Cloudy new tank syndrome

[DOOB]

if you have a local fish store or a friend with an established aquarium, you can always get them to take a pail and squish some sponge filters into it then take it home and dump it in your filter to advance seeding the tank. I have setup many tanks this way in a few days. you will most likely notice the cloudy tank clears up overnight. just my 2 cents

 

[DOOB]

take about 10% water out then if you have a local fish store or a friend with an established aquarium, you can always get them to take a pail and squish some sponge filters into it then take it home and dump it in your filter to advance seeding the tank. dump the rest in your tank. even take a bit of their substrate if you can. it holds tons of BB. I have setup many tanks this way in a few days. you will most likely notice the cloudy tank clears up overnight. just my 2 cents

 

[skjl47]

even take a bit of their substrate if you can. it holds tons of BB.

Hello; This is the better way to get bb. Most any solid surface that can be easily removed will have some bb colonies. The bb are called sessile I believe which means they form a sticky film on surfaces as they colonize a place.
It is my understanding that little of the bb are in water. I guess if you squeeze out a filter that some bb might break away. However most of the stuff squeezed out is likely to be detritus( mulm)(tank trash). I think this sessile property of the bb is why we can squeeze out a sponge filter and not lost too much bb as they stick to the surface.
Substrate, décor, filter tubes and bodies, sponge bases and filter media from established tanks are among the things I use to seed a new tank.

 

[DOOB]

correct its mostly detritus. but about 20% of it is BB. nuthin wrong with adding a little detritus to a brand new tank and filter. its gonna come on its own anyways. that's why we have filters. just helps speed up the seeding of a tank

 

[skjl47]

correct its mostly detritus. but about 20% of it is BB. nuthin wrong with adding a little detritus to a brand new tank and filter. its gonna come on its own anyways. that's why we have filters. just helps speed up the seeding of a tank

Hello; This is new information, to me at least. Most of the talk, posts and articles I have read over the last few years have said that very little, if any, bb are free in the water. 20% is a high number if in fact the bb do exist as a sticky bio-film attached to surfaces. Simple rinsing or squeezing should not dislodge the bb film to such a degree has been my take.
I am very curious as to where this information can be found as it will simplify seeding a tank.

 

[skjl47]

Here is a link to an article about the bb.

http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html

Nitrifying Bacteria Facts


Here is a paragraph from the article linked above.


“Nitrifying bacteria are classified as obligate chemolithotrophs. This simply means that they must use inorganic salts as an energy source and generally cannot utilize organic materials. They must oxidize ammonia and nitrites for their energy needs and fix inorganic carbon dioxide (CO2) to fulfill their carbon requirements. They are largely non-motile and must colonize a surface (gravel, sand, synthetic biomedia, etc.) for optimum growth. They secrete a sticky slime matrix which they use to attach themselves.”

 

[Matthew English]

So should I add another dose of bb fluval bio enhancer tomo you think

 

[Matthew English]

Also I have added an external filter booster with different foams, so i was thinking of removing the carbon and some of the floss and adding more ceramic rings or bio balls, what's your views on this, of any other ideas there are 4 compartments In external filter

 

[DOOB]

Hello; This is new information, to me at least. Most of the talk, posts and articles I have read over the last few years have said that very little, if any, bb are free in the water. 20% is a high number if in fact the bb do exist as a sticky bio-film attached to surfaces. Simple rinsing or squeezing should not dislodge the bb film to such a degree has been my take.
I am very curious as to where this information can be found as it will simplify seeding a tank.

LOL you need written documents to prove there is BB in the detritus from an aquarium filter???

 

[DOOB]

Also I have added an external filter booster with different foams, so i was thinking of removing the carbon and some of the floss and adding more ceramic rings or bio balls, what's your views on this, of any other ideas there are 4 compartments In external filter

View attachment 1335786

I myself like seachem matrix and ceramic rings for biological filtration. I also find
"Marinepure High Performance Biofilter Media"
to be working amazingly well on 1 of my freshwater tanks for biological filtration. can cut it to fit ur filter. full of holes and passages for BB to build up and hang onto. just started using it and I like how its dropped my nitrates down and quickly. I may be using it on every tank if it keeps it up