Came home to cloudy water...

[eco23]

Hi guys,

I left town Friday morning and just got back. My 48 gallon is surprisingly cloudy with a semi-milky haze.

Water parameters are pristine...0 ammo, 0 no2, 5-10 no3.

Here's the clues which lead me to think it's a bacterial bloom...but it doesn't really add up for me and I'd like a second opinion.

*Wednesday-
Weekly pwc, gravel vac, rinsed media in tank water

*Thursday-
Added 1 Bolivian Ram and a few Vals...
I also removed some old filter media to bring to a friend when I went out of town...not much compared to my total volume though.

*Friday morning
Possibly overfed a bit since I was leaving town

My water has never been crystal clear...I always thought it was due to the small bag of CC I was running, but I actually removed that about a week and a half ago. I'm running a Fluval 405 with ceramic media, 2 pouches of carbon, the normal mechanical filter pads, and a water polishing pad I just added last week

Is it possible for the addition of 1 fish and the removal of a small portion of media to cause a bacterial bloom? There's no ammo spike, so I'm not in a mini cycle.

Thanks!

 

[ejaramillo01]

Hi guys,

I left town Friday morning and just got back. My 48 gallon is surprisingly cloudy with a semi-milky haze.

Water parameters are pristine...0 ammo, 0 no2, 5-10 no3.

Here's the clues which lead me to think it's a bacterial bloom...but it doesn't really add up for me and I'd like a second opinion.

*Wednesday-
Weekly pwc, gravel vac, rinsed media in tank water

*Thursday-
Added 1 Bolivian Ram and a few Vals...
I also removed some old filter media to bring to a friend when I went out of town...not much compared to my total volume though.

*Friday morning
Possibly overfed a bit since I was leaving town

My water has never been crystal clear...I always thought it was due to the small bag of CC I was running, but I actually removed that about a week and a half ago. I'm running a Fluval 405 with ceramic media, 2 pouches of carbon, the normal mechanical filter pads, and a water polishing pad I just added last week

Is it possible for the addition of 1 fish and the removal of a small portion of media to cause a bacterial bloom? There's no ammo spike, so I'm not in a mini cycle.

Thanks!

Could be.
When you said that you overfeed them, like how much? Could be also excess of food?

 

[eco23]

Could be.
When you said that you overfeed them, like how much? Could be also excess of food?

My version of overfeeding is probably similar to the way most people feed normally. I usually feed once every other day, and I feed slowly until I see everyone's had a couple bites. On Friday it was just a bit more than that. I'm just surprised an algae bloom would be caused so easily.

 

[fort384]

If it is a milky color, it is not an algae bloom, but a bacteria bloom like you said in the first post. A bacterial bloom does not necessarily mean you are in a mini cycle. I think removing some media and adding a fish could cause it. I would give it a couple of days, and see if it clears up. Most of the time it does. If not, you can then start to look at other options and other causes.

 

[eco23]

Alright, it looks like someone replaced half my water with milk, lol. Any ideas how long this bloom might last? My initial bloom while cycling only lasted a couple days. I've done a couple pwc's with no change, maybe worse. Any other thoughts what this might be if not a bacterial bloom? My numbers are still pristine (0,0,5-10), and the water is not green...just milky. Only other changes other than adding 1 fish, removing media and adding plants was using a new fertilizer (aquaeon plant food). I'd assume the ferts would maybe lead to algae, not white water. Other ideas or just wait it out?

 

[James_in_MN]

I've had bacteria blooms last a few days. You may want to wait it out a day or two longer, or at least up to your normal PWC time.