unsoaked filter bag thing

FisheyLisa

FisheyLisa

Fish-a-roni
Nov 2, 2004
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I forgot to soak my whisper filter carbon filter bag thing before use a week ago. now my 5g tank is NASTY! the filter bag is all scummy, you can't see anything in the tank (nothing but decorations in it), and even with a 75% water change the condition is barly better.

should I start from scratch? DO I need a new filter bag? Is the foggy stuff bacteria, algea, or something else?

At this point I think I am going to start the tank over. It only housed a betta who is enjoying a holiday in another tank. I am just curious as to what happened if anyone knows.

:bowing:
 
Have you tested the tank for ammonia/nitrites? How long has the tank been without fish? Any changes (ie, lighting, temp, filtration)?

I dumped carbon into a tank without rinsing, and it will release a some tiny dust, this usually settles out quickly and doesn't cause a problem. I'd suspect something else happened that resulted in the bacterial bloom. It's harmless, though ugly. Give it a week--with the filter running, etc, and it should clear up on its own.
 
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it was foggy, i tested everything (I mean everything) corrected what was wrong and it just stayed foggy. I took out all fish and plants and left the itty bitty snails. now it is just sitting with the filter on and I turned the temp down so as not to promote more growth. I will wait a week. the tank was getting close to being stable I thought, then I put the new filter on...it has a weaker flow so as to not create to stong a current with the betta.
 
Do you mean you removed a previous filter and put a new one on, complete with all new media?
 
I bought the whole thing filter and bag new to replace a high flow filter. THE water was good with the higher flow filter, then when I got the new one, it was ok, then to bad.

I thoght the reason for the bad, cloudy water was a combination of :
a bit of left over food
less water current / aeration with the new low flow filter
high ammonia levels

there was always a film on the water (lfs guy said it was oil from the food, though I thought it might be the bacteria) with this new filter and then the bacteria bloom (?). It seems to be slowly getting clearer, like I can tell that there are deocrations in the tank, but I couldn't tell what they were if I didn't know.

anyway ttfn
lisa
 
By swapping filters, you removed most of the beneficial bacteria in the tank. That's bad--that's why the ammonia spiked, and likely there will be a nitrite spike as well. The cloudy water is also most likely bacteria--but not the nitrifiers we want in our tanks--these are a different kind that have a different food source. Low flow filters are less efficient at removing solids from the water--this is probably why the free-floating bacteria took off.

The surface scum is not bacteria, but rather protiens, probably from feeding. Adequate surface agitation will remove it.
 
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