Milky water after water change

[fishiefish51]

I'm very frustrated to see cloudy water once again in my tank. The first time was because of changing the filter media now its from doing a simple water change. I cleaned the tank at night and woke up this morning too see Milky White Water. after the water i added safestart and aquasafe to the water. why is this happening?

[jcolon]

Milky cloudy water is generally a bacterial bloom .. how long ago did you change the filter media? Sounds like your undergoing a a mini-cycle and a new BB is colonizing your tank .. which is a good thing.

Just continue to do PWC's and de-chlorinator. The cloudiness will go away when the bacteria establish themselves on tank surfaces.

[fishiefish51]

about a week and a half ago i changed the filter media

[fishiefish51]

how long will it take to clear up? and this is good thing???

[jcolon]

Originally Posted by fishiefish51

about a week and a half ago i changed the filter media

I'm guessing you have an HOB filter and the media you changed was in there for a while and you have fish in the tank? If so then what happened is you discarded a large source of BB. Most members hardly ever change their filter media, whether it's a cartridge for an HOB or the media in a canister. That filter media is like gold.

So, what's most likely happening is new BB is trying to re-establish itself ...which is a good thing ... in your tank since there is a new abundance of ammonia for them to consume. At this point let the cloudiness run it's course, just continue to do PWC's. Do you have the API test master kit to test Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates? Don't bother with inaccurate test strips.

Also moving forward ... no need to change the filter media / cartridge unless it's literally falling apart. Use the discarded tank water from a PWC to rinse
off the filter media. When the day comes the media is disintegrated, just use
the old media to seed the replacement. This will save you both aggravation from mini-cycles like now, and $$$$$.

If you have a canister filter that uses ceramic rings, then don't bother to change them at all. Members have used the same Ceramic bio-media for years ... just rinse them off once or twice a month.

[fishiefish51]

yes I have penguin bio wheel 100 in my 10 gallon tank. I do use test trips and i have been told to swtich to the API many times. I think ill run to the fish store sometime this week to get it. thank you so much. I can really use a filter cartridge for that long without replacing it?? I have also been told that if i dont change it every month the activated carbon inside the pad dies and will release its self into my water. is that true?

[jcolon]

Originally Posted by fishiefish51

I have also been told that if i dont change it every month the activated carbon inside the pad dies and will release its self into my water. is that true?

As far as your average aquarium is concerned, that's complete utter nonsense ... I've heard the same thing ... read the link below but what happens is when the carbon is exhausted, it stops chemical filtration and becomes part of the biological filter. The only way that carbon would expel the material it collected is if your tank has a BIG pH swing, and at that point there's no need to worry about the carbon killing your fish, the pH swing would take care of that.

Activated Carbon In Aquarium | Aquariums Life

[fishiefish51]

Originally Posted by jcolon

As far as your average aquarium is concerned, that's complete utter nonsense ... I've heard the same thing ... read the link below but what happens is when the carbon is exhausted, it stops chemical filtration and becomes part of the biological filter. The only way that carbon would expel the material it collected is if your tank has a BIG pH swing, and at that point there's no need to worry about the carbon killing your fish, the pH swing would take care of that.

Activated Carbon In Aquarium | Aquariums Life

wow that was extremely helpfull i didnt know it was safe to do that. So i can keep my pad in there for as long as i want until its falling apart??

[jcolon]

Originally Posted by fishiefish51

wow that was extremely helpfull i didnt know it was safe to do that. So i can keep my pad in there for as long as i want until its falling apart??

Yep ... i'm sure any experienced member will say the same thing. I've had my carbon in my Fluval since Feb when I first set up my tank. Eventually I'll get around to replacing it with more ceramic rings. Also when it does come time to replace the cartridge pad, members with similar filters remove the carbon from the new pad and maybe stuff it with 100% Poly-Fill which you can find at any arts & craft store. It really helps to pickup up micro particles the regular pad can't.

Experienced aquarists really use Carbon to remove meds from water.

[fishiefish51]

ok hopefully this white water will go away soon thanks so much

[Coleallensmom]

Sorry I wasn't able to answer your PM immediately, but I see you've gotten some advice. Like I said (and the previous poster mentioned) Every time you remove filter media, you are removing bacteria. The highest concentrations of bacteria live in your filter and in your substrate/decor, so as jcolon advised, reuse the cartridges when you can or even better, switch to another media type. Media that can be rinsed and reused and rarely needs replaced (sponges/biomedia) is so much more efficient.

[fishiefish51]

Originally Posted by Coleallensmom

Sorry I wasn't able to answer your PM immediately, but I see you've gotten some advice. Like I said (and the previous poster mentioned) Every time you remove filter media, you are removing bacteria. The highest concentrations of bacteria live in your filter and in your substrate/decor, so as jcolon advised, reuse the cartridges when you can or even better, switch to another media type. Media that can be rinsed and reused and rarely needs replaced (sponges/biomedia) is so much more efficient.

Its fine and thank you for your great advice and help and I finally had enough with these cartridges. In my 40 gallon I bought the Aquaclear like you said and I love it. Couldnt be happier

[Coleallensmom]

Glad to hear that you are happy with it

Did you leave your old filter on the 40gal while the Aquaclear is seeded? If you didn't, then remember to watch your water parameters while the new filter media is building up bacteria. Once the filter is established you should be set, just give the sponge a rinse in old aquarium water when gunk builds up but otherwise you should have to do little maintenance on it as far as media is concerned.

[fishiefish51]

Originally Posted by Coleallensmom

Glad to hear that you are happy with it

Did you leave your old filter on the 40gal while the Aquaclear is seeded? If you didn't, then remember to watch your water parameters while the new filter media is building up bacteria. Once the filter is established you should be set, just give the sponge a rinse in old aquarium water when gunk builds up but otherwise you should have to do little maintenance on it as far as media is concerned.

yes I did the water looks great and all parameters are picture perfect. I might get the AC for the 10 gallon!

[jcolon]

Originally Posted by fishiefish51

ok hopefully this white water will go away soon thanks so much

Your welcome, glad I could help!