Just not getting it!

Bacterial bloom, is that good to have, or bad to have? I've read all the advice on cycling. I do the water changes and check chemical levels, but my water does not clear up. Someone told me not to do anything with the water for a couple of days, and it would clear up, but it hasn't. They also told me not to change the filter every week, which I was doing. I have a 30 gallon tank running for about 7 weeks. I have 10 fish in the tank, which I moved from a 10 gallon tank that I had no problems with. I have a Bio-Filter and about 1 inch of gravel in the tank. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
ddmumm

 

Is your Bio-Filter have a sort of pad which you change or you just clean it out every week? Does the filter have the suitable requirements for that size of tank? How long has it been cloudy?

 

Tell us about your tank. We know its 30 Gallon, been set up 7 weeks and has 10 fish in it.
water test readings: Ammonia? Nitrites? Nitrates?
Type filter? what kind of fish? How long has it been cloudy?
Sorry for so many questions but they will help us know how to answer YOUR questions
If you take your water to lfs to be tested ask them what the individual readings were. Some are fond of just saying "it's ok" and it may not be for your specific tank.
carol

 

Bacterial bloom, is that good to have, or bad to have?  I've read all the advice on cycling. I do the water changes and check chemical levels, but my water does not clear up. Someone told me not to do anything with the water for a couple of days, and it would clear up, but it hasn't. They also told me not to change the filter every week, which I was doing. I have a 30 gallon tank running for about 7 weeks. I have 10 fish in the tank, which I moved from a 10 gallon tank that I had no problems with. I have a Bio-Filter and about 1 inch of gravel in the tank. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
ddmumm 

Bacterial blooms are not a bad thing, but can be an indicator that you are getting too much of the good bio bugs when you change your filter every week. Don't change it unless the water flow is restricted, and you can't get it back to normal by rinsing this filter media in old tank water. It sounds like your tank is still cycling. The information requested by butterfly will help us a lot in getting your tank in order.

 

I've gathered some more information.
I have a 30 gallon tank with a Penguin Bio-Wheel 1500.
The fish are 6 Blue Tetras, 2 Pink Gouramis, and 2 algae eaters.
Ammonia .25
Nitrate 40
Nitrite 0
The tank turned cloudy about 2 weeks after I put the fish in. I've been doing the water changes, and I've been replacing the filter media every week. Like I said, before I had a 10 gallon tank for 2 years and I never had a problem: with the same fish in it. So I'm stumped. Thanks for any advice.

 

OK thanks for the info. Lets see... looks like your tank is still cycling. The filter is one of the main places your tank will build beneficial bacteria, so instead of changing it every week just rinse it in used tank water about every two weeks and place back in your filter. This will allow the good stuff to grow and change ammonia to nitrites and the nitrites to change to nitrates. If you have live plants then nitrAtes of about 20 is ok anything higher can make your fish uncomfortable or make them die. If you use artificial plants then nitrates should be at 0. Water changes is how you accomplish this.
Back to your filter, some people(myself included) use the same filter pad for months and sometimes years depending on what its made of. I started out using the carbon filled replaceable pads like comes with the filters and they tear up after a couple of months so I changed to sponge, my whispers have the same sponge I put in it two years ago.
I think the bacterial bloom was caused from changing the filter pad so often, basically you were throwing away your good bacteria and having a mini-cycle each time. Sorry for running on, Just my thoughts. ;D
Carol