Going to lose my mind

[JoeBoxer]

I'll try and keep this concise.

My 35 gallon tank has never really had clear water for a few reasons. The last reason was that I didn't wash my gravel properly.

I ended up emptying the tank completely and changing the gravel for sand.

Was fine for a while until I added more sand and then cloudy again and never really cleared up.

I tried putting polyfil and other different filter materials but there was always a layer of dust in the tank. It coated the walls and filter tube.

Last night I emptied the tank again, took it outside for a rinse down and filled it back up. Added dechlorinator and slowly acclimatized the fish back into the tank (small green terror, 2 barbs and a black shark).

Didn't add the sand back, was going to wash it today and then add it back.

Water was clear, fish were fine (although I hate having them in a bare bottom tank).

This morning, not even 6 hours later, I come downstairs and the tank is cloudy again.

What the hell is going on? Is this some kind of biological reaction? Overnight though?

I was careful to keep the bio media in the filter away from any chlorinated water. I rinsed it in tank water.

Is it possible that there was still some dust on it and that's what's clouded the tank again?

im starting to lose it completely.

 

[Fat Homer]

Im going to say you are probably experiencing a bacterial bloom as the tank goes through a mini-cycle from the dismantle...

 

[JoeBoxer]

This is what was coating the tank and filter inside. You can see where I wasn't able to clean the bend in the filter intake.

 

[JoeBoxer]

Im going to say you are probably experiencing a bacterial bloom as the tank goes through a mini-cycle from the dismantle...

It would happen literally overnight like that?

How do I treat it?

 

[dan518]

Water changes, maybe some bottled bacteria. Your gravel/sand will hold bacteria, and even when you wash filter media out in tank water you will lose some bacteria as well. Couple these things together and you mess your cycle up a bit

 

[JoeBoxer]

Water changes, maybe some bottled bacteria. Your gravel/sand will hold bacteria, and even when you wash filter media out in tank water you will lose some bacteria as well. Couple these things together and you mess your cycle up a bit

Thanks. What water change regimen do you recommend to treat this?

I am going to wash the sand this morning and add it back to the tank.

 

[dan518]

50% a day, keep testing for ammonia and nitrite, when that's at 0 your ok again, shouldn't take to long maybe a few days

 

[JoeBoxer]

50% a day, keep testing for ammonia and nitrite, when that's at 0 your ok again, shouldn't take to long maybe a few days

Thank you. I will do this for a week. If it hasn't cleared up by then I will let you guys know.

Thanks for the quick replies. I hate stressing my fish out by tinkering so much with the tank, but I had tried filtering this dust crap out for weeks and nothing really changed.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

It is probably because of the water changes. When I do a large water change on my tank, I usually get a bit of cloudy water afterwards. It used to last about 1.5-2 days and then would clear up. After I got my new filter with a UV steralizer, it only takes a few hours to clear up. If you can, I would add a UV steralizer and give the tank a few days to settle before doing another water change. Also, the "dust" on the walls is probably some bacteria build up that can be easily washed off with a mag float, or something similar. Just test for ammonia and nitrite, and give very light feelings for the next few days with no water changes. Obviously, if you see a build up of ammonia or nitrite then go for some water changes, but otherwise, let them go for a little bit.

 

[JoeBoxer]

It is probably because of the water changes. When I do a large water change on my tank, I usually get a bit of cloudy water afterwards. It used to last about 1.5-2 days and then would clear up. After I got my new filter with a UV steralizer, it only takes a few hours to clear up. If you can, I would add a UV steralizer and give the tank a few days to settle before doing another water change. Also, the "dust" on the walls is probably some bacteria build up that can be easily washed off with a mag float, or something similar. Just test for ammonia and nitrite, and give very light feelings for the next few days with no water changes. Obviously, if you see a build up of ammonia or nitrite then go for some water changes, but otherwise, let them go for a little bit.

Haha now I am confused. Water change or not....

I am was going to ask...a big (100%) water change is what caused this...so how will more help???

I'm ignorant of the science behind this.