Both my 55 and my 20L have been driving me nuts. I first planted my 20L, for what must be a good 2 months now if not longer has a thick milky white bacteria bloom, ever since I added the plants. Its filtered by an azoo 25g sponge with an air pump, and an aquaclear 20 (just for mech). Several female bettas, 2 blue rams, 6 cories.
In my 55 I have the same problem, ever since I planted it, filtered by a hydrosponge IV and a penguin 200. manyous swords, a clown pleco, some cories, male/female giant gouramis, juvie jack dempsey and jewel cichlid.
Im at a loss.... the blooms have been there right from the word go and wont go away. any thoughts?
What species of plants do you have in these tanks? I have found through my research and experiments that not all plants are compatible, especially in smaller tanks or if planted too closely together. Just as corals in a marine tank, freshwater plants have the ability to launch a sort of biological warfare amongst themselves when they are trying to rid their territory of another species.
If you can list the species of plants and provide a pic of each tank so I can see how they are placed, I may be able to shed some light on it for you. It can be as simple as removing 1 species of plant from the tank. I have had blooms clear up within 10 minutes of removing the culprit species...
I'm also wondering how many water changes you have done since it started? How often and how much water each time? Water changes can prolong and make bacterial blooms worse. Can you post a fresh set of test results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH please? (tests should be done before a water change, never within 24 hrs after).
I'll help you sort through your plant species if you list them here.
I have this same issue in my 10g tank. I believe it's because there is no filter yet, just heavily planted. But for your issue, you may have tried it before, but doing water changes every few days for a while should help clear it up moderately. :S sorry im not much help. Maybe look up on google how to clear up a bacteria bloom? Might have some info that you can base your solution on.
I had the same issue in the 55g the initial bloom didn't clear up like it used to in other tanks and I just quit messing with it, fed my fish, did normal w/c each week and one morning after about uhm I'd have to say around 3 months BOOM it started clearing just like that over night. Not 100% over the first night but a LOT and then the day after that was crystal clear.
So if its really just the milky looking blooms I'd leave it alone, let it run its course and have lots patience it won't hurt nothing but your eyes. What I did notice on my thou when I had went ahead despite the bloom and finished my stock up the add 9 Tiger Barbs where added 1 day before it started clearing up so I am wondering if the add co2 from the add fish played a role there.
ok for the 20L I have 1 tiger lotus, some java moss, wysteria, red ludwigia, a little bit of ambulia, and some microswords, jam packed in there like sardines. ammonia is 0, dont have the test kit cards for the others, ill have to grab a new master kit soon.
the 55 is half planted, bleheri, a melon sword, some ambulia, 2 unidentified crypts that are still small, a big red wendtii, some microsword, and a coconut covered in javamoss. Oh and a huge java fern. again 0 ammonia, not sure on the others.
both tanks get a 20% water change once a week due to their heavy stocking. ill work on getting updated pictures for you too, but I can tell you the plants in the 55 are all separated by at least a few inches.
i figured out the bloom on the 20L, but the 55 is still really nasty looking. bettababy, i took a whole tank shot so you can see its arrangement. I yanked out all the fake plants, in the process of rescaping, dont think i leave it that ugly all the time lol
I don't find any issues with the plants personally. BOTH tanks are already stocked right? From my exp here I'd just let it do its thing, keep up your normal feeding and w/c and it will clear up one day over night and be done with it. Sometimes it just takes time, my 55g took FOREVER and a day and then bam one night it cleared up just like that. You can try 1 larger w/c in each tank if you want see if that helps it cause I'm also wondering if you rescaping them both was stirring up more then the current filter are able to quickly filter out of there particle wise. Its not pretty to look at but it will go away don't worry!
I agree with Angel except for the water changes. The best thing to do for a bacterial bloom is leave it alone, no water changes if possible. The more often you change water the longer the bloom will last. The clean water tends to feed the blooms instead of relieve them.
One thing you can do though, is to remove a small amount of water and rinse the sponge of the sponge filter in it. Then, if as Angel suggested, something is clogged, you will see results much faster. Sponges need to be cleaned out in any filter from time to time, as they collect particulate matter... just be sure to do it in tank water and not clean water or under the tap.
well, i do rinse my hydro sponge IV fairly often to keep gunk from building up in it, im starting to regret going the foam filter route and save my pennies for a new ehiem.
anywhoo, the fish tend to not do well if i dont do regular water changes, BUT the parameters dont spike which leads me to believe its just poor health caused by bacteria and what not... SO.... after the last water change, I put the hydro sponge in the bucket and squeezed the bajeebies out of it. Tank is starting to clear up already! Im sure now that when I upgrade to a canister this will all go away.
This may sound insane, but I had this problem.....The thick white milky water... but it wasn't a bloom...
What is your aquarium substrate? (store-bought aquarium gravel? Sand? Home improvement gravel?)
Are there any chemicals you add to the tank regularly? (salt, ferts, or anything else labeled for aquariums of otherwise)
Do you have anything in the tank like crushed coral or dolomite to raise/buffer ph?
I might have an idea, (that worked for me) but only depends on how you answer these questions....
substrate is store bought aquarium gravel, no ferts or anything, and no buffers of any type!
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