Fine White Particles In Tank

I'm noticing a bunch of fine white particles in my 10 gallon tank. I'm thinking they may be coming off my white rock ornament. Does this sound plausible? I can't think of what else it could be.

 

Yes it could be. Those rocks are almost chalky so they could be flaking off. Try rubbing the decorations and see if any of them releases white particles.

 

What is you substrate? Another possible explanation is that there might be stuff in the filter that's coming out

 

My substrate is black gravel.

I filled up a clear pitcher with tap water and there are thousands of what appear to be bubbles. Although the particles in the tank are much smaller. They look like microscopic bubbles, but don't seem to go away. If I agitate the water, they continue to swirl around and look the same as the tank when I shine a light through.

Maybe a bacterial bloom?

 

My substrate is black gravel.

I filled up a clear pitcher with tap water and there are thousands of what appear to be bubbles. Although the particles in the tank are much smaller. They look like microscopic bubbles, but don't seem to go away. If I agitate the water, they continue to swirl around and look the same as the tank when I shine a light through.

Maybe a bacterial bloom?

Yikes! I honesty have no clue what happened then! When did you last do a water change?

 

I did a 30% water change today. I also installed a better filter, so hopefully it will clear up.

 

If it doesn’t, add some filter floss to pick up the really fine particles.

 

Can you recommend a product that will work with the Fluval C2. Sorr, this is all new to me so I need some extra assistance.

 

The fluval c2 has a fine filter pad on one side. How long has it been since you noticed the white particles?

 

I'm not sure. I'd say within the last week. The Fluval C2 has been running for half a day. Could it be a bacterial bloom?

 

Did you rinse the sponges, media and carbon before turning it on? I would give it 24 hours to clear up the tank.

 

Yes, I rinsed everything really well. The tank looked this way before installing the new filter.

Tank still hasn't cleared up. What kind of filter floss should I use? Is there a kind that is thin enough to fit in my Fluval C2 without removing something else? Should I slide it in the basket with the carbon bag or replace the foam pad with the filter floss until the tank has cleared up?

 

Go to a craft store or a Walmart and go to the craft section and buy poly fil. It’s a fibrous stuff that you stuff in teddy bears. Get the one with nothing added, 100% polyester.

You can grab a chunk of it and stuff it into the filter.

 

Picked up a small sheet from Petco and installed it in the foam basket behind (downstream) of the Fluval foam. Turns out the Fluval foam already has a fine filtering stage (about 1/8" of it). Hopefully with both in their it will clear up by tomorrow.

 

Yeah, I mentioned it had one. If it doesn’t clear up I would do a water change until it does. Although it should clean it up.

 

The fluval c2 has a fine filter pad on one side.

You sure did. I missed that. My apologies. If it doesn't clear up within the next day or so, I'll do another water change.

No improvement as of this morning. The Fluval C2 should be exchanging the water 12x per hour, so this is puzzling. I'm thinking it must be the large white ornament. Although I removed it and cleaned it really well the other day. I suppose I should remove it and if things clear up, that will give me my answer.

No improvement as of this morning. The Fluval C2 should be exchanging the water 12x per hour, so this is puzzling. I'm thinking it must be the large white ornament. Although I removed it and cleaned it really well the other day. I suppose I should remove it and if things clear up, that will give me my answer.

Does it sound like a bacteria bloom? It isn't a milky/cloudy appearance though. I can actually see the particles. I believe this all started when I changed the filter on the old HOB (Whisper PF10), but I can't say for sure. The tank is fairly new (2 months) and I've only recently begun really getting involved with it. IOW, it could have been like that for some time and I didn't notice.

Sequence of events prior to me noticing the white particles:

Added a BN Pleco. Kept for a week. Pleco pooping everywhere. Removed Pleco. Vacuumed gravel and did 30% water change A LOT of organic matter came out of the substrate. Installed new filter in PF10 HOB. One week later, replaced PF10 HOB with Fluval C2 HOB. Added fine polyfill sheet downstream of foam filter, added 0.5mL of Seachem Stability (since I lost my BB when changing to the Fluval C2). No improvement in water clarity.

 

That white rock cave in your tank is made out of some type of ceramic or something, that chips and flakes away real easy.

Take it out of the tank and try to chip some of it off, see if it chips off as white particles.

I had one like that and I had to sand it down.

 

I took it out and rinsed it off the other day. Nothing chipped away. It's as if it is wearing away slowly and leaching into the water. I'll remove it and see if things clear up.

Forgot to mention I added one of those Tetra Correct fizz tabs to lower the pH after a water change last weekend. I wonder if that is what I am seeing. That's basically what it looks like--baking soda floating around. Except I'd expect the filter to take care of that.

 

Both the ceramic cave *AND* the fizz tabs create white particles that float. It could be either or. The filter intake, I'm assuming, is several inches below the surface of the water. It's not going to get floating debris. You have to skI'm the surface of the water with a net for that.

 

Both the ceramic cave *AND* the fizz tabs create white particles that float. It could be either or. The filter intake, I'm assuming, is several inches below the surface of the water. It's not going to get floating debris. You have to skI'm the surface of the water with a net for that.

They are not floating on the surface, they are mixed in with the water. I'm not sure how else to explain it. It's like when you dump some sugar in a glass of water and stir it around. You can see the tiny grains of sugar before they dissolve. It is throughout the tank and the water current and LED light amplify it. I'll try to take a video and post it.

The intake tube is about 2" above the substrate.

 

Ornament has been out for 12 hours and filter floss has been in for 36 and there is no improvement. I'm baffled. Guess I'll do a water change.

Starting to think that maybe they are microbubbles.

I turned off the filter and let things settle. The white particles are still present in the tank and on the surface, so definitely not micro bubbles. I did a 30% WC and skimmed the surface. Looking better but still a bunch of . I'll keep doing daily water changes until it clears up.

 

I turned off the filter and let things settle. The white particles are still present in the tank and on the surface, so definitely not micro bubbles. I did a 30% WC and skimmed the surface. Looking better but still a bunch of . I'll keep doing daily water changes until it clears up.

I would do a bigger, maybe 50% water change until it clears up. Are they just floating around or sitting on the glass?

 

Nothing on the glass. They are dispersed throughout the water and on the surface. Not sure why the filter isn' catching this stuff.

 

What kind of substrate do you have?

 

What kind of substrate do you have?

OP said he had black gravel.

 

Baking soda/black gravel mix . Kidding. I'm thinking it' the fizz tab I dropped in last week. I have very hard water and maybe it couldn't dissolve all the way?

I just filled a large container with treated tap water amd dropped a small piece of fizz tab in it. It did not dissolve all the way and there are tiny white particles suspended in the water and on the surface that look exactly the same as what is in my tank. Think I figured it out! I guess my water is too hard to dissolve them and apparently they are passing through the filter? Either that or there' so much of it that the filter can't get rid of it. Regarldess, I'll be vacuuming the gravel and doing another water change to get rid of this . I hope this isn' harming the fish. I did have one croak on me today. One of the little neon tetras. Although one of them had been acting odd since I got the four of them. Not schooling frequently, darting to the top of the tank, burying itself in the corner of the tank, not coming to the top for food, etc. Don't think I'm going to get fish at Petco again.

 

Sorry to flip flop again, but I'm back to thinking it's the white rock ornaments causing my issues. I did another 50% water change yesterday and things were looking much better. Convinced that it was the fizz tabs and not the rock, I added the large ornament back in the tank. I checked an hour later and the water looked worse. I immediately removed the rock and now back to square one. I'll be doing daily 50% WCs until this mess is all cleared up. As to why my Fluval C2 with micron filter floss (i.e. polyfill) is not removing any of these white particles is beyond me. Should I try one of those clumping additives to assist in removing this mess?

BTW, as a test, I put the white rock ornament in a 5 gallon bucket for an hour, swished it around, then poured the water into a clear pitcher, and there were tiny white particles floating all around.

 

At least you've finally figured out what the cause was. You must feel relieved.

 

I believe I did. I'll be relieved once the water clears up and I can be sure once and for all.

 

My KH/GH kit came this weekend and I tested my tank water. KH was 4 degrees and my GH was about 6 or 7. I lost track with the GH test because the water never really turned blue, but rather a green color. Maybe I'm color blind. I'll test again this even, but everything appears to be fine.