For starters this is my first time posting so sorry if I mess this up. I have a 10g established (8+ months), heavily planted, heated aquarium with 1 betta, 3 rasboras, 1 mystery snail, 1 oto, and a ghost and amano shrimp. My water has been very cloudy over the past three or so weeks and I know it’s a bacteria bloom (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, ~5ppm nitrates) but nothing i’ve done is working. I’ve done a three day blackout/no food, polly-fill, water changes, left the water untouched, purigen, decrease temp (~77° instead of 79°), and decreased lighting (obv not all at once). I have an aqua clear ac20. I’ve included pics of the current state of the tanks as well as before.
Bacteria Bloom? Thoughts?
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Welcome to fishlore!
What is your normal cleaning routine?
Do you add any chemicals or co2 for the plants.
have you ever or do you take out and replace the filter media? It is best to just sqeeze the filter cartridge in a bucket of tank water, You can sinse it in the sink, chlorine should not kill all the bio bacteria, but its not ideal,especialy in smaller tanks with only one filter cartridge to rinse. , I can do it because I have 2 filters and 4 filer cartridges. I rinse 1-2 cartridges at a time and leave the rest alone.
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What is your normal cleaning routine?
Do you add any chemicals or co2 for the plants.
have you ever or do you take out and replace the filter media? It is best to just sqeeze the filter cartridge in a bucket of tank water, You can sinse it in the sink, chlorine should not kill all the bio bacteria, but its not ideal,especialy in smaller tanks with only one filter cartridge to rinse. , I can do it because I have 2 filters and 4 filer cartridges. I rinse 1-2 cartridges at a time and leave the rest alone.
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Before all this I would rarely to water changes unless the water/sand looked bad (maybe 3x/month).
I’ve started dosing nilocG (shrimp safe) but have cut back due to the bloom.
Yes, well, sort of, the current filter i have is actually new but has the original (8month old) media seeding it. I haven’t taken it out and done that
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The cause is an organic (carbon) source. You can't observe dissolved carbon, but the bacteria colonizing it are collectively big enough to interfere with visible light. That makes water look cloudy.
The source could be the filter. Could be a dead animal. Could be the log.
Regarding the latter, perhaps over months, new parts of the wood deeper inside release carbon. This is plausible as I have a tank without filter media and only small critters that are not receiving any food from me, but the tank has lots of wood. I experience cloudiness from time to time.
But in your case I would definitely start with the filter.
The source could be the filter. Could be a dead animal. Could be the log.
Regarding the latter, perhaps over months, new parts of the wood deeper inside release carbon. This is plausible as I have a tank without filter media and only small critters that are not receiving any food from me, but the tank has lots of wood. I experience cloudiness from time to time.
But in your case I would definitely start with the filter.
About 30 years ago, I had a similar bacteria bloom in a 90 gallon tank. My solution was to treat the tank with potassium permanganate. The chemical is a potent oxidizer that will immediately react with the bacteria.
Potassium Permanganate is available either as a powder or in solution form. Unless you are versed in laboratory procedures and have personal protective equipment (gloves, dust mask, goggles) I would advise purchasing it in liquid form. You do not want to get crystals on your skin, in your eyes, or in your nose.
If you are in the States, Amazon carries potassium permanganate solution.
Amazon.com : Aquaetic Potassium Permanganate Solution 4 Oz : Pet Supplies
The nice thing about using this chemical is that it is a deep purple color when in its oxidizing form, but turns colorless when consumed. Thus, you can S L O W L Y add dissolved potassium permanagate into the aquarium water until the water turns light purple. As it reacts with the bacteria, the water will clear. If the water is still cloudy, add more chemical. Please remember that potassium permanganate will react with the bacteria in your biological filter as well, so remove ALL filter media before starting treatment. Also, if you have any carbon in the tank, please remove it befor treatment as carbon will absorb potassium permanganate.
Potassium Permanganate is available either as a powder or in solution form. Unless you are versed in laboratory procedures and have personal protective equipment (gloves, dust mask, goggles) I would advise purchasing it in liquid form. You do not want to get crystals on your skin, in your eyes, or in your nose.
If you are in the States, Amazon carries potassium permanganate solution.
Amazon.com : Aquaetic Potassium Permanganate Solution 4 Oz : Pet Supplies
The nice thing about using this chemical is that it is a deep purple color when in its oxidizing form, but turns colorless when consumed. Thus, you can S L O W L Y add dissolved potassium permanagate into the aquarium water until the water turns light purple. As it reacts with the bacteria, the water will clear. If the water is still cloudy, add more chemical. Please remember that potassium permanganate will react with the bacteria in your biological filter as well, so remove ALL filter media before starting treatment. Also, if you have any carbon in the tank, please remove it befor treatment as carbon will absorb potassium permanganate.
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Never experimented with Potassium Permanganate myself, but perhaps I'll give it a try. That said, I don't mind a little cloudiness.
Your tank hosts a lot of "nitrogen bacteria" and "nitrogen assimilators" such as plants. I don't see that much bioload and the amount of wood is nowhere near what I have in my cloudy tank.
Hence, in your shoes I would no doubt conduct a large water change and replace filter media at the same time. No, this is actually not true; I would conduct a large water change and remove all filter media, without replacement.
There's a gradient from 'planted tank with few fish' to 'no planted tanks with lots of fish'. In the former, filter media is not required, and your filter basically becomes a pump to move water around.
This is what I would do without any doubt, but I'm not responsible for your tank.
Your tank hosts a lot of "nitrogen bacteria" and "nitrogen assimilators" such as plants. I don't see that much bioload and the amount of wood is nowhere near what I have in my cloudy tank.
Hence, in your shoes I would no doubt conduct a large water change and replace filter media at the same time. No, this is actually not true; I would conduct a large water change and remove all filter media, without replacement.
There's a gradient from 'planted tank with few fish' to 'no planted tanks with lots of fish'. In the former, filter media is not required, and your filter basically becomes a pump to move water around.
This is what I would do without any doubt, but I'm not responsible for your tank.
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With the new filter, even tho seeded, I'd just do some weekly water changes, don't overfeed, and be patient. I think we've all had bacterial and algae blooms. They aren't usually harmful to livestock unless the oxygen in the tank becomes depleted. With an HOB, you likely have enough surface agitation to prevent oxygen depletion, but you could always add an airstone for added safety. You could probably add some activated carbon to the filter, but it likely isn't necessary.
As for the growth on the driftwood, if it is clear or white, it is probably just a fungus or biofilm, both harmless. I've had both on the driftwood in my tanks from time to time.
Bacterial blooms don't need light, so turning the lights down probably won't help. If it is an algae bloom, turning the lights down would help.
The tanks look greenish to me, which could indicate an algae bloom. Algae do need light and use dissolved organics.
As for the growth on the driftwood, if it is clear or white, it is probably just a fungus or biofilm, both harmless. I've had both on the driftwood in my tanks from time to time.
Bacterial blooms don't need light, so turning the lights down probably won't help. If it is an algae bloom, turning the lights down would help.
The tanks look greenish to me, which could indicate an algae bloom. Algae do need light and use dissolved organics.
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Thank you for the recommendation. I’ll look into it and if it doesn’t seem to be getting better will try it out.
Interesting, so you’re saying to do a big water change and take out all media and just use the filter as a method to move water around? I essentially wanted this tank to become a “low maintenance” (really just filter free) tank if that’s a viable option i might just do that.
No, I really never vacuum the substrate. Usually if i notice an area that’s obviously soiled, i’ll vacuum that up, but if not, I usually just leave it alone.
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If the water is green then a UV sterilizer will fix it in under 5 days. I see green water not cloudy water. All reading says bacterial blooms last less then a week unless your parameters are all way off. No ammonia says algae bloom not bacterial to me. I have used the green machine to fix green water and that is where my 5 day estimate comes from.
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I’m not disagreeing with you, I suppose looking at it in person I see cloudy water. The side picture I think most accurately portrays what I see. If your hypothesis is correct, would the extended period of no light/feeding help significantly? It wasn’t much better when I looked at it after that period.
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I had the same thing a few years ago my tank water turned green, not sure what exactly how it happened it was in the summer when i cleaned the filter maybe when the sun hits the side of the tank and combination of the filter caused it. water changes didn't stop it I got a UV sterilizer the green killing machine and it cleared up in a few days
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Green tanks are easy to create if light is strong, temperature is warm, whereas nutrients, incl. ammonia, are 'merely' the prerequisite.
In planted tanks it is easy to get algae too in these conditions, however, the algae seen in planted tanks is most often of the filamentous and hair types.
"Green lakes" correlate with the influx of nutrients from agricultural land (which is probably reason excess nutrients are seen as the primary driver of algae in aquariums), but those lakes lack any serious plant biomass and enjoy the presence of our favorite star; the true driver of algae (and all life).
But it is impossible to tell how strong light is from a photograph.
In planted tanks it is easy to get algae too in these conditions, however, the algae seen in planted tanks is most often of the filamentous and hair types.
"Green lakes" correlate with the influx of nutrients from agricultural land (which is probably reason excess nutrients are seen as the primary driver of algae in aquariums), but those lakes lack any serious plant biomass and enjoy the presence of our favorite star; the true driver of algae (and all life).
But it is impossible to tell how strong light is from a photograph.
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