cloudy water

[sarah-j]

Hi, we have just done our first big water change since we got the tank a month ago. we put a new substrate in which (we washed it first) is a finer gravel for our cory cats. We took two 3 gallon buckets of tank water and kept them. we cleaned the plants in aquarium water and cleaned filter etc, we put everything back as normal and now our water looks murky like the amazon abyss. will this clear up or did we do something wrong? is it because of the new substrate. im worried the cloudy water will affect the fish.

 

[WILDER]

It's normal, just add some filter floss to the filter, has the sand settled, as sometimes it can break the propellar in the filter, watch out for a mini cycle with adding the sand.

 

[sarah-j]

it wasnt sand i added but a fine 1-2 mml gravel. when i washed it, it was very dirty. hopefully it will settle by tomorrow. i have added the white pad (floss) to my filter, if it does not clear up by tomorrow should i be worried?

 

[WILDER]

No, it will clear, it won't harm the fish, but i would keep an eye on your water stats.

 

[sarah-j]

yeah i just did a water check with my home test and my ammonia has went up to about 1ppm which isn't much. however i did add 2 new fish this week. would the mini cycle start straight away?

 

[WILDER]

Just keep a watch, as you have removed the benefical bacteria out of the substrate with changing it, re test in a couple of hours, good luck.

 

[sarah-j]

thanks wilder. i have an undergravel filter and used some of my old substrate to prevent the finer substrate blocking it, was this the right thing to do? the water seems to be clearing slwoly, i can see colours now, lol

 

[WILDER]

That's fine then, you shouldn't have any problems, good luck.

 

[sarah-j]

hey my tank is clear, yippee, and it looks amazing with my black gravel. my cory cats love it.

 

[WILDER]

Great.