Dusty Water??

[stepho725]

Hi everyone....
Just wondering if anyone knows what causes this dust particle/chalky looking stuff in my tank water?
Established for 6+ months now.
I HAD very low ph/acidic water and followed the instructions of someone on here and added baking soda and Epsom salt now have a PH that is bouncing around some.... went from a 6.3ish to a 7.8ish to a 6.8 today. Idk if the PH has anything to do with it but this dust looking stuff was present even when my water was super acidic. It seems to come and go...was gone for a while and I just noticed it again today. It bothers me because it looks bad and because I can't imagine the fish like breathing it.
Thanks fish folk!

 

[Convict2161]

With pH stability is KEY all that "bouncing" around is going to stress out your fish and possible kill them. As for the chalky water, can you take a pic or video?

You done water changes and added the concoction, maybe it wasn't fully dissolved and is now free floating in your tank water?

Just a thought. But really watch that pH. Keep it stable.

 

[stepho725]

I'm trying to keep it stable but it doesn't want to stay stable!
I have pretty low alkalinity so I guess that has something to do with it.
Fish don't look stressed at all though.
I'm not going to be able to catch the stuff on pic or vid its very teeny.
I know it is not baking soda or Epsom salt because I had this way before I ever added that stuff.
I used to think it was gravel dust but now I know it isn't because as I said my tank is over a half a year old and it had disappeared for a couple months.
I'm thinking MAYBE it has something to do with the carbon???
That's the only thing I switched back to.....?

 

[Convict2161]

I'm trying to keep it stable but it doesn't want to stay stable!
I have pretty low alkalinity so I guess that has something to do with it.
Fish don't look stressed at all though.
I'm not going to be able to catch the stuff on pic or vid its very teeny.
I know it is not baking soda or Epsom salt because I had this way before I ever added that stuff.
I used to think it was gravel dust but now I know it isn't because as I said my tank is over a half a year old and it had disappeared for a couple months.
I'm thinking MAYBE it has something to do with the carbon???
That's the only thing I switched back to.....?

Well... Take the carbon out and see if that changes. Add some poly fill/polishing pads and see of that catches the very very particles that won't show up on pic or vid. If its that fine the poly fill will catch it.

 

[jlk]

+1
I agree with Convict here. Try taking the carbon out & running some filter floss (plain polyfill) to see if this helps clear things up. That said, adding your chemical mix to try & stabilize the ph seems to be backfiring on you if its jumping all over the place. You may want to consider adding some aragonite or crushed coral to your filter to see if this is sufficient to stabilize your ph without it jumping drastically.

 

[stepho725]

+1
I agree with Convict here. Try taking the carbon out & running some filter floss (plain polyfill) to see if this helps clear things up. That said, adding your chemical mix to try & stabilize the ph seems to be backfiring on you if its jumping all over the place. You may want to consider adding some aragonite or crushed coral to your filter to see if this is sufficient to stabilize your ph without it jumping drastically.

Yes I know. I plan on buying some crushed coral in a week or so.
Rent week means no fish supplies.
About the crushed coral - how often does that need replacing? Because obviously I'm not going to be able to buy a handful of the stuff right? Lol

 

[jlk]

Not very often. You will have to do a bit of trial & error to figure out how much you will need & how quickly it needs to be replenished. You will have to see what your lfs carries. A small bag of aragonite gravel/sand may be less expensive/large and will accomplish the same thing if the amounts of cc they are selling are not practical. I know a few places have cc available by the pound but they are few & far between.

 

[stepho725]

Not very often. You will have to do a bit of trial & error to figure out how much you will need & how quickly it needs to be replenished. You will have to see what your lfs carries. A small bag of aragonite gravel/sand may be less expensive/large and will accomplish the same thing if the amounts of cc they are selling are not practical. I know a few places have cc available by the pound but they are few & far between.

Right I only really have a Petco around here. There is one other small business store I plan on checking out for the first time today after work so I will see what kind of fish supply section they have. Really hoping they have a huge awesome setup and are really into fish and not just the fuzzy animals!