# Canister filter water quality



## htjunkie (Jul 20, 2012)

I replaced my HOB filter with an Eheim canister filter, water was crystal clear for about 3 weeks or so. I decided on the weekend to have a quick look at the canister, I opened it and rinsed the sponge filter, left everything alone as they were quite clean.

Put everything back and now I found the water has some micro bubbles or little particles, what else could have caused this? I do have some algae micro film in the tube but in the past, I would see a thin film floating in the water, not micro particles.

What can I do to get the water quality back to what it was? Should I get a brush to clean the tubes? I confirmed the order of the filter media is correct. Model is Eheim Pro 3e 2076.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

If they are micro air bubbles, then they will dissipate with time.

If it is actual particulate matter that is floating around in your aquarium, I would suspect it is little bits of the biofilm that have broken off from your filter tubing. The biofilm is harmless, but can be unsightly until it is filtered out (or even eaten by your fish). 

You can prevent biofilm accumulation by cleaning out your tubes on a regular basis. I'm lazy, so I just learn to live with it 

Also, the thin film that you saw previously was likely a proteinaceous film that accumulated from the food you feed.


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## htjunkie (Jul 20, 2012)

Thanks, I have bought some cleaning tool to clean the tubes, will disconnect the filter over the weekend to work on it. Hope it will do the trick.


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## splur (May 11, 2011)

Yeah, one of my canister filters does that. It goes away eventually, but I'd double check it a day later to make sure.


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