Chino1130
Aquarium Advice Activist
I have had fish in my new tank for exactly a week now. I did a proper fishless cycle, and up until today I have had no issues. As of last night my water was perfectly clear. When i got home this evening, I noticed the water was slightly cloudy. I added zucchini pieces last night for the first time. I thought that may have had something to do with it, but I doubt it. I decided to check the filter pad despite it being snow white a week ago. It was absolutely filthy. I shook it violently in a bucket of tank water. The water turned a brown color, but hardly anything came out of the pad. I'm concerned about switching out pads and losing bacteria, but I'm pretty certain this pad is a lost cause. I've never seen a pad this dirty, especially after a week. I have an Aqueon filter, it has trays in the filter that they claim are there for housing bacteria colonies. I don't want to leave an ineffective filter in there, but at the same time I don't want to go into one of these mini cycles I keep reading about.
Here's a pic of the filter:
Here's a pic of the filter: