Sudden Cloudiness?

[Jenste]

In my ten gallon tank I have a Penn-Plax Cascade 400 internal filter and in the past couple days my tank has gone insanely cloudy...it almost looks like the sand is floating all over the place or reallllly tiny bubbles...I can't tell what it is.

It houses my ACF and a couple feeder guppies...thats it! so the filtration is adequate for the bioload...what is going on?? I have evn tried adding Marvel Brite N Clear....which is supposed to help settle floating specks etc...and nothing has helped -

 

[Curiosity101]

How long has the tank been set up for?

And was the filter cycled at all prior to adding it to the tank?

What are the water stats?

 

[Jenste]

tank has been established for about a year - i set it up around last christmas - this filter has been used for about 2 months


Nitrate : 15 ppm
Nitrite : between .0 ppm and .5 ppm
Hardness : 150 ppm
Chlorine : 0 ppm
Alkalinity : 60 ppm
pH : 7.0

 

[Curiosity101]

Ahh, now I see.

Are you using test strips?

How was the filter cycled before being added? Or did you run it alongside the previous filter?

I reckon there is probably a trace level of ammonia in the water (as there is a trace level of nitrite is implies the filter isn't fully cycled).

My thoughts would be that it's a bacterial bloom. This is caused by trace-->high levels of free ammonia. Water changes wont help particularly, but it will keep the levels of ammonia and nitrites down which will help the fish.
The only way to clear it is for all the free ammonia to dissappear, this will happen once the new filter finishes it's cycle.

Keep aeration nice and high, and make sure ammonia and nitrite stay at safe levels and you shouldn't go far wrong.
It'll probably clear in the next few days.

Oh...and if you are using test trips then I'd really recommend a liquid testing kit instead. More often than not they're significantly more accurate.

 

[Jenste]

Thank you..I had the filter running with the original Tetra Whisper 20, but after my ACF had a little escape through the opening next to the filter, I decided to switch to an internal filter. I only removed the Whisper during the last week as I thought I had given the Cascade enough time to cycle.

Thank you!! Now it is just a waiting game and I will look into getting a liquid test kit.

 

[Curiosity101]

To be honest, running two filter together isn't the most efficient way, as the majority of the bacteria stay firmly attached to the old pads.

I'll give you an example.
Say you have...1000 bacteria in your tank, and you only need 1000bacteria to break down all of your fishes waste (500 for ammonia and 500 for nitrites)

99.9% of those are on your filter pads of the old existing filter.

You put a new filter in, but as the bio-load isn't increasing. Your tank still only needs 1000 bacteria. As these are already attached to the old pads, none will grow on the new one...cause there is no need.

To cycle a new filter that's alongside an old one you need to wait for 2 things.
That 0.01% of bacteria that aren't on the old pads to somehow make their way into the new one and settle there.
And bacteria in the old pads (the one with 99.9% of bacteria), to begin to die.

The bacteria on the old pads will die, and for every one that dies another one will grow to replace it. But again, the majority of these will grow on the old pads, and only a small proportion will grow on the new pads. Say...1 out of every 100 that dies will grow on the new one.

As I'm sure you can see, overtime the distribution will probably even out at 50/50 on each of the filters. But this can take a very long time.

That's why we more often than not, suggest taking a bit of media out of the old filter. Because this way when new bacteria grow, they grow directly in contact with new media. Instead of having to, by chance, get carried into the the filter and then also by chance, happen to attach to it and begin to colonise.