Beef Heart and Canister Filters

[Demosthenes]

I had a strange experience this week that I wanted to share and see if anyone else has seen something similar. I talked about it a bit in my tank journal, but wanted to post here to possibly reach a bigger audience.

Earlier this week I noticed my new group of discus breathing heavily and some inflammation of their gills. I've been doing 95% water changes daily in a bare-bottom tank, so I was somewhat flummoxed as to how there could possibly be water quality issues. I had just cleaned out my canister filter about 2 weeks prior to these symptoms first showing up, and with all my daily siphoning I thought it had to be clean. But just to be safe I opened it up. Well the whole inside of the filter was covered in pink slime and white mold/fungus looking crap.

I did my best to clean out all the media and the discus have seemed much happier since. I've also been dosing the tank with salt to help their gills heal. But I just opened the filter today, maybe 3 days after cleaning it, and it is again filled with slimy looking mold. I'm also realizing that this mold stuff is probably trapped in all the ridges on the Fluval tubing, which seems very daunting to clean. Furthermore, opening up the canister every 3 days is too much hassle, and it stresses the fish every time because it gets air in the system and sends out micro-bubbles. At this point I'm thinking I need to just scrap the canister and put in a sponge filter.

I've been running this filter continuously for ... probably at least 10 years at this point... and I've never seen anything like this. In the past I've gone months without opening it up and never had issues. The waste inside was always a happy healthy brown, usually accompanied by shrimp and snails. The only thing that I can think is that this was caused by feeding Beef Heart. This is the first time I've tried feeding it, and it seems like it just doesn't break down the same as other prepared or live foods. Or maybe it's just that my fully established filter didn't have the right bacteria in it to handle these specific proteins.

It's funny, I've read other threads on here where people talk about "dirty" canister filters, and I honestly rolled my eyes because I've never had any trouble with mine. But it seems like they just don't get along with this specific food. Has anyone else ever experienced this, or is my hypothesis way off base?

[Ewhonest]

Do you run prefilter sponges (cut sponges over the intake siphons on the inside of He tank)over all of your intakes? I do and I almost never find anything in any of my canister other then what you would expect. I do rinse the prefilters at least every other day with a garden hose as I do t care if the bacteria stays alive on these just as long as they are clean.

[Ryan925]

Do you run prefilter sponges (cut sponges over the intake siphons on the inside of He tank)over all of your intakes? I do and I almost never find anything in any of my canister other then what you would expect. I do rinse the prefilters at least every other day with a garden hose as I do t care if the bacteria stays alive on these just as long as they are clean.

+1 BH is very messy but great for your fish's growth. Best thing to do is use a prefilter on intake and also shut down canister for 20-30 mins when you feed. Will save you lots of trouble and maintenance

[Demosthenes]

I have been shutting down the filter during feedings, but not using a pre-filter sponge. Adding a pre-filter sponge was my first thought. But now that I've seen this ...mold? bacteria? fungus?... whatever it is, grow back all over everything in just a few days, I'm worried that the filter is contaminated with it. I'm on fence though. Re-cycling the tank is not something I wanted to do 3 weeks into a grow-out. Thoughts?

[HarryDk]

turn off your filter for 15-20minutes, vacuum un eaten food and filter back on again. That is what I learn here :)

[DISCUS STU]

How crumbly is your BH mix? If you're feeding a mix that's mostly feeding your canister then this could be part of the problem.

I use two canisters in circuit and a large Fluval HOB, I remove the siphon while feeding. Eheim #1 is the prefilter to the second #2 which has ehfisubstrat.

I've had to go back more than once to add more binder to my mix so that the bh doesn't become a big cloud of of water polluting garbage. Usually knox gelatin, raw shrimp, raw egg, or crushed flake is a good binder.

[Demosthenes]

How crumbly is your BH mix? If you're feeding a mix that's mostly feeding your canister then this could be part of the problem.

It's Hans' beef heart. I don't how it compares to other mixes since it's the only one I've tried. I've found that if I shred it into little bite sized pieces and hand feed, there is very little if any mess. It's when I drop in big chunks and let the fish rip it apart that it goes everywhere.

[DISCUS STU]

It's Hans' beef heart. I don't how it compares to other mixes since it's the only one I've tried. I've found that if I shred it into little bite sized pieces and hand feed, there is very little if any mess. It's when I drop in big chunks and let the fish rip it apart that it goes everywhere.

It may not have enough binder but it's usually suggested to cut it into bite sized pieces, which is hard to do, and then feed. I cut mine with a cleaver after thawing a little. There was one time when I used too much binder and the fish couldn't eat the bh, but usually it's the other way around. Again with the right amount of binder you should be feeding the fish and not the filter(s).

Depending on your setup and number of fish you may also want to try to make this yourself in the future as I'm sure it's much more cost effective and not a PIA. You can make enough to last you anywhere from 6-24 months depending on the quantity produced.

[Demosthenes]

Depending on your setup and number of fish you may also want to try to make this yourself in the future as I'm sure it's much more cost effective and not a PIA. You can make enough to last you anywhere from 6-24 months depending on the quantity produced.

Right now I'm just growing out a group of 6 that are about 3.5inches. If I'm ever doing a larger project I'll probably try getting my hands dirty and making my own, but for the small amount that I need it's easier to just buy it ready made.

[Demosthenes]

So I added a pre-filter sponge to the canister last weekend, and a separate HydorIV sponge on Weds. My routine has been to turn off both the sponge and canister filters for feeding time. I've been hand feeding pretty neurotically since I lost a fish to bloat and have had all these issues, so what I do is I break off little bite sized bits of beef heart and drop them in to the fish one at a time. I watch their little bellies and when they start filling up and seeming less interested I know they've gotten enough to eat. There is never any leftover food on bottom. Once they're done eating I've been turning on the sponge filter first and letting it run for ten minutes or so to pick up all the little microscopic bits of food before I turn on the canister. My plan is to give it three weeks and if I'm still seeing this mold stuff in the canister at that point, I'll just take it out and go with the Hydor.

I feel like this all sounds a little insane, but then again maybe not so insane for Simply ;)

[MarkGSmith]

The mold should be gone by then. I had this before and if I remember right you'll still have to clean it out a few times but it will become less each go as you've stopped feeding it. good luck.