cycling question: bacteria bloom

[caz]

my tank has been cycling for about 2 weeks now, and i noticed that it is starting to get the little white particles. (bacteria i think) well during this stage should i change the water more or less? should i add filter residue? its a 55 gallon tank and i usually change the water every day about 10 to 15 gallons, syphoning the gravel. thanx guys

 

[wetmanNY]

If you can see little white particles you know it's not bacteria. You can't even see single-celled protists ("plankton").

Don't stir things up too much here at the beginning. Keep up those water changes though. Siphon over your gravel, but gently gently!

Something you're adding to the water may be precipitating. Phosphate buffer? Flocculant?

Some cloudiness at the cycling stage is quite ordinary. Just when you think it'll be hazy forever, you'll get up one morning, and *ping*
Amazing crystal clarity! I think it's a plankton thing rather than a bacterial issue, but that's a quibble...

 

[Hebdizzle]

10-15 gallons a day of water being changed is way too much for that tank. That is approx 25% daily... most people do that weekly.

 

[caz]

i thought during cycling i wanted to do water changes every day or two, to slow down the process as much as possible, and keep my fish's stress to a minimum.and 10 gallons is a little less than 20%

 

[carpguy]

While its not a part of the cycle strictly speaking, a white "bloom" of whatever sorts of organisms seems to be very common during the startup phase. If you see this later on you might want to look at tank conditions, but during the cycle its a normal thing and generally goes away on its own before long.

Frequent water changes are good practice during a fishy cycle. They don't slow the cycle down but they do help keep the toxicity levels down. You only need to do enough to keep your ammonia and nitrite levels at reasonably safe levels.