used any medication in the last couple of years. I would welcome some advice regarding the carbon. Getting rid of the phosphate and the nitrates seemed a good idea at the time until I realised that keeping the nitrates and phosphates in check is part of the reason I have the plants, hence my question: I didn't want to harm the plants.

Having read your reply, rather than reducing the number of water changes I should really increase them. Having re-read this message I need to feed the plants, and try to identify if the algae eaters are hidding another problem.

Many thanks,

Tony

Hi Tony,
Before we venture too far into the plant problems, tell
me what you are using for light on the 55G tank. It could
be that you are mixing the "wrong" plants for the light
that is available. Honestly I very much doubt that we
have anyone with a "black thumb" and kills plants
regularly. Let me know the type of light, and what it says
on the bulbs themselves (the writing).

Another possibility is the type, quantity, and size of the
fish in the tank. Mention the stocking for the 55 as
well.

The only time I ever saw a tank that had "too much" CO2
in it was my tank when I had a defective regulator and
put a whole 5 pound bottle of CO2 through it inside 24
hours! When you come down to the tank first thing in
the morning, before the lights come on, is when you can
judge if there is too much CO2 in the tank. As you may
know, during the night plants shift from giving off O2
to giving off CO2 and the CO2 of the injection system
then adds to that given off by the plants. This gives
the maximum CO2 saturation of the tank occurring just
before the tank lights come on in the morning.

If your tank then looks like a tank full of feeders
at your LFS that is packed with a newly arrived shipment,
and they are all gasping at the surface,
then you do indeed have too much CO2 in the tank.

Normal saturation is about 15mg/l and plants start to
benefit from CO2 injection when we raise that to at least
20mg/l and most of us run around 30mg/l, 24/7.
CO2 injection with low light plants, won't show any
real benefit from CO2 injection. They have evolved to
grow slowly, using the available Carbon from the organic
compounds in the water. It's only the mid and high light
demand plants that seem to skyrocket in growth when CO2
is injected. Plants that are medium to high light demand
planted in a low light tank will not benefit from CO2
injection because there simply is not enough light for
them to process the nutrients. They will wither and die.
Light is the engine that drives plant growth, and Carbon
is the fuel for that growth. Without both sufficient
light and Carbon, the plants will fail.

Let's look into the "problem" and see if "we" can't
resolve it so that soon you will need another tank for the
cuttings each week.

Frank


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