Cloudy tank after water pump introduced

[thebeccatron]

Hi guys,

I have a 5 gallon tank with a betta and a mystery snail. I have a couple of live plants in there too. Filter, heater, light.

Everything has been going ok recently.

This weekend my boyfriend bought me an air pump which I set up and put in yesterday. I switched it off overnight, back on this morning and off again this afternoon as I was worried it might be upsetting my betta.

The water has since gone really cloudy. I thought it would settle after a few hours but it has not.

Any ideas why this has happened, and what I should do? I only did a water change 2 days ago.

Is it even worth having the air pump in my tank or is it just a pretty waste of time?

Thanks!

thebeccatron

 

[Byron]

You mention having a filter, so there is no need for an air stone; I assume this is what you mean by air pump...some sort of bubbling device? You are correct, the Betta will not appreciate this, as this species occurs in very slow small streams, marshes, swamps, etc.

As for the cloudiness, that is odd. Unless this device is stirring up micro particulate matter.

Byron.

 

[thebeccatron]

You mention having a filter, so there is no need for an air stone; I assume this is what you mean by air pump...some sort of bubbling device? You are correct, the Betta will not appreciate this, as this species occurs in very slow small streams, marshes, swamps, etc.

As for the cloudiness, that is odd. Unless this device is stirring up micro particulate matter.

Byron.

Hi Biron,

Yes, I have a small external air pump which attaches to a tube and runs into the tank, and pumps out air through a little stone.

Having looked over some old threads there's a lot of mention of bacterial cloudiness, caused by the stirring of organic matter. I wonder if, because my stone is somewhat buried in the gravel, it has stirred up organic matter that was previously just sitting there? Could this be a possible cause? I've made no other changes to the tank recently.

I was considering getting a second tank at some point so I could save the water pump for the other tank, but is the general consensus that an air stone is used instead of a filter?

Thanks

 

[Byron]

Hi Biron,

Yes, I have a small external air pump which attaches to a tube and runs into the tank, and pumps out air through a little stone.

Having looked over some old threads there's a lot of mention of bacterial cloudiness, caused by the stirring of organic matter. I wonder if, because my stone is somewhat buried in the gravel, it has stirred up organic matter that was previously just sitting there? Could this be a possible cause? I've made no other changes to the tank recently.

That begins to make sense. It is actually not a good idea to bury an air stone in the substrate; partly for this reason (though it would clear eventually) but also I consider it better to leave the substrate alone. There is a lot of different species of bacteria doing their work in the substrate (aside from the nitrifiers we commonly think of as "bacteria"), some aerobic, some anaerobic.

I was considering getting a second tank at some point so I could save the water pump for the other tank, but is the general consensus that an air stone is used instead of a filter?

No, this is different. A filter moves the water through various types of media. There will be mechanical filtration, which means the media is removing particulate matter to keep the water clear. There will be biological filtration, which is the colonization of nitrifying bacteria to process the ammonia and nitrite. These are the two prime aspects of a filter, so you need the media and water flow. You can achieve this very well in smallish tanks by using a sponge filter connected to the air pump. I have this in all my smaller tanks, up to 40 gallon. It is extremely good filtration, with minimal water movement which suits most fish.

An air stone alone is just adding air into the water. This in itself is sometimes beneficial, sometimes perhaps not. The gas exchange that occurs at the surface (oxygen in, CO2 out, also some nitrogen gas out) should be sufficient, but if not, adding air stones or bubblers can help. But you generally shouldn't need these. They may look nice, and depending upon the fish, plants, etc, may not be detrimental, but they can be.

Filters are the primary source of water current, and the extent you need or want this depends upon the fish species. Temperature and fish density also impact oxygen content.

Byron.

 

[Soccerfreak]

"Hi guys,

I have a 5 gallon tank with a betta and a mystery snail. I have a couple of live plants in there too. Filter, heater, light.

Everything has been going ok recently.

This weekend my boyfriend bought me an air pump which I set up and put in yesterday. I switched it off overnight, back on this morning and off again this afternoon as I was worried it might be upsetting my betta.

The water has since gone really cloudy. I thought it would settle after a few hours but it has not.

Any ideas why this has happened, and what I should do? I only did a water change 2 days ago.

Is it even worth having the air pump in my tank or is it just a pretty waste of time?

Thanks!

thebeccatron[/QUOTE]

 

[Soccerfreak]

Do you live near a Big Al's?

 

[julielynn47]

I got a Betta yesterday and I have a air stone in the tank I put him in. He must be a weird little Betta if they are not supposed to like the bubbles. He seems to love them! That is where he is hanging almost all the time, he rides them to the top of the tank, and then goes back to the bottom and does it again. LOL

My air stone is one of those air bar type things. About 4 inches long, and it is buried in the substrate, but it has always been buried. It makes sense that if one is buried a long time after set up that it would stir up settled things though