Mick

So sorry it took me so long to respond to everyone's advice and info! But I did take your advice and my tank is finally looking great and not changing from clear to cloudy over and over. The stuff in my media was like ectoplasmic goop very dense and almost like algae. That's why I think it was some type of algae or bacteria bloom. If it gets bad again I'll take pics to post . I am going to very careful not kill off my good bacteria or change all types of media at once. Unfortunately I do have a fish with dropsy probably from the water quality during the fight to get rid of the goop. Dropsy is bad I hate that disease or whatever it is. My poor Golden Gourami is swollen and not acting like her normal self. I am going to isolate her tonight and medicate heavily and hope to see a improvement. I lost one of my favorite fish of all time Pipsqueak the albino barb got dropsy last year and slowly died from it and I tried everything to save him. I am very attached to my fish and it was very hard to watch cause they suffer when they get dropsy IMO. Any advice on meds or any other treatment would be great! Anyway on to better things my two rescued turtles are doing great and I think they are super smart. To call them cute is a understament one is a slider and other is a musk I think. Those little jokers can eat! They are so funny to watch eat and sleep while basking! They look like they got ran over or something they way they sprawl out completely! When they eat usually there's one shrimp left in the middle of the tank and it is a showdown who gets it! Lol! Going to post some pics and video if I can. Thanks again!

Thanks everyone! Glad to have a place to discuss and learn about my aquatic pets!

I have been into aquariums for years but recently my 36g Bowfront tank has been a nightmare to get cleared up very cloudy. It was nice and clear for a long time but recently I can't get it straight. It will just about get clear after filter media changes but then the filter media gets green and slimey. I have used a little bit of clear water stuff and algae control but with no success. I was using 2 HOB filters 1 Fluval 50 and Penguin 150 older version. But decided to try a new Top Fin Pro 50 HOB and hasn't got any better maybe worse. I have to change carbon and rinse other media weekly or it overflows around the tube. I have 3 Bala Sharks one is big 5", 4 Tiger Barbs 1-2", 2 Gouramis 2", and 1 big Pleco 6-7". I know that's probably pushing it on being crowded but waste isn't really the issue I don't think. Water here does suck but I have always cycled my tanks and I never use tap water to clean up the media or filters without treating it first same when I do water changes I am sure to treat and use a all in with live bacteria. I use a master test kit regularly and don't have any bad levels of anything ph is also pretty good. I thought maybe I was leaving the light on too much so I cut back but it hasn't helped. My tanks clarity can change in a couple hours which I have never really experienced. Any help or advice would be great! Gonna go broke buying stuff for filter and chemicals! Also I love my fishes I want them to be happy and they are not! Thanks again!

Glad I seemed to have found a forum that maybe I can get and give a few helpful bits of info! I have several aquariums and one setup for two baby turtles I found in a pool skimmer.