White bubbles/cloudy water

[Heatherbun]

Recently, my bio wheel filter is putting out a lot of white bubbly water into the tank...seems like a lot of bacteria. Is this good or bad? Should I take off the wheel and just run the media? I have a 50 gallon with about 25 lbs of rock. Water tests are fine, just looks cloudy with all the white stuff. Thank you for your help.

[Germanman]

not sure what it could be but could u maybe post all your water parameters anyway...fine is to wrongly used.:)

[Heatherbun]

nitrate 20
nitrite 0
alkalinity 240
ph 8.4
I only have a stick tester. I did a 30% water change to help get the nitrate down...and that is when the white bubble problem seemed to start. ?? What other tests should I do? My tank has been set up about 6 weeks (cycled at week 3). Could this be a bacteria bloom or something?
Thanks for all your help.

[Germanman]

doesnt sound like a bacteria bloom. and u good on tests but id add an ammonia test as well. did u add anything to the water after u did the water change or stir up anything?

[Heatherbun]

No I didn't add anything or stir anything. I have washed the sides with a sponge bc there is white stuff growing (little white bugs) on the glass. It just seems a lot of bubbles going deep into the water ( I have a tall tank). And the water is moderately cloudy.

[Germanman]

what kind of sponge and what was it used for before?

[Heatherbun]

Here's a pic. It's blurry, but the white is the bubbles from the filter. I used a brand new kitchen type sponge. http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9994/img5642fj4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Germanman]

humm unless the sponge has chemicals in it form day one..ur should be fine...looks like micro bubbles to me. do they look like tiny bubbles?or just solid specks?

[Heatherbun]

Tiny bubbles..but it makes the whole tank look cloudy. How do I get rid of them?

[Germanman]

reduce the flow of ur filter or u can try to eliminate the air source or reduce it. also there are sponges that can stop the bubbles or there are bubble traps for some filters and pumps.

[Heatherbun]

Thank you for all your help, I really appreciate it.

[Germanman]

np let me know how it turns out:)

[Heatherbun]

Well...the water level was a little low....I added more water...and viola!...the majority of the bubbles disappeared! :) Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I am slightly less ignorant now...haha.

[Germanman]

good to hear u fixed it! gald i could help u out:)

[Reefscape]

Really glad you got to the bottom of it mate, you have a lovely tank there...

Niko

[valentine]

i have 2 filters on my tank, the small one puts out tiny bubbles like that when the water level drops, because it starts to suck some air. i just lowered the intake so it's further under the water, and that fixed it. gives me more leeway with the water level too.