Mechanical filter filling very fast ! Is it the cory fry?Also Is it possible to cycle a bare bottom tank?

[KittenFishMom]

The sponge filters and HOB sponges are filling with muddy mulm much faster than before. I'm trying not to clean more than half in a tank in 24 hours, but it is amazing how cloudy the water is getting and how much gunk is in each filter I clean. I'm starting to think it is the cory fry and youth digging in the sand, stirring everything up looking for food.  I have ACO sponge filters, and HOB filters with pre-filters and the media replaced with more sponges plus nitrogen sponges. Those tanks are Walstad tanks, meaning there is potting soil under a sand cap. You can not gravel vacuum the bottom. I did a 20 gallon change on the 55 yesterday and it looks so murky today. I have cleaned all the mechanical filter spaced an hour or so apart and have Stability, Prime, and Turbo Start 700 on hand, in case I lose the cycle.

Hopefully the breeder will come this weekend and take more fry and adults. I have to catch them before she gets here. I think I have moved almost all the fry out of the shrimp tank and into the 15 gallon tank. The 55 gallon tank is very heavily planted and full of fry and adults. I'm afraid I will need to set up another tank to hold those fry so I can start catching them a few days ahead of time. 

I am thinking I may try setting up a temporary 15 gallon bare bottom tank with fake plants to put the adults and fry in over several days before the breeder comes for them. Then I can remove everything when the time comes to catch the fish. I have never gotten a bare bottom tank to cycle. I really worry about cory toxins in the water when I am netting them. I have had some luck trapping fry in a water bottle trap, but I don't take my eyes off it once I put it in the tank. I bait it with frozen hatched brine shrimp. and pull the trap as soon as one fish panics.

All thoughts and advice on any of this is very welcome. 

Would love to hear from @Streetwise or @lefty o or @CorydorasEthan or @nabokovfan87 or @TeeJay or @Guppysnail or @Cinnebuns or @Chick-In-Of-TheSea  or anyone with experience with Walstad tanks, bare bottom tank or Corys. 

Edited March 21, 2023 by KittenFishMom

[Theplatymaster]

ive had something similar where my water would not clear up due to the corydoras stirring up a bunch of debris.

For me the solution was the amount of filter floss, less is better as more will clog.

I also clean my sponge filter a few times a year, when i have fry to feed, the rest of the time i just let it run in the tank,so i dont think ACO sponge filters really need cleaning that often.

Not sure if this will help, but maybe it will.

[Guppysnail]

I have run lots of bare bottom tanks. They season to stabilize the nitrogen cycle just like any other tank the key is putting in hardscape so the beneficial bacteria has places to grow. 
They are easy to disrupt but it’s very doable. I recommend putting floating fast growers in. Hornwort, guppy grass, elodea etc. Move a sponge that’s seasoned over if possible. 

[The endler guy]

Could we get a photo of the tank (especially the detritus)

If you are like me (my tank has a good inch or so of leaf/ plant detritus) any sort of unusual strong flow kicks it up, could your filtration be working too well? 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

@KittenFishMom to cycle a bare bottom tank I take the extra seasoned sponge filter (that I usually have going in the main tank) and just move it over.  If I can't do that, then I would take whatever filter media I have established and squish it into the new tank (which I would have filled with only tank water, no tap water at all if i can help it) and let all that stuff settle and coat the surfaces. Also if your established filter has any ceramic media, you can split that and move some into the new tank.  Some other helpful tips would be bottled bacteria, moving some decor from an established tank to the new tank, and adding plants.

On 3/21/2023 at 12:26 AM, KittenFishMom said:

HOB sponges are filling with muddy mulm much faster than before

One helpful tip that I got from @nabokovfan87 is to get the sponges that have the dents, because the dents will catch stuff and that allows you to run these sponges longer between maintenances.

You may find it sold as pond filter media.

If your water is murky, you'll want to run a fine sponge or floss along with your coarse sponge.  (These ones with the dents will serve as a fine sponge.)

Edited March 21, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Mary W.]

If you have a thick layer of soft detritus on top of your sand, you can try "wafting" your siphon over it a couple of inches away from the surface.  That should lift up the loose stuff that sounds like it's getting kicked up and then clogging your filter.  Just don't suck up any of those cory fry!

[KittenFishMom]

@Mary W. I put a knee high nylon over my siphon to protect the fry. maybe I should stuff the tube with floss instead. I could even siphon out buckets of water and return them to the tank. I have polishing filter sponge, but I think it would clog too fast to be worth the effort.

[KittenFishMom]

@Theplatymaster The new filter is stronger, but I covered the output with a knee high nylon and it looks pretty gross this morning. I think I need to move the fry out if I ever want to see the back of the tank. (the tank is only 13.5 inch front to back). I'm really not looking for "drinking water" clear water, but this doesn't look healthy to me.

I could unplug the HOBs for a few hours and see if it gets better or worse. I have 3 air stones and a sponge filter, so there would be lots of oxygen in the water.

[KittenFishMom]

Quick update: I think the water does not look healthy, but there are fresh cory eggs all over the glass, so I am guessing that the corys are not bothered by the murky water. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/20/2023 at 9:26 PM, KittenFishMom said:

The sponge filters and HOB sponges are filling with muddy mulm much faster than before. I'm trying not to clean more than half in a tank in 24 hours, but it is amazing how cloudy the water is getting and how much gunk is in each filter I clean. I'm starting to think it is the cory fry and youth digging in the sand, stirring everything up looking for food. 

It might not be easy for you, but I would try to take a sponge and scrub the wood.  I recall you have a TON of wood in the tank and it might be the outer layer rotting, pumps moving that around and then plecos or other fish pushing that into the water.  Generally try to get ahead of the "mud" by using fine pads or filter floss and then cleaning your mechanical filtration.  Prime time aquatics will use a technique of just adding a HOB to the tank stuffed with filter floss and letting that do it's thing to help clean up a tank.
 

On 3/21/2023 at 9:39 AM, KittenFishMom said:

Quick update: I think the water does not look healthy, but there are fresh cory eggs all over the glass, so I am guessing that the corys are not bothered by the murky water. 

I would verify the tap water is ok, then go ahead and proceed with the above mechanical cleaning as well as a one time very large water change (80%).  This is not recommended long term, but one time it is ok to do for instances where you're having major water concerns.  (This is something I do when I run into very high spikes of ammonia)

[KittenFishMom]

@nabokovfan87 Luckily the water parms are doing well. just a touch of ammonia if I clean too many filters at once, but with stability and prime it is gone the next day. I took out one piece of wood because it was starting to get softer spots.  It might be the wood, I will give it a close look. Now that you mention it I remember the tank going cloudy when I first added the wood. It did clear up.

I did add 3 tiny, bust hillstream loaches. maybe they are working on the wood. I remember noticing some algae on the wood a while back.

I hate to take that curved wood out, but if the murkiness doesn't clear, I will try take it out and see if it helps, or if the wood is rotting.

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/21/2023 at 1:19 PM, KittenFishMom said:

I did add 3 tiny, bust hillstream loaches. maybe they are working on the wood. I remember noticing some algae on the wood a while back.

yeah, aufwuchs for days on wood!  They probably loved it.

You can still use the wood, just try to give it a good clean and keep an eye on it.  Sometimes older wood just gets mushy on you because it's layers are breaking down or being broken down (common from what I hear with manzanita especially)

[KittenFishMom]

@nabokovfan87 I just added an extra HOB with sponge in the back and floss in the front. I have had problems with the floss getting tangled in the impeller, so I'm hoping the sponge will protect the impeller.

I'm going to start cycling a bare bottom tank to hold fish that the breeder will be taking. She will only take what is caught before she gets here, and it could take a few days to get most in the 55 tank. It could take a few years to get all of them 8-)