Filter sent out a cloud when I turned it back on

Hi There,

I just cleaned my 55-gallon aquarium for the first time and followed instructions for doing so. This included wringing out the filter sponge in the dirty water I had just extracted using my gravel vacuum. I did not mess with the filter media. When I turned the filter back on afterward it sent out a nasty cloud of gunk that has now permeated the tank. Did I do something wrong? How can I avoid this in the future?

Thanks!
Ben

 

What sort of filter?

 

My guess is some gunk inside settled while the filter was off and came shooting out once things were moving again.

 

What sort of filter?

Seachem Tidal 55

 

kind of normal after squeezing out a filter spone or otherwise, for some loose particulate to come off of it when it's put back into water flow, the filter should pick it right back up in a couple hours to half a day.

happens with my sponge filters all the time. the filter will pick that stuff back up again.

 

I’m not familiar with that filter but maybe the remaining media needed a rinse as well.

 

I’m not familiar with that filter but maybe the remaining media needed a rinse as well.

I left it alone for concern of messing with the bio filter. Am I right that the good bacteria congregates on the filter media?

kind of normal after squeezing out a filter spone or otherwise, for some loose particulate to come off of it when it's put back into water flow, the filter should pick it right back up in a couple hours to half a day.

happens with my sponge filters all the time. the filter will pick that stuff back up again.

Oh okay, good to know. Kind of shocking when it happened!

 

The noted cloud is just harmless bio gunk accumulation. It will settle to the substrate pretty quick.
Just about any HOB or canister filter will spray out bio gunk after maintenance.

 

The noted cloud is just harmless bio gunk accumulation. It will settle to the substrate pretty quick.
Just about any HOB or canister filter will spray out bio gunk after maintenance.

Thanks! What’s HOB?

 

Hang on the back filter.

 

Hang on the back filter.

Ah, yes it’s one of those.

 

I left it alone for concern of messing with the bio filter. Am I right that the good bacteria congregates on the filter media?

Yes that's right but an occasional rinse in tank water won't adversely affect it.