Tank just got very cloudy?

[Reaper216]

Its been quite a few weeks now, tank has been doing great! Added some new fish this past friday, and they're all doing great.

I just now did a pwc, just a little more than 25%, which is what ive been doing twice a week. I now have very cloudy water, almost like a white haze that appears to be coming out of my hob filter.

Any ideas/suggestions?

 

[sealife]

When I do water changes, I gravel vacuum the bottom, and it does stir up things slightly. It goes away in a few hours.
Do you have filter floss or fine polyfiber in your filter? It helps polish water by picking up finer particles.

Also how many new fish did you add? if its too much the beneficial bacteria could be causing a slight bloom to adjust...

 

[Reaper216]

I dont have filter floss. Having a little trouble finding some. Dont have much time around work to look and my local petco employees look at me funny when i ask for it. (go figure)
You wouldn't happen to have a link to some would you?

I added 5 fish. 2 lyretail dalmation mollies, 1 black molly and 2 zebra danios

 

[sealife]

I actually use fine polyfiber (not course) and it works pretty good too. Most aquariums should stock that at least. Filter floss is hit and miss. Most aquariums had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned that.

5 new fish at once....
How big is your tank? And was it cycles at 4ppm ammonia?

EDIT:
Actually, do a water test now for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, and PH. That will help eliminate one probable issue.

 

[Reaper216]

tank is 40 gallon quarter round.

Cycled at 4ppm? From reading on here Im going to assume you mean me adding ammonia to cycle the tank. Plainly put, no.

I made a huge mistake when I first got the tank. Unknowing of cycles and ammonia etc I set my tank up, filled it with water, put my filter on for a day and added roughly 30-35 fish all at within a week.


EDIT:
Just saw your edit. I'm actually still waiting on my master kit. I ordered it just a few days ago online. Another newbie mistake not having one from the start.
I've been relying on petsmart to test my water until that comes, and due to the time I cant make it now heh

 

[sealife]

lol, its ok it happens to all of us.

But the 30-35 instant fish stocking, cracked me up. Oh man....

Its hard to tell if its bacteria bloom from a cycle ( which is normal at start of new tanks.) Or just dirt getting messed around from water change, (which is also normal)

Both can be corrected.
Putting fine sponge like filter floss, filter wool, and polyfiber is probably a good idea on its own. So maybe look around for that anyway. It will trap small particles in water, and polish your water really nice. Have a look at my tank in my profile.

And once you get master kit, just do test to see where your water is at. Maybe til then, do water 20% water change every 2nd day to make sure fish don't get poisoned in the meantime due to possible cycling (new tank syndrome, as some call it )issues. The ammonia and nitrites could be high and since you cant test it, its better to be safe. Not sure how long you have had your tank running, but the cycling issue normally happens around 3 weeks to 7 weeks on newly set up tanks. Give and take depending on stock, filter, etc etc

 

[Reaper216]

Yes yes, Im sure I will look back and laugh as well lol. It was one part, getting a tank for free and one part going to petsmart that night and them having their dollar fish sale. Several schools and 2 (yes 2) plecos later .... All but 7 of the fish died. And those 7 are still going strong!!

As far as the tank, its been up for 1 month (today is 1 month actually)

Would something like this work for the filter?
Poly-Fil Premium Polyester Fiberfill, 16 oz: Crafts : Walmart.com

 

[sealife]

Stuff like that polyfil is very good for filters and cheap. U can just replace new pieces into filter when its used up, cause its cheap.

Only thing you need to check for, is make sure material is not chemically treated for bugs and fire retardant. that will destroy your tank. So check packaging.

EDIT:
That's the only reason I'd rather go aquariums and pay extra for small piece of polyfil. I know its aquarium safe.

 

[Reaper216]

Ok great! I might head over to walmart now and pick some up. Cant beat cheap and 24 hours lol.

Thanks a lot for your suggestions! Ill let you know how it turns out

 

[sealife]

Always glad to help.

EDIT:
Just keep in mind, if its bacteria bloom from cycle, not even polyfil will help. The bacteria needs to stabilize, then water will clear on its own. Make sure filter has good amount of quality bio media in it.

Enjoy

 

[Reaper216]

Just thought of something!

In my hob filter, would it be floss then sponge or sponge then filter? My filter also has a bio-wheel.

Should I put some of the floss into my canister filter? I have an Eheim Pro 2

 

[sealife]

Filter floss can go in most filters that allow the space. From canisters to HOB. It goes at last stage of output. It will clog everything if u put it first stage or middle.

 

[Reaper216]

Not trying to be difficult here but Im still learning.

So in my hob it would go after my sponge. But would this be considered the middle because of the bio-wheel?

And in the canister I have 2 media baskets, each with a sponge on top.
Set up like this:
(top basket)
Sponge
media
(bottom basket)
sponge
media

So would the floss go in the bottom basket, under the media? If I did it any higher in the system, it would clog it up right?

 

[sealife]

Put the floss right near where the clean water comes out from and enters the tank water. Don't put it were the water first enters the filter.
Does that makes sense? lol
Its normally after the sponge.

EDIT:
Not sure how biowheels work, can u put in near the exit end of HOB filter, without it getting tangled in wheel?
I have aquaclear filter. Its easy on those filters.

 

[Reaper216]

Im going to have to open my canister up but yes what you said makes sense. I know there is an internal tube that runs from top to bottom, I just dont remember if thats the input or output lol.

Would it be possible to add an area in the outflow tubing? The tubing I have is 5/8 in inner diameter. I could get an adapter to make a small section bigger where I could put the floss in, and the come back down to the 5/8in to go into the tank itself.

Would the floss filter the same in this situation? Or does it actually have to be in the canister? As long as its after the rest of my media as to not create a clog, it should work?

As far as not getting tangled, I dont know. The wheel spins right next to where the floss would be. Kind of why Im leaning towards putting it into the canister.

 

[sealife]

Im going to have to open my canister up but yes what you said makes sense. I know there is an internal tube that runs from top to bottom, I just dont remember if thats the input or output lol.

Would it be possible to add an area in the outflow tubing? The tubing I have is 5/8 in inner diameter. I could get an adapter to make a small section bigger where I could put the floss in, and the come back down to the 5/8in to go into the tank itself.
It would slow suction in my opinion. Tubing too narrow, and you need the water per hour flow rate steady. But if you try it and works, then u have started a new craze lol

Would the floss filter the same in this situation? Or does it actually have to be in the canister? As long as its after the rest of my media as to not create a clog, it should work?
It just needs water to flow through the floss. But it clogs very easily. And needs replacement due this regularly. Which will be a hassle anyway. And a narrow tubing will also cause problems on its own, which is why I doubt it would work. If it clogs and nothing gets sucked through tube, your filter wont work right. But again, try it and see if you like...

As far as not getting tangled, I dont know. The wheel spins right next to where the floss would be. Kind of why Im leaning towards putting it into the canister.
From my experience with this hobby, a lot of keeping healthy fish, will be down to trial and error and personal reference. Which also includes keeping fish species, equipment, filter media, fish food, etc etc. Most hobbyist have their own way of doing things, that works for them. And it isn't following the instruction manual that comes inside the box lol
If it works, it works

 

[Reaper216]

Honestly, with the canister filter i have an option on the flow rate. When its fully open it is insanely fast, which on one hand means Im filtering more water per hour, but on the other when the fish get tired of swimming against the flow they hide in the back.

Im hoping that putting the floss may slow my output speed without reducing the input speed. Im going to have to spend a little time in my local Lowes and see what I can come up with.

Im thinking a larger tube piece, Maybe 1 - 1 1/2 inches ID, about 4 inches long, half full of floss. A open/closed valve on both sides to prevent siphoning from either direction would also make taking it off to clean/change easy.

If I have any good results I will be sure to include pics.

 

[Reaper216]

So Im sitting here looking over at my tank. Its been steadily clearing up since I first posted about the cloudy water, and it hits me.

When I was doing my pwc I also took the filter cartridge out and rinsed it off in old tank water. I have a smaller bucket I use for this and set it down next to, kind of behind, my tank. I refilled my tank with my larger 5 gallon buckets, and set them down in front of the smaller bucket.

I never put the cartridge back into the filter!! I'm now assuming the white haze in my tank was a mini cycle, making up for the lost BB I forgot to put back.

Does this make sense?

 

[Vinylmation]

Ok great! I might head over to walmart now and pick some up. Cant beat cheap and 24 hours lol.

Thanks a lot for your suggestions! Ill let you know how it turns out

Hey I also wanted to pick up some Quilt Batting from Walmart and wanted to see which one you ended up purchasing and did it workout for you.

I was thinking of getting Poly-Fil Extra-Loft Quilt Batting, 45" x 60

Dont know if it has the flame retardant chemicals or not.

Poly-Fil Extra-Loft Quilt Batting, 45" x 60": Crafts : Walmart.com

 

[triggerfishfan]

Haha!

I had my issues the past week or so (see previous threads) and I did a PWC on Sunday of around 20%. The tank went quite cloudy and I was concerned as it still hadn't cleared up. I just did another PWC (none since Monday) of about 20% and gave the filter a rinse (in tank water) but I got rid of a collection of muck sitting on the filter pad. I put it all back together, clean water in, some stress zyme, switched the lot back on and my filter is working so much better.

Thinking about it, the flow that comes out of the top (I have a 19L fluval chi which has a "waterfall" style filter) and I noticed earlier this week the flow out of the top had dropped. It has now gone back to the level it was when I first got it.

Lesson learned to make sure the filter pads are free of muck Hopefully the bits of debris that are floating around will be cleaned soon now that my filter is working to its proper capacity.