Help - White Stuff Suddenly All Over Tank!

[ozgirl_bkk]

Hello,

I have a thirty gallon tank which has been up and running for about six months now. I have a mix of about 15 rummy nose and neon tetras, two otos, four cories and two german rams. I do 25 per cent water changes each week.

Last night I did a water change plus I took out and cleaned a couple of fake plants (I have a mix of real and artifical) that had a tiny bit of black mould on them. I also gave the gravel a good vaccum. I also changed half of the filter media (kept half of the old stuff and put in a new piece)

This morning the tank is grey and cloudy and everything is covered in a fine white substance...fake plants, real plants, decorations, rocks etc all coated...the fish seem okay so far. I did another 30 per cent water change and that didn't help. Also went to the local fish store for advice but they had no idea.

I tested and my nitrate levels etc are well within range (although my PH is a bit low - always has been so this is not a new thing)

Can anyone help?

 

[the biffster]

Hello,

I have a thirty gallon tank which has been up and running for about six months now. I have a mix of about 15 rummy nose and neon tetras, two otos, four cories and two german rams. I do 25 per cent water changes each week.

Last night I did a water change plus I took out and cleaned a couple of fake plants (I have a mix of real and artifical) that had a tiny bit of black mould on them. I also gave the gravel a good vaccum. I also changed half of the filter media (kept half of the old stuff and put in a new piece)

This morning the tank is grey and cloudy and everything is covered in a fine white substance...fake plants, real plants, decorations, rocks etc all coated...the fish seem okay so far. I did another 30 per cent water change and that didn't help. Also went to the local fish store for advice but they had no idea.

I tested and my nitrate levels etc are well within range (although my PH is a bit low - always has been so this is not a new thing)

Can anyone help?

i know this is a daft question
but why did you remover half
of the media couldn't you just
wash out in old tank water and reuse
it sounds like you could have some sort of
bloom with cleaning and adding new water
and replacing media whats your stats
on the tank at the moment

 

[trit0n2003]

hmm.. a massive bacterial bloom is what i think.. observe your fish closely and watch for any problems from the white cloudiness.

If all your parameters are in a decent range it should hopefully clear up soon.


Also to answer the other guys response about removing half the media - im assuming you did that to speed up the colonization of the new filter media by the mature media next to it in the filter?

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I agree a bacterial bloom. You can wait it out and it will go eventually; or you can do water changes to try and keep it down (however I did this and it made it worse temporarily).

 

[saltynay]

Personally I never remove media once its set up except to rinse, If seeding media I just stick it on top if its too big I cut it thinner so that it will fit.

+1 bacteria bloom.

 

[ozgirl_bkk]

hmm.. a massive bacterial bloom is what i think.. observe your fish closely and watch for any problems from the white cloudiness.

If all your parameters are in a decent range it should hopefully clear up soon.


Also to answer the other guys response about removing half the media - im assuming you did that to speed up the colonization of the new filter media by the mature media next to it in the filter?

Yes, I wanted to put in fresh filter media, but I didn't want to lose all the bacteria, so that's why I kept half and added new stuff alongside it.

The white bloom seems to be turning pale green now but it was definately white this morning.

The fish appear to be behaving normally. I also have quite a few snails and I was told that they can be a good warning sign because they head to the water's surface when it gets bad...so far none of them are making a run for it. Still, the murky water is making me very nervous.

I wonder if I was too vigourous with my cleaning job last night...or could it possibly be due to contaminated water?? I live in Bangkok, Thailand, and we are having massive floods right now. The water supply is most probably more contaminated than usual...

Any suggestions welcome!

 

[the biffster]

hmm.. a massive bacterial bloom is what i think.. observe your fish closely and watch for any problems from the white cloudiness.

If all your parameters are in a decent range it should hopefully clear up soon.


Also to answer the other guys response about removing half the media - im assuming you did that to speed up the colonization of the new filter media by the mature media next to it in the filter?

Yes, I wanted to put in fresh filter media, but I didn't want to lose all the bacteria, so that's why I kept half and added new stuff alongside it.

The white bloom seems to be turning pale green now but it was definately white this morning.

The fish appear to be behaving normally. I also have quite a few snails and I was told that they can be a good warning sign because they head to the water's surface when it gets bad...so far none of them are making a run for it. Still, the murky water is making me very nervous.

I wonder if I was too vigourous with my cleaning job last night...or could it possibly be due to contaminated water?? I live in Bangkok, Thailand, and we are having massive floods right now. The water supply is most probably more contaminated than usual...

Any suggestions welcome!

why did you need to add new
filter media all you do with old media
is rinse in old tank water and put
it back in the filter