Milky Water

[CatsNFishes]

Hi there,

I set up my 29 gal hex last weekend, I put in bio spira and added 4 small angelfish. Yesterday, I got up and found that my tank was really cloudy, it's a milky white color. Any ideas? I've never had this happen before. My other tanks were cycled with fish, so I was wondering if this was something the bio spira does?

 

[seastaar88]

bacteria bloom. it will go away on its own. adding the four angels at once means that your beneficial bacteria needs to play catch-up w/ the bio load.

are you planning on returning two of the angels once two pair off?

 

[MissFishy]

Definitely bacteria bloom. Monitor the water parameters to make sure the ammonia doesn't spike. If it does spike, make sure to do the water changes necessary. The bloom is nothing to worry about, the fish won't even notice. I second the angel returning though, 4 is a bit much for any 29g hex, paired off or not. Hex tanks don't have much surface area, so that really limits your stocking levels.

 

[Dino]

An extra water change might not be a bad idea at this point.

 

[CatsNFishes]

I did a 50% water change this afternoon and went out and bought a new filter. The filter I had didn't seem to be working well. It wasn't pushing out the water like it should. It was old. I bought an aqua clear 50. I'm not sure about returning the other two angels. I may just set up another tank for them. I haven't decided yet. They are all still very small, so I have a little time to decide. Thanks for the info!

 

[seastaar88]

ideally, you would put the old filter material right into your new filter. otherwise, bacteria will have to recolonize the fresh filter material which may result in a mini-cycle.