Seeded media question please help me!

[marge02144]

I wanted to cycle my tank faster so I bought two active sponge filters to cut up and put in my filter. I only had room for one and the tank started getting cloudy. Why! And then I just stuck the other one in my tank and it isn't set up its just sitting there. Will that help at all? And once it's cycled can I just take that out of the tank because it looks bad? Help! If the one sitting in the tank can't help then is one in my filter enough for a 37 gallon!

 

[tarpon]

The bacteria in the sponge filters will still need an ammonia source to live. Are you doing fish in or fishless cycling?
and I wouldn't worry about the cloudiness if there is no fish.

 

[marge02144]

The bacteria in the sponge filters will still need an ammonia source to live. Are you doing fish in or fishless cycling?
and I wouldn't worry about the cloudiness if there is no fish.

I have fish in

 

[severum mama]

I wanted to cycle my tank faster so I bought two active sponge filters to cut up and put in my filter. I only had room for one and the tank started getting cloudy. Why! And then I just stuck the other one in my tank and it isn't set up its just sitting there. Will that help at all? And once it's cycled can I just take that out of the tank because it looks bad? Help! If the one sitting in the tank can't help then is one in my filter enough for a 37 gallon!

Hello and welcome to AA!

First of all, I think that purchasing an active sponge filter was a good idea. Second of all, I will say that a cloudy tank is most likely a sign of a bacterial bloom and has nothing to do with whether or not your tank has cycled.

Setting the second one up in the tank can only help- at worst it won't do much of anything but it is certainly worth a try. Once your tank cycles and is stable for a bit, you can remove the second sponge. Let's cross that bridge when we come to it.

What I have posted above is just some very general information. I see that you have a 37 gallon tank. It would be very helpful to us to know how long your tank has been set up, what fish you already have (and please, don't add any more fish until we get this squared away), what filtration you have in addition to your active sponges, your readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate from a liquid reagent test kit, and your current water change schedule; at a minimum. The more information you can provide to us, the better the chances we can help you.

In the meantime, I'd like to direct you to our articles section. I think you will find a lot of helpful resources here if you take the time to peruse through the FW section. Freshwater - Aquarium Advice

 

[marge02144]

Hello and welcome to AA!

First of all, I think that purchasing an active sponge filter was a good idea. Second of all, I will say that a cloudy tank is most likely a sign of a bacterial bloom and has nothing to do with whether or not your tank has cycled.

Setting the second one up in the tank can only help- at worst it won't do much of anything but it is certainly worth a try. Once your tank cycles and is stable for a bit, you can remove the second sponge. Let's cross that bridge when we come to it.

What I have posted above is just some very general information. I see that you have a 37 gallon tank. It would be very helpful to us to know how long your tank has been set up, what fish you already have (and please, don't add any more fish until we get this squared away), what filtration you have in addition to your active sponges, your readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate from a liquid reagent test kit, and your current water change schedule; at a minimum. The more information you can provide to us, the better the chances we can help you.

In the meantime, I'd like to direct you to our articles section. I think you will find a lot of helpful resources here if you take the time to peruse through the FW section. Freshwater - Aquarium Advice

Thank You! My tank has been set up for about 4 weeks with six fish. I have one zebra danio, one molly, two guppies, and two platies. I have a top fin 40. My ammonia is about .15. My nitrite which I tested last about two days ago was at 2.5 ppm. Nitrate I don't quite remember but I can test for that tomorrow. I do about a 40% water change everyday but sometimes I forget to one day. As soon as I cut the sponge and put it into my filter, the tank got cloudy but that cleared up really quick. Thank you soooo much!

 

[librarygirl]

You're probably in the middle; ammonia should be going to 0 soon and you have nitrites. With fish and nitrites at 2.5 though, I'd suggest a few back-to-back 50% water changes to get those down. Nitrites are toxic to fish and can cause burns and other injuries, so you want to keep up on the water changes.