What is going on with my water?

[KittenFishMom]

I just changed my water a day or 2 ago, today the water is cloudy.

Ammonia = 0

Nitrate = 0

Nitrite = 0

(GH)ppm is off the scale, above 300

(KH)ppm = 40

pH = 6.8

heater is working, temp felt right. I can get a temp, but would guess 77-78, like usual.

It is a 10 gallon tank. It is the same spring water from the same store we have been buying for water changes since February. I changed the filter and squeezer the sponge filter during the water change because the HOB was very slow do to gunk build up. I also vacuumed the gravel. The parms look good. I noticed it looked cloudy last night and added a water polishing filter at the front of the HOB filter, just as the water discharges. I just changed both the general filter and the polishing filter, before I started typing.

The tank has 3 (I think female) corys about 10 neon tetras, 2 young yoyoy loachs and a male betta.

The substrate is standard size over pebbles plus some crushed coral and wonder shells now and then. I can see part of one in the front of the tank. Several live plants.

I added the loaches last week, everything else has been there for 4 or more weeks. The tank has acted fully cycled since I added the active sponge filter the first week.

It's been a long day. I don't know why I came home to this cloudy tank.

What would cause the cloudiness with the parms being 0, 0, 0?

Did the cycle take a hit and is just catching up?

Do I just let it run and let the mechanical filter clean up the water, or do I do a water change?

[Flumpweesel]

Could be a bacterial bloom, they can occur after a deep clean and normally just sort themselves out.

[Pencapchew95]

0 on everything is kindve odd.  Also when you do water changes you introduce a lot of nutrients into the water and it commonly causes bacterial blooms. Reading 0 for everything makes it sound like a sterile environment. 

Edited September 8, 2022 by Pencapchew95

[KittenFishMom]

The colors were all closer to 0 tan to the next color up.  They got food yesterday. Maybe they were eating what I stirred up, and did eat as much of the food I put in?  

[Guppysnail]

On 9/8/2022 at 5:43 PM, KittenFishMom said:

I changed the filter

If you mean you threw away the carbon cartridge and replaced with a new one you threw a very large amount of beneficial bacteria away. This can make water cloudy as the cycle builds its self back to the strength it needs to be. Polishing floss does not help this. 
i recommend switching to sponge media that only gets squished out to keep your tank more stable and save money as it never needs replaced. 
Here is a good video to watch. 

 

[KittenFishMom]

I have a  very large sponge filter that I did squeeze out. I don't use charcoal in my tanks. I put the filter sheet that was clogged and slowing the HOB's water flow in a "holding bowl" of tank water. I could drop it back in the tank if you think it would be a helpful source of good bacteria. I was going to move the used filter sheet from the bowl to the plant water bucket outside in the morning. I also added a new intake filter because the one I had was very large and with the large sponge filter it was taking up a lot of space. I did a lot of gravel vacuuming, and that took out more water than usual. I will add some Stability and 7 tonight to see how that booster the cycle. 

I also have an air stone tucked in the HOB.

I'm not sure what you meant about the polishing filter. Do you think I should take the water polishing filter out of the HOB and just let it float in the tank for a day or 2?

On the good side, the fish are all acting happy and normal. I fed them very lightly tonight. 

[Guppysnail]

If it were me I would do nothing. I would just keep an eye on parameters and let it sort itself out. This is not a brand new tank so should get sorted in a day or so. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Bacterial bloom after removing some beneficial bacteria and a good size water change. Makes sense. Seems like your tank is handling it ok as are your fish. As @Guppysnailindicated less is more. Keep water changing on same schedule. I would highly recommend not doing a big gravel vac and removing filter media in the same go. When I clean media I do a smaller water change. I try to avoid removing media personally I would use tank water to clean your media. In a really established tank I have no  problem cleaning media with tap water but in a newer (<6 mos) tank I wouldn’t. 

[KittenFishMom]

Thanks, I can do nothing, it is one of my super powers. 

My female guppies are plumping up on an extra side dish of baby brine shrimp. I can't wait to get the to the fish store ! Then to start thinning out the school of males. 

Thank you so much for all your help !!!!!

 

[KittenFishMom]

@Beardedbillygoat1975 yes, I normally only clean one filter (sponge or HOB) with a water change. but the over stocked guppies have been requiring lots of water changes, and I was neglecting this tank that was happily humming along. The sponge filter looked filmy, and the HOB was running slow, and the gravel needed cleaning, I should not have done it all at once. Boy it did need it, the water in the bucket smelled pretty strong.

I will call the fish store and try to get more guppies out the door tomorrow.

[KittenFishMom]

The water is cloudier. The nitrates are up to 10. Nitrites and ammonia are still at 0 each. I didn't feed them yesterday. The fish look happy, but hungry. They keep looking at me saying "You are late with the food." I will look through my options for something low on nitrogen/protein to give them tonight.

Any other ideas or suggestions?

[rockfisher]

I’m having a similar issue after I sold my guppies from 2 tanks. I think I messed up by not replacing the fish quickly. I think I have a bacterial bloom and I am going to ghost feed and actually add some nitrogen to the system. 

[KittenFishMom]

@rockfisher That is a thought. maybe feeding the fish would help the tank cycle. I'm sure the fish would not mind.

I am also dosing with Seachem Stability. I could swap sponge filters with another tank. I wonder if guppy fry can sneak into this tank hidden in a sponge filter?

I spent the afternoon and evening gathering seaweed form the lake for soil improvement, and my mind is a bit blurry. 

[rockfisher]

On 9/9/2022 at 9:23 PM, KittenFishMom said:

@rockfisher That is a thought. maybe feeding the fish would help the tank cycle. I'm sure the fish would not mind.

I am also dosing with Seachem Stability. I could swap sponge filters with another tank. I wonder if guppy fry can sneak into this tank hidden in a sponge filter?

I spent the afternoon and evening gathering seaweed form the lake for soil improvement, and my mind is a bit blurry. 

I have added a few guppy fry and very young females. I hate to say they are much harder to sell and  the variety I have produces so many more females. I thinkI put 6-8 in a 20g. In the tank with the fish is a little clearer today. I still have two tanks that I just started ghost feeding and those I think I may add some fertilizer to boost the nitrogen and let the bacteria feed on something. I’m not sure that’s the right way to go, I’m going to head down that path. 

Edited September 10, 2022 by rockfisher

[Flumpweesel]

Always think of a bacterial bloom is like when your clearing out your wardrobe and pull all the clothes out. Your wardrobe is empty but you still have all your clothes.

Same with the bloom the tank is cycled but the bacteria is the water not the surfaces or your sponge. 

Sadly you can rehang the bacteria you just need to wait for it to re-home itself

 

[_Eric_]

2 months in, the tank isn’t in a really stable state of balance and blooms, etc will happen.  We are very aware of the nitrifying bacteria since cycling the tank is important to keeping fish alive.  However there are other bacteria that break down organics and those can get out of whack after a clean as well.  Bacteria blooms are not nitrifying bacteria but other types.  

Also, it could be an algae bloom resulting from an imbalance of nutrients or lighting etc.  bacteria bloom will work itself out with time but may get worse before it gets better.  Algae bloom likely won’t without some intervention - algae blooms have a green tint which isn’t always evident until it gets thicker.  you can put some water in a white container and the green will show up more.  

If you want to throw money at the problem, the green killing machine works for both issues.  About $50 for the 3W (dont use the clip on thingy).  Doesn’t address the root of the problem but it works 🙂

 

[TeeJay]

I think what everyone else said is correct. Something I noticed is you said you add in wondershell from time to time. Do you have a specific purpose that your trying to get out of it? I know some folks like to use them to add minerals to the water but with your gh already being at 300 I don't think it's giving you any added benefits.

[KittenFishMom]

@TeeJay I use crushed coral and/or wonder shells because the pH tends to be low to very low and the female guppies are always "under construction" and need extra calcium. In the past, I have had female guppies develop bent spines and assumed it was lack of calcium.  Once the guppies are gone, I will probably use much less of the wonder shells.

@_Eric_ I think it is bacteria, not algae. From what everyone says, I think it will sort itself out over time.  I don't think I need the Green Killer. I did see a UV light on line for $17 to put in a filter. I wouldn't want that in my filter where my good bacteria are living, but I could put it in an empty HOB if the cloudiness doesn't clear.  This is not a display tank. The fish in the tank, neon tetras, corys, a male betta and 2 yoyo loaches all seem comfortable in cloudy water. So I will keep adding Stability and see how it goes.

@Flumpweesel I have clothes all over the bedroom and bacteria all over the tank. Seems about right.  I will keep adding stability or maybe some "7' let the tank work on sorting itself out and see how it goes. The fish seem happy and active. I just gave them some frozen bloodworms and they chowed down on them.

[_Eric_]

On 9/10/2022 at 1:09 PM, KittenFishMom said:

@_Eric_ I think it is bacteria, not algae. From what everyone says, I think it will sort itself out over time.  I don't think I need the Green Killer. I did see a UV light on line for $17 to put in a filter. I wouldn't want that in my filter where my good bacteria are living, but I could put it in an empty HOB if the cloudiness doesn't clear.  This is not a display tank. The fish in the tank, neon tetras, corys, a male betta and 2 yoyo loaches all seem comfortable in cloudy water. So I will keep adding Stability and see how it goes.

I wouldn't do the raw UV light.  You are right that it will kill the good bacteria in your HOB.  If you have one in another dedicated HOB, I bet the flowrate would be too high for it to be that effective.  I am not positive though so may be worth $17 to try out.  The green killing machine works, but understand not wanting another gadget.  I am not as patient as I should be 🙂

I don't know if Stability would be much help for the bloom but I don't think it would hurt anything.  

[Gannon]

Bacterial bloom can occur even with 0 ammonia and nitrite detectable. Probably just that.

[rockfisher]

On 9/10/2022 at 8:23 AM, TeeJay said:

I think what everyone else said is correct. Something I noticed is you said you add in wondershell from time to time. Do you have a specific purpose that your trying to get out of it? I know some folks like to use them to add minerals to the water but with your gh already being at 300 I don't think it's giving you any added benefits.

Yes. It starts some types of fish to breed. The angelfish normally lay eggs within 3 days. My corys with a water change breed more often with a water change and then the wonder shell. I believe this acts like a rain. The water change is the actual rain and the wonder she’ll acts as the nutrients washed in the water when it rains. Lastly my high GH has almost no Ca+ it’s almost all MgSO. I breed mystery snails in all the angel tanks but no snail in the cories because the tend to get to the eggs first. The snails will eat off the wonder shell almost as soon as it goes in. High GH is not the only to look at when you have it. If you can have you water sources tested ask to have the minerals that are causing  the high GH test so you know if it matters. I found out about the breeding behavior because I was adding them for the snails. The tanks I am have issues with I probably caused. I moved the angels that were in there an did put anything back in right away. Plus the light broke and it took a week to replace.