Cloudy Tank - Bacterial Bloom can this be fixed

[Juannie]

Hi all,

I have an On Off problem with bacterial bloom in my american cichlid tank. I've now read about the water changes and it seems I've done them too large (thinking this would work). Is there anyway to get rid of this? Just when I think it goes it flares up again. Is it cleaning the canister too thoroughly that causes it or some other reason? It worries me because it's been going on for the past couple of months and my fish seem a bit stressed.

[xoolooxunny]

Yeah, if your water changes are too large AND you scrub your filter clean, then your getting rid of A LOT of your nitrifying bacteria. do about 30-50% water change and only rinse your filter media in the tank water that you are siphoning out.

[Juannie]

Aha, it makes sense - I've definitely screwed up, does it take long to settle down? I did a massive water change 2 nights ago so I assume I should leave it?? Or do I still do regular small water changes until it settles?

Cheers

[jbeining75]

You shouldn't be cleaning your canister out at all except to rinse off the media in tank water... The levels in the tank are unstable and may be causing the bloom. Try to do smallerwater changes and don't clean anything until your perimeters stable out. Your nitrites and ammonia should be 0 and you nitrates under 20 ppm....

[xoolooxunny]

You should be testing your water parameters. Much smaller water changes from now on, and until the bloom settles, dont clean the filter, unless the mechanical part is clogged, then only clean that spot, but dont let any of it dry while doing so!

[Juannie]

mmm i thought you were supposed to clean the impellor out, I have a bit much light in my house so it gets algae easily and of course my pleco doesn't eat it (he's rather large and lazy). I usually only rinse out the media and then get a sm brush to clean out the impellor - is this incorrect? It's the same thing I've been doing for the past 5 years.

[jbeining75]

mmm i thought you were supposed to clean the impellor out, I have a bit much light in my house so it gets algae easily and of course my pleco doesn't eat it (he's rather large and lazy). I usually only rinse out the media and then get a sm brush to clean out the impellor - is this incorrect? It's the same thing I've been doing for the past 5 years.

If the tank is established that should be okay but with the tank being that unstable I wouldn't chance scrubbing any bacteria off the filter media or canister walls. Try to limit the sunlight into the tank and do frequent smaller water changes to deplete the nutrient levels in the tank. Keep the tank lights off awhile unless you have it planted...

[Juannie]

Ok I will do that for sure. There's no light on the tank, I've got an oscar, a grumpy jaguar, brasiliensis and pleco (all large) in it so DEFINITELY no plants. The only light is sunlight coming through a tinted window, it's not bad unless the window is open in the late arvo. I will definitely follow your advice.

Thanks heaps I appreciate it.

[Nick89]

You could try accu-clear. I had a very cloudy tank and i got accu-clear and it cleared it up within a few hours. Now, i could be wrong on this, but it worked for me.

[digital3]

I would definitely leave all alone (water changes are fine) and let your bacteria re-establish. Sometimes trying to "fix" things with chemicals and additives makes things worse. Blooms happen to me everytime I clean my filter a bit. It should clear itself up in a couple of days.

[MandyL]

How big is this tank? How long has it been set up? I agree with the above that you should not be cleaning out your filter at all. Large water changes are not as big an issue as the bacteria in your filter that should be left alone.

[cocoa_pleco]

yep, leave your media alone unless its clogged. technically water changes wont cause a bloom, you can do a 99% water change with no effects

[digital3]

If you have a cannister filter, regular maintenance should be considered. Maybe not as frequently as water changes, but you should check that things are in good order every few months or so. Especially if you notice a drop in water pressure coming out of it. IMO I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to clean it, it's just a matter of how often and how you go about doing it.

I cleaned mine this past weekend and it was packed with plant debris and other things; clogging up the impeller and my media boxes.

You just want to make sure that you don't do it the same time as a water change or doing anything else drastic to the tank. That's what causes major beneficial bacteria disruptions. But I feel keeping your filter checked and minor cleaning will help in the life of it. It will also help in assessing any problems early on to ensure that you don't have a disaster later down the road by your filter breaking down on you.

Some folks don't clean their filter, and that's fine too, if you don't need it. I just don't think cleaning it is a bad thing if it needs to be done.

Finally, if you do feel your filter needs to be cleaned up a bit, don't forget to only use tank water and not your tap water.

[Juannie]

If you have a cannister filter, regular maintenance should be considered. Maybe not as frequently as water changes, but you should check that things are in good order every few months or so. Especially if you notice a drop in water pressure coming out of it. IMO I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to clean it, it's just a matter of how often and how you go about doing it.

I cleaned mine this past weekend and it was packed with plant debris and other things; clogging up the impeller and my media boxes.

You just want to make sure that you don't do it the same time as a water change or doing anything else drastic to the tank. That's what causes major beneficial bacteria disruptions. But I feel keeping your filter checked and minor cleaning will help in the life of it. It will also help in assessing any problems early on to ensure that you don't have a disaster later down the road by your filter breaking down on you.

Some folks don't clean their filter, and that's fine too, if you don't need it. I just don't think cleaning it is a bad thing if it needs to be done.

Finally, if you do feel your filter needs to be cleaned up a bit, don't forget to only use tank water and not your tap water.

Oh dear, to start with I've always used tap water in all my canister cleans, obviously that's wrong?!?! I clean the canister every 5-8weeks, because a bit of brown algae builds up with the natural light in our house. The tank has been set up in this house since we've lived here for over 2 yrs. It's only a 4 footer and I'm currently trying to find a 6 footer for my fish as it's a bit small for them now & I didn't know not to do a water change at the same time as a filter clean - after 5 years of having these fish no one has ever mentioned it before! I have two internal sponge filters as well which I rinse out regularly, with the big fish in there they get dirty very quick & until I can find a decent 6 footer i've had to try keeping it clean. The water doesn't look as cloudy as last night, but I'm worried because my brasiliensis has the smallest couple of HITH patches so I don't want that getting worse either.

[digital3]

Don't fret. That's how we learn right? I'll usually change my water at the top of the week and then clean the filter some time in the middle of the week (whenever it needs it, of course). IMO the whole filter clean and water change thing is just a personal rule of thumb. I've found that that's the trick with fishkeeping, whether it be maintenance, plant pruning, etc., you don't want to do too much at once as that gets things out of balance and you run into problems, then you try to "fix" the problem and things start getting out of control.

It's been a hard lesson for me to learn because I get impatient all the time and am constantly trying to get things back in order, or my plants aren't cooperating, or my filter gets clogged, or my water looks gross, etc. I just need to handle my problems one bit at a time and eventually things get back in order. Even if it takes a few weeks... :ezpi_wink1:

I still say wait on doing anything drastic to the tank until that bacterial bloom clears up. It takes a couple of days; sometimes three. Because your tank is established, it should recover fine. Do some water tests just to make sure. I always do that after a bac bloom and it's always clean: Am. 0 Nitrite. 0, etc.

As for the HITH, I'll admit I'm no expert on that, but once again, I'm thinking maybe handle that issue once the bloom clears up. Unless someone else feels it needs to be dealt with more quickly.

Maybe another thread could be posted in the fish diseases section so it can be seen by someone who knows what the word is on it?

[MandyL]

There's your problem right there then... Your tap water most likely has chlorine in it, and when you rinse the filter media in tap water the chlorine is killing the good bacteria. The best way is to just swish it in a bucket of old tank water that you remove for the water change.

Don't worry about not knowing these things, we all learn somehow!

[xoolooxunny]

that brown algae you are referring to is most likely the bacteria colonies, if its a little slimy. The easiest way for me to clean out my filter sponges/impeller is to fill a 5g bucket with my tank water and keep rinsing and rinsing (and then water my plants with it). This way there is always plenty of bacteria left in there to handle the bioload. Cleaning your canister sparkling clean all the time is a big no no.

I think one of the treatments for HITH is frequent water changes and a very good diet, live foods and a variety of high quality flakes/pellets.

btw, how many gallons/liters is your tank with the HITH problem?

[Juannie]

that brown algae you are referring to is most likely the bacteria colonies, if its a little slimy. The easiest way for me to clean out my filter sponges/impeller is to fill a 5g bucket with my tank water and keep rinsing and rinsing (and then water my plants with it). This way there is always plenty of bacteria left in there to handle the bioload. Cleaning your canister sparkling clean all the time is a big no no.

I think one of the treatments for HITH is frequent water changes and a very good diet, live foods and a variety of high quality flakes/pellets.

btw, how many gallons/liters is your tank with the HITH problem?

Aha, the chlorine sounds about right in our tap water so there lies one problem.. It seems the bloom has settled over the last 2 days so I won't touch it. I didn't realise I should clean stuff out with my tank water - it makes sense though. My oscar had HITH nearly 2 yrs ago which we seemed to fix but now my brasiliensis has it very slighly. I feed hikari cichlid bio gold - so that will definitely help the little fella (well not so little) and they get a mix of frozen cichlid food - but the oscar and brasil won't take it for some reason, I even tried NLS and they won't touch it - way too fussy. My tank is 4 foot x15x18in (I"m not sure how many litres). It's not big enough for the big fish though, hence the regular water changes, although I have my eye on a 6 footer.

Thanks for the advice!!

[Juannie]

So do I do water changes yet? The bloom hasn't settled, it actually looks like it is slightly worse, has me worried.

[digital3]

So do I do water changes yet? The bloom hasn't settled, it actually looks like it is slightly worse, has me worried.

How are your water parameters? Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, etc...

[Juannie]

How are your water parameters? Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, etc...

I tested the nitrates and ammonia - not 0 but only the slightest of colour in each. Don't know how to test for nitrites.

[digital3]

Hmmm... You should probably pick up a Nitrite test. You definitely don't want to have any Ammonia or Nitrites in the tank, they are bad at any level. At this point, I would recommend a water change and then keep an eye on those parameters.

You should probably also test your tap water and make sure that that has no Ammonia as well.

[Juannie]

Hmmm... You should probably pick up a Nitrite test. You definitely don't want to have any Ammonia or Nitrites in the tank, they are bad at any level. At this point, I would recommend a water change and then keep an eye on those parameters.

You should probably also test your tap water and make sure that that has no Ammonia as well.

I think I will have to buy a kit after work, I don't understand why it isn't clearing though?!?! I did a small water change last night which hasn't made any difference, I haven't tested the tap water ammonia - I would think not but it's worth a try. I'm just really worried about my brasiliensis with HITH, this certainly isn't helping him at all.

[Juannie]

Well tonight I'm home and it hasn't settled. My fish aren't particularly happy as I can see it's really affecting their health, the oscar is showing a small sign of pitting and the brasiliensis is getting worse - does anyone have any ideas -I'm praying that the water settles tomorrow because this is really realy bad.

[Juannie]

Well it's about day 5 and my fish aren't happy, they're hardly eating. I've tested the ammonia and nitrates and they're pretty much 0, the water is really murky - since it's not clearing I'm going to have to do some sort of water change otherwise I reckon I will loose my fish and if that happens - world beware (I don't cope losing pets). I've done one small water change and that didn't help so I'm lost.............

[xoolooxunny]

your nitrates are zero? or did you mean nitrites?

[Juannie]

your nitrates are zero? or did you mean nitrites?

I meant nitrates

[xoolooxunny]

Is there any way you can get some gunk from another filter and seed this filter? Sounds like this bacteria cycle needs a strong jump start! In the mean time, I would go with a 20-30% wc every day or every other day.

[Juannie]

Funnily enough there's quite a bit of "gunk" in there (perhaps not enough though). I seem to have a massive reddish/brown algae problem in both my tropical tanks - not so much in the tanks but in the filters - is this the "gunk" you're talking about? I assumed it was algae - perhaps I'm very wrong?? What confuses me, is how come when I've washed the filter (as always) before I'd never had a problem (this has been about 3 or 4 years now), and I've not had the same problem with my goldfish or smaller tropicals?!?!

[Juannie]

Well it's now just over 2 weeks and things aren't improving, my water is still quite murky, I'm doing water changes every day and now my brasiliensis is getting a lot of pitting in his little head - if anyone has any ideas of what I can do it would be most appreciated. My fish are feeding ok but the pitting is freaking me out, I really really don't want to loose this little guy and I don't understand why the murkiness isn't settling with the water changes.

[GreenTerrorNYC]

I am currently having the same problem in my 12g tank. I changed water too frequently and this caused the problem. I think its def the tap water i am putting in.

I may try to condition it first before i add it to the tank, good luck let me know how it works out.

[Juannie]

Well good news, I figured it out - the pH was a bit low so I added some coral and yay - settled the bloom down within a couple of days. Only problem is I've ended up with reddish algae in there - even though there's been no change in the amount of light getting in the tank.

Now the problem I have is because the pH levels in our tap water are too high as soon as I do a water change - the bloom tends to creep back in. Now I have to figure out a way to get our pH levels back to 7 before putting it into the tank - & I even let the water stand overnight - no difference!

Oh this fishy stuff is fun and games isn't it.

[Juannie]

I am currently having the same problem in my 12g tank. I changed water too frequently and this caused the problem. I think its def the tap water i am putting in.

I may try to condition it first before i add it to the tank, good luck let me know how it works out.

Have you had any luck settling yours down at all? I tried conditioner and even that didn't work.