Bacterial Bloom

[Ian086]

Hi i just wanted to share my photos of my recent case of bacterial bloom and want to show people what it looks like. It shows the start, middle and end of the bloom. My tank is fine now...

 

[Aqualady40]

Pretty tank

 

[Sbrumley]

I have bacterial bloom now I believe due to somewhat cloudy, smelly and bubbles staying on water surface. I have never had this happen before, any advice?

 

[Rivercats]

I have bacterial bloom now I believe due to somewhat cloudy, smelly and bubbles staying on water surface. I have never had this happen before, any advice?

Smelly bubbles staying on the surface of the water isn't a bacterial bloom. The cloud could be tho. Sounds like you have a protein layer on the surface of the tank. First do you have a bubbler? Second do you have any water movement on the surface of the tank? Third can you add carbon to your filter to remove the smell? Is your substrate really dirty or hasn't been cleaned in awhile? Do you know your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings?

For starters if you have a HOB filter you need to drop your water level so the water from the filter cascades into the tank like a waterfall breaking up the surface scum. Add carbon for odor, and remove in a couple weeks if you have a planted tank. Bacterial blooms will clear on their own but if your tank isn't recently set up you need to find out why your having a bacterial bloom.

 

[Ian086]

I have bacterial bloom now I believe due to somewhat cloudy, smelly and bubbles staying on water surface. I have never had this happen before, any advice?

Hi, first of all i would say to you is don't panic. From what i've read myself, they happen to all aquarists at some stage. They are harmless, they just don't look very nice!. My tank went from crystal clear to very cloudy in a few days.
I will include an address to an excellent post on this issue.
There are a few causes, mainly overfeeding, overcleaning, water quality issues(the post will explain it more).I didn't do anything really to get rid of it, there's nothing you can do to get rid of it but theres a few things you can do to speed it up. I basically just left my tank alone, no water changes, no feeding, no lights and ran my airstone 24/7. Mine completely went after 3 days, although i believe they can last for a few weeks. It kinda just 'burns' its self out. Andrew McFadden help me with some great advice, you can do your water change as usual-this won't help clear it but i won't do any harm either....You should try to find out why you got i in the first place. Have you done any major changes to the tank, is your water quality ok, is the tank cycled fully or for long??. Rivercats just answered your question better than i could. You need to listen to people like him. They have seen it, done it, bought the Tee-Shirt...I was nearly finished my answer but Rivercats beat me to it!!. I'll post it anyway!!. Please correct me Rivercats if i am wrong on anything above...I hope that makes sence!!...Ian
PS..Rivercats answered your question on the other issues..
Here is a good article on bacteria blooms
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?...oms-explained/

 

[Ian086]

Cheers for the digout Rivercats!!!..Ian

 

[Rivercats]

The only thing I can add to Ian's post is besides me being a female... lol, most bacterial blooms don't last long BUT on rare occassion you can get one (usually from an undected problem in the tank) that can last weeks. There is actually one thing that can clear a bacterial bloom overnight... a UV sterilizer. Bacterial blooms are caused from heterotrophic bacteria, not the tanks good bacteria which is autotrophic. Since heterotrophic bacteria multiplies so quickly and doesn't adhere well to objects it mostly stays in the water column causing a bacterial bloom. Since it is in the water column when using a UV sterilizer the bacteria that passes through in front of the UV light gets killed. Hence most UV sterilizers can clear water in a matter of hours or day. And no I wouldn't recommend getting one but it's just good information to know.

 

[Ian086]

Please accept my apologies Rivercats, i'm not a male chauvinist, honestly!!. I took a 50/50 shot and obviously got it wrong...Sorry again!!!...Ian

 

[ktomminello]

Lol, river, take it as a compliment your knowledge base, friendly and helpful advice.... And how your tank set up looks, it's easy to make mistakes like that on here

 

[Rivercats]

Lol, river, take it as a compliment your knowledge base, friendly and helpful advice.... And how your tank set up looks, it's easy to make mistakes like that on here

I've been getting called "he" all day so figured I'll let more people know I'm really a "she"... Lol

 

[ktomminello]

I don't get referred to often, lol, but if anyone just looks at a couple of my posts I have references to my hubby and being a mom and stuff... I'm just story telling from my experiences, you're the information goddess, but you don't refer to yourself or your real life that often...

 

[Rivercats]

Guess there's not much to tell since I'm past the kids stage but have mentioned being a grandma before.

 

[Ian086]

Guess there's not much to tell since I'm past the kids stage but have mentioned being a grandma before.

A pretty cool grandma i'd say. If my granny had a tank like that, i'd move in!!!

 

[ktomminello]

I stand corrected, then, lol. I understand the knowledge behind the hobby- my mom has graduated to ponds and rivers since the kids are grown and the grand kids love it

 

[Rivercats]

I stand corrected, then, lol. I understand the knowledge behind the hobby- my mom has graduated to ponds and rivers since the kids are grown and the grand kids love it

Been into those since I was a kid, I have an almost 3000g pond, and close to 300g pond, a stream and one of the ponds we stocked by collecting 1/2 long baby bull nose catfish and leopard and cricket frogs. There is the box turtle pen that is landscaped with a patio, pond, stream and tons of plants. So the grandkids love to come see Granny and Auntie. But tanks you can enjoy year round.

 

[Ian086]

Been into those since I was a kid, I have an almost 3000g pond, and close to 300g pond, a stream and one of the ponds we stocked by collecting 1/2 long baby bull nose catfish and leopard and cricket frogs. There is the box turtle pen that is landscaped with a patio, pond, stream and tons of plants. So the grandkids love to come see Granny and Auntie. But tanks you can enjoy year round.

In Ireland, we'd call that a Zoo..haha

 

[ktomminello]

Same exact thing with my mom, lol. She has ecosystems set up and houses my favorite big fish (I care for my monsters on the weekends). You're an inspiration.

 

[Sbrumley]

Thank You very much. I do have 2 filter bubblers one is carbon the second is for ammonia. I also have two twelve inch air stones. I have two waterfall filters one is 30 gph the second is 20 gph on a 40 gallon tank. The problems started when I changed out the carbon only in the pumps to carbon/ammonia mix.

 

[Rivercats]

If you can turn off the airstones and drop your tank level to cascade your filter overflow water onto the surface of the tank and see if your bubble issue goes away.

 

[Sbrumley]

Thanks Rivercats, turned down the volume on air stones and increased volume on bubblers and that seemed to have solved the problem.