Cloudy water from too much filter media?

[JoeBel]

Ok, so I have an established 55g Malawi cichlid tank & lately have been having some cloudy water issues. My water params are fine, I don't overfeed, I do weekly cleaning/water changes, I have plenty filtration for the bio-load (14 fish), & I don't have any algae probs.

I'm trying to figure out what is causing the water to be cloudy. It's not horrible but it has definitely been crystal clear in the past. I have two AC 70's running on it and noticed the cloudiness seemed to somewhat coincide with me adding crushed coral to the media baskets. This is what I have in each AC:

1. 2 sponges, 1 small bag of CC, 1 bag of biomax
2. 1 sponge, 1 small bag of CC, 2 bags of biomax

I thoroughly cleaned out both filters and media and things cleared up initially, but then got a bit hazy again after a few days.

Do I have too much media in my baskets or could it be the CC?

Thanks!

 

[Itsadeepbluesea]

I would think its the crushed coral as even if you rinse it off it can sometimes give off particles. Since you are running water through it its probably kicking something into the water. I would watch it, it'll probably clear up on its own.

 

[Itsadeepbluesea]

I would think its the CC especially since it seems to coincide with you adding it. That would make sense to me.

 

[Ullopincrate]

I'd have to agree with the crushed coral statement. Also you can't really over filter. I it's possible but not how you are doing it.

 

[JoeBel]

thanks for the advice guys, yeah I think it's the CC too, just wasn't sure why it cleared up nice and then got cloudy again. I'll see if it clears up again & re-check the CC bags to make sure they're not leaking particles out.

 

[EllieGreene]

Do you track your pH levels? The CC could be buffering it up and causing a bacterial bloom. I can't see that being the case unless your pH was 5-6 to start with..

 

[JoeBel]

Do you track your pH levels? The CC could be buffering it up and causing a bacterial bloom. I can't see that being the case unless your pH was 5-6 to start with..

Yes, the reason I added the CC was because I took a good amount of Texas Holey Rock out and wanted to keep the PH steady. It has stayed consistently around 7.8 so there weren't any significant fluctuations.