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Hy sponge filter bubbles not popping


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looks like some sort of contamination to me. soap or detergent or something from hands or sleeves or whatever. have you added any objects to the tank, plants, decorations, substrate, wood, etc? 

I'd do a bunch of decent water changes, eg 20% daily for a few days to try and change/rotate out most of the existing water. I'd also get activated carbon into your filter. Ensure good aeration and circulation. cut back on feeding. these are all the "go-to" steps for "there's a problem but I don't know what it is". 

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The only time I’ve ever had one of my tanks do that is when I went suuuuuuper heavy on the tannins. It doesn’t look like your tank is a blackwater tank, though. Interesting. What types of food are you feeding? Did this just show up out of nowhere, or has it gotten progressively worse over time? What’s your water change schedule like?

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On 4/11/2024 at 10:09 AM, MattyM said:

Is there any sort of film on the surface? 

a little bit but after a water change it is still there

On 4/11/2024 at 11:28 AM, TOtrees said:

looks like some sort of contamination to me. soap or detergent or something from hands or sleeves or whatever. have you added any objects to the tank, plants, decorations, substrate, wood, etc? 

I'd do a bunch of decent water changes, eg 20% daily for a few days to try and change/rotate out most of the existing water. I'd also get activated carbon into your filter. Ensure good aeration and circulation. cut back on feeding. these are all the "go-to" steps for "there's a problem but I don't know what it is". 

i do not leave soap on my hands before i maintenance and if there is then it has been very little(the fish are fine) i have not added anything in the past 3 weeks. there was a time when i ran 2 filters and one had activated carbon and it didn't do anything. i feed fish flakes that they eat in 30 seconds.

On 4/11/2024 at 1:12 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

The only time I’ve ever had one of my tanks do that is when I went suuuuuuper heavy on the tannins. It doesn’t look like your tank is a blackwater tank, though. Interesting. What types of food are you feeding? Did this just show up out of nowhere, or has it gotten progressively worse over time? What’s your water change schedule like?

i water change every 1 or 2 weeks. i feed fish flakes that are gone in 30 seconds. it started as soon as i put the sponge filter in but it never grows bigger than in the photo.

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On 4/11/2024 at 4:04 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Did you rinse off the sponge filter before you put it in the tank?

i dont think so but i dont know

its been there for a week and fish are fine

 

should i clean next water change?

 

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I was just thinking that maybe there was something on/in the sponge or the components to the sponge from manufacturing, and if you didn’t rinse it off whatever was on/in the sponge could’ve gotten into the water and changed the viscosity or could be the reason for the bubbles not popping at the surface. 
 

I would remove and clean the sponge, do a 50% water change, and see what happens. From there if I was still having the issue I would run some carbon for a few days in a HOB or a little internal filter and see if that doesn’t do the trick. 

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On 4/11/2024 at 4:12 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

The only time I’ve ever had one of my tanks do that is when I went suuuuuuper heavy on the tannins. It doesn’t look like your tank is a blackwater tank, though. Interesting. What types of food are you feeding? Did this just show up out of nowhere, or has it gotten progressively worse over time? What’s your water change schedule like?

I totally forgot about tannins doing that and I have a black water tank

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On 4/11/2024 at 4:54 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I was just thinking that maybe there was something on/in the sponge or the components to the sponge from manufacturing, and if you didn’t rinse it off whatever was on/in the sponge could’ve gotten into the water and changed the viscosity or could be the reason for the bubbles not popping at the surface. 
 

I would remove and clean the sponge, do a 50% water change, and see what happens. From there if I was still having the issue I would run some carbon for a few days in a HOB or a little internal filter and see if that doesn’t do the trick. 

ok ill do that tomorrow (its when i normally do a water change and because the fish are fine.

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On 4/11/2024 at 8:09 PM, oogabooga said:

Also how to rinse? Like run under tap or just swirl in dirty tank water?

Either one would be fine. Personally, I would probably do it under the tap in the hopes that if anything was on/in the sponge it would be rinsed down the drain. 
 

Normally, I squeeze my sponges in tank water that I took out during a water change, but in this instance I would probably use the tap. 

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