lstern811

I recently had an algae problem, and so I cleaned my tank thoroughly to remove the build up. I also changed about 30-40 percent of the water....as well as my "filter" inserts. I cleaned everything in my tank with my tank water.

The first day or two after cleaning my algae was gone and my tank looked great. Unfortunately shortly after my tank began to get very cloudy. At first it was subtle, but it quickly took over. Oddly enough, the bottom of the tank has a "green" cloudiness, while the top is just murky looking. Its become so bad you cannot even see through the tank whatsoever.

Did I mention I also lost two of my fish? The rest seem to be fine.

When I did the last water change, I may have been a bit short with the conditioner, and therefor may have poisoned my tank with chlorine.....However Im not sure if this is actually the cause of my problem.

Another side note is that my filter has "cartridges" that have permanent inserts to keep them in place. When I cleaned them, I think I may have put the actual filters back in their holders backwards....To be honest Im not sure which way they were originally but after the tank started getting cloudy I swithched them back around.....So in the end it ran a few days each way, im not sure which way is correct, but my tank still looks awful.

Please Help Me!

Tony G.

hmmm it sounds like youre having a bacteria bloom. Your cycle was probably lost with the changes you made. Sorry you lost your fish.
To me it sounds like they could've died of ammonia poisoning.
You should only replace your filter cartriges when they are falling apart. Occasionally rinse them in tank water to remove eccess yuck.
I would add a dose of TSS(tetra safe start) to prevent your fish from being killed by ammo posioning. Do WC's every day untill you start seeing nitrates.
good luck
tony

aquarist48

Good morning. As Tony mentioned it's probably a bacterial bloom which is very common in new tanks. It may not look too pretty now, but it will eventually go away on it's on via water changes and gravel vacuums.

Can you post your readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? It will really help a lot.

How did you cycle your tank?

If you do decide to add Tetra Safe Start (TSS) then don't do any water changes for 10 days. Don't even check your readings for 10 days. The TSS has to have time to work.
If you don't add the TSS then I suggest 30 to 50% daily water changes. Add some Prime or Amquel + to detox the ammonia. Continue with the daily water changes until your readings are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 5-10 nitrates.

Sorry to hear about your losses. Don't change out any of your filter media before your tank is cycled.

Best of luck. If we can help you more then by all means don't hesitate to ask.
Ken