Hi! I have been reading from this forum for a few months and have found a ton of great info here. I'm hoping someone can help with my strange situation. I set my 50 gal tank up about 8 weeks ago and put my BP and 3 gourami in about 6 weeks ago. Around 2 weeks ago my BP had the black spots and broke out in a case of ick. I was able to treat the ick with something called "super ick cure" and both problems cleared up. During the treatment I took the carbon out and it turned my water blue. Once everything cleared up I put the carbon back in and did a 30-40% water change while vaccing som of the gravel pretty thoroughly. The next morning I woke up and the water was white! Not like the standard haze I have associated with bacteria bloom in the past, but almost opaque white. There is also a strange film and small bubbles that don't pop on their own.I have been doing small water changes (10 - 15%) every other day for over a week and it has made no difference. My fish seem fine but my BPs gills look slightly inflated(?) but no one is gasping at the top of the tank. Also, he looks really good as far as the black spot situation - nice and healthy color. I have reduced feeding to every other day but it hasn't made a difference yet.
My ph is a little low (6.5) but my in tank ammonia meter says the levels are safe. I have been using ammo-lock as a precaution.
I have not had it tested for nitrates or nitrites yet.
Has anyone every seen this? I have had a tank for over 10 years and never had this happen. I'm going to do a large water change (50%) tonight and see how it looks in the morning. I have looked all over the net and only found a lot of conflicting advise. Any help would be greatly appreciated...it has been 10 days since I've been able to watch my fish!
Thanks
Comments
Re: Smelly white water
Just wanted to say I had that exact same problem about two years ago. I took the water to my local fish store and they told me to change all of the water which I had always heard you should not do. But I did as they said and it when I added all clean water it was just a little cloudy and it took about a week for it to clear completly. What was amazing was my parrots lived through it and did not even become sick.
The water was almost like milk and I could only see them when they got right up next to the glass. And I could not feed them because the food would not fall through the foam. It all worked out and it was a overgrow of bacteria. Never had that problem again. I know you already have your solution. But I just wanted to share that I went to what sounds like the same thing. Best wishes on your treatment.
Re: Smelly white water
One of the first things you need to do is check the Nitrates in your tank, they could be part of this.
Do you have a diatom filter or can you rent one. They take out extremely small particles from the aquarium water. Including lots of algae and some clowdy water. I would give it a try.
I found this info below. see if any of it, is of help:
WHITE OR GREY WATER CLOUD:
A white or grey cloud is a bacterial bloom.
The main causes are:
* A poorly cycled aquarium (usually new aquariums)
* Overfeeding
* Poor Filtration
* Over crowding
* Poor water parameters (including GH)
*Too high a bio load (which can have many causes such as poor filtration, poor cleaning procedures, too many fish, overfeeding and is basically a summary of some of the above problems)
*Over population of Detritus Worms (also identified white worms or misidentified as Planaria) resulting from decaying matter, low oxygen content.
Corrective measures:
*Change 20% of your water every other day until improved
*Cut back on feeding and improve the quality of food and feeding method.
*Add additional filters or improve your filters such as by adding a Filter Max Pre Filter to your HOB or Canister filter.
Also follow proper aquarium filter cleaning procedures by only changing part of your media and rinsing the rest in non chlorinated water.
*Remove Fish
*Add a UV Sterilizer (100% effective but not always cost effective for small aquariums, but is worth mentioning, not just for sterilization, but for Redox Potential)
*Make sure your ammonia and nitrites are 0, your GH is at least 100 ppm (depending on fish kept) and your Nitrates are below 40 ppm. In established aquariums GH which is the source of electrolytes and Redox, can drop and occasionally be a source of cloudy water from my experience.
*Sometimes particulates can be a problem in established aquariums, especially after cleanings and the use of products such as Crystal Clear may help (I do not recommend this in new aquariums under two weeks old). Aquarium Cleaning Machines or Diatom filter may help with cloudy water problems in established aquariums, especially if this occurs after water changes and if this is the case, I highly recommend the Aquarium Cleaning Machine.
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SMELLY WATER:
Generally there are three basic “Smell Problems”
[1] Rotten Egg; This is Hydrogen Sulfide. Make sure you do not have anaerobic activity under rocks or other areas oxygen cannot reach, this can also happen in fine sand (without plants) more than 1-2” thick, I recommend #3 gravel or pea sized gravel when there are no plants. Also canister filters that are turned of for more than a few hours, and then switched back on can produce this.
[2] Ammonia smell. This basically means your aquarium in not Cycled properly or you have poor filtration, over feeding. Either way you have high ammonia. Prime can help de-toxify the ammonia, then change water, add filtration if needed, and follow other procedures outlined in our article : Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle and Cycling .
[3] Just a dirty aquarium smell; This simply may be over aeration at the surface of the aquarium allowing the “aquarium smell” to be expelled into the room. Proper cleaning or Redox also may be a problem.
If water parameters are good, a Wonder Shell may help for this.
AQUARIUM INFORMATION; Aquatic Resources
good luck
thanks!
It seems to be clearing up after the water changes. I've been taking out 20% every other day and removing the foam build up on the surface with my net. I'm looking in to getting the diatom filter you mentioned to prevent this from happening again. Thanks for all the great advice!
RE: Thanks!
That is great! I wish you luck with your BPs!
I have had a diatom filter for years and years! :) They are great.
white film
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