water clarifier question

hot water

so i just did a 50%water change in my tank
and after noticed that it was still a little cloudy
so i added some aqueon water clarifier that i bought a while back and hadnt tried yet
i added it right afteri changed my filter and added my other chems and not only did my tank get more cloudy but also little clear things started floating around my tank they look like snake sheddigs or skin or something.

is that normal?
or could it have been something else?
should i use this stuff?

im not putting my fish back in that water so im just gonna clean it again i guess

thanks
Ryan

LisaC144

A vast majority of people on this forum will tell you not to add water clarifier. Never add more chemicals to your tank then you need to (only add water conditioner such as Prime or AmQuel+). It is normal for your tank to loo a bit cloudy initially after a water change. Waste buried in the gravel could be surfacing due to pouring the conditioned water back into the tank. This should clear up in a few hours and there is no need to panic if it is initially cloudy.

hot water

well it was the big things i was more worried about than anything

JohnnyD44

agreed.

I'm a big believer in not using chemicals to get rid of problem. Chemicals (except for ich meds) don't really get rid of the problem. It temporarily 'masks' the problem. You need to find the root of your problem.. Why add water clarifier to water?? water is clear to begin with...

When you say you changed your filter during your water change? Do you mean you changed all the filter media? or just the bio-pads?? what did you change on your filter?? did you add anything new to the aquarium during the water change???

Lisa is right, my water is usually cloudy for the first hour or so after a water change...be patient and see what happens.

Hawkian

Once upon a time I told someone on this forum that they should use a water clarifier to clear up their green water... and was promptly reminded that a water clarifier acts on the water by clumping together the loose particles in the water that are making the water cloudy or green. This clumping effect becomes a problem because it can also act on the gills of the fish in the tank and make it harder for them to "breathe", and can cause health problems.

I tried to look for that post and couldn't find it so I thought I'd pass along the crux of the conversation to you.

I have stayed away from water clarifiers since, and I would advise everyone to do the same.

Byron

Hawkian is absolutely correct. Water clarifiers work by chemicals that bind together minute invisible particles (the stuff that makes the water cloudy rather than clear) so that they can be better trapped in the filter pad. All very good, except... these chemicals do the same on the fish's gills. At the very least this is highly stressful, at worst it can outright kill some fish. Think of it as someone preventing you from breathing without enormous effort and discomfort, like holding a thick cloth over your face. Very bad.

Many years ago before I knew this I used one of these things; I now understand why the fish immediately swam and huddled at the opposite end of the tank. They were attempting to escape this suffocation. I did an immediate pwc which settled things down again.

It is a good principle to never put any chemicals in an aquarium containing fish unless it is absolutely essential (such as water conditioner). Chemicals that allege to clear water, kill snails, kill algae, remove sludge and organics, whatever, do not belong in an aquarium.

Byron.

iamntbatman

And here I was thinking water clarifiers were merely useless, rather than outright harmful. Thanks for the information!