foggy tank

[Humanis1993]

Ok I ran a water test and everything is within parameters.
Water hardness-185
ph-6.5
alkalinity-22
nitrites-0.1
total ammonia nitrate number-1
Temperature 78-79
There isnt any sign of algae anymore but the water still doesn't look crystal clear it's got a slight fog to it. I'm using a 20-40 gallon aquatech filter on my 20gal and I just replaced the filter about a week ago and the aerator is still blowing smoothly(no clogs) but the water just doesn't look right :/ its got some kind of discoloration to it

 

[jcolon]

Two quick questions
1.How old is the tank?
2. Was it cycled / established.

When you say you replaced the filter a week ago ... I'm assuming you replaced the filter cartridge? If so and you simply discarded the old cartridge then I'd say your undergoing a mini-cycle. Filter media/ cartridges is where a majority of Beneficial Bacteria live and when you discard the cartridge, your throwing away vital BB. If your foggy water is whitish in color ... that's a bacterial bloom ... which is your saving grace! New bacteria is trying to re-colonize in the tank. You can do some PWC's to get rid of the cloudiness, but eventually it will clear up as BB does not live in the water itself, but adhere's to the internal surfaces of your tank / filter.

Moving forward only discard filter cartridges when it's literally falling apart ... despite what the box instructions may say. And when the time comes to replace, you stuff the old filter cartridge (cut if up if you have to) in front of the new so the BB seeds into the new cartridge.

 

[bcurlacher54]

what type of substrate and decoration do u have?

 

[Humanis1993]

I threw away the filter cartridge but my filter has a type of media sponge on which bacteria grow on. I have gravel and a plaster log and 3 betta bulbs.

 

[Humanis1993]

Tank was cycled, its a little over 10 months old now

 

[Humanis1993]

I kept the biofiber that has all the beneficial bacteria on it.

 

[jcolon]

I threw away the filter cartridge but my filter has a type of media sponge on which bacteria grow on. I have gravel and a plaster log and 3 betta bulbs.

While your sponge, substrate and decor will have BB attached to it ... the majority where constant water flow is found is on the filter cartridge. Sounds like a mini - cycle ... if your fogginess is whitish ... that's new bacteria colonizing. Often it's the bacteria on the other surfaces that allow ammo/ nitrites to be consumed and mini-cycles to be relatively quick.

Keep up the PWC's ... about the only thing you can do.

 

[bcurlacher54]

give it sometime to see if it clears up from the bacteria bloom. but in the future only rinse your filter in tank water from pwc. i over filter my 75 so it gets crystal clear. i dont really know what to do with a smaller tank. if it doesnt clear up on its own id ask one of the pro's on here if you should try a bigger filter.

 

[Humanis1993]

I have a 20 gal on tank and I'm using a 20-40gallon aqua-tech filter...