# Tiny Particles , advice for crystal clear water please.



## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

Greetings,

I have a 2 month old tank that I believe is nearly cycled, daily test shows :

Ammonia - 0 to 0.25 
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0 to 0.5 PPM

It's a Fluval Edge with 
5 Harlequin Rasbora , 
2 cory cats 
2 flying foxes

There's tiny particles , some look like bubbles, while other look like dust. I have one live plant crypt, don't know the name of it.

While it does look like bubbles, it's more like bubbles PLUS tiny dust. I have rinse my foam media with the same water as the tank. I brought a new carbon sachet for the HOB, and it is STILL like this. Help?


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## Nick T. (Nov 7, 2008)

How long has this been going on? Has this occurred before? Also, do you have a floss in your filter? Perhaps it's not filtering properly. I have a small piece of floss on the outflow spout on one of my HOB filters. I rinse it time to time from the muck.

If its the bacteria floating around, don't worry about it. Since its a new tank, your bacteria need a place to settle. Once you have a generous growth going inside the filter the water will clear up. It's also a good sign since you have beneficial bugs. If its just dirt, then you'll need a floss to clean it up.


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## chriscro (Dec 3, 2010)

i see a lot of fake plants and coloured gravel....
could have a problem there.

whats your water change schedule... when in doubt do a change. 

does that help?


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Are you on well water if you are it could be calcium when I was on the well water I use to you cystal clear from Walmart it helps by clumping stuff together hope this helps Pat.


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## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

Thanks for the replies, 

Nick - It's been happening ever since the bacteria bloom went down, I thought it was just cycling back then. Also, I add some salt from time to time. 


Chris - I think it might be hard water, or could it be the small rocks giving off some sort of mineral? Tank been up for 2 months, I do a 25% water change each week, along with light gravel cleaning. 

Filter is a HOB with a new carbon bag and recently rinsed foam (with tank water.) 

The middle plant in the 2nd picture is a live crypt. 

Pat - There barely any room in my filter, can I still stuff in some floss? Wouldn't that just clog the whole thing?


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## chriscro (Dec 3, 2010)

ive seen fake plants and rocks destroy water. 
depends where you got them from, and if they are all "non toxic" etc..

check your filter first off clean the crap out of it and use filterfloss always. it won't clog up as long as its one one piece.

if i were you take like 5 clear containers like tupperware or glass jars, fill with tap water and then wait a day or two stir up the water and see if there are particles in there.

if there is none or very little you know something in your aquarium is the problem. begin process of elimination.


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## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

Chris -

I brought some floss like you said, placed it in a bag in the filter. I had to remove the carbon sack because there was no more room. 

I'll take some pictures tomorrow and see if there any changes. If the stuff still there, then I'll slowly remove each item like you advise. 

I have left water out before and there no tiny white spec, it's something in the tank.


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## Nick T. (Nov 7, 2008)

Give it 24H for the filter floss to do its thing. 

If you ever decide to buy any drops to clear up the water, use it with caution. I used it once in my tank & my fish suffered. No fish died though. It helps the particles stick to each other so the filter cleans it better BUT my fish had a hard time breathing. They were all gasping for oxygen. I had to do a major water change to save them.


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## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

It's been more than an hour and I'm starting to think it's not just dirt. Did a 10 % water change when I installed the floss. 

Now, maybe I'm just paranoid but when I took a sample of the water and hold it up to a light, I think I saw some of the white dust swim around.


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## Nick T. (Nov 7, 2008)

Give it till morning. You might be having a unicellular bacterial bloom. I've read on those bugs before. Those tend to linger during and right after the tank cycles. If your fish aren't agitated, it's simply an aesthetic problem. Sure it doesn't look good, but give it some time.

As with any problem, you'll have to start eliminating variables. The easiest one would be removing all the plastic plants, wait for a few days, then proceed to the next possible culprit. 

With all these steps try to put as little stress on your fish as possible.

edit: When you took the sample, did you wait for 10 mins for the sediment to settle? Those little particles could be tiny bubbles from agitation. After letting the water sit in a glass for 30 mins, take a spoon and give it a little spin at the bottom and see if there is any real sediment.


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## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

I took out some of the gravel, rinse it with the tank water, 25% water change and also took out the decor. I left one plastic plant in there just so they can hide if they want too.


Took out the live plant too, just in case the plant was dying and decomposing. I doubt it tho, there some new growing leafs in the middle. 


I'll wait till morning and snap another shot. I think I might had restarted the cycle because my Bio Max isn't as green as it used to be. 

I'll monitor A-N-Nitrate closely tomorrow. No food for them tonight, they're getting fat anyways. 

Thanks Nick.


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## chriscro (Dec 3, 2010)

don't over do it.
one thing at a time or you'll never figure out the cause of the problem.
its more then likely from within the aquarium. so just keep up the water changes.

also keep an eye on your fish, keepn them in mind while this goes on.


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## Nick T. (Nov 7, 2008)

chriscro said:


> don't over do it.
> one thing at a time or you'll never figure out the cause of the problem.
> its more then likely from within the aquarium. so just keep up the water changes.
> 
> also keep an eye on your fish, keepn them in mind while this goes on.


What's done is done, but you should have left the gravel for last. I would suggest to leave it be for a few days, let the fish calm down. Im sure they are pretty stressed out by now. Don't do anything with the gravel anymore.


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## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

I found out what the problem was, it was the cory's food pellet. They're huge for just 2 corys and my flying foxes, so I cut them in half and quarters. 

My gravel is also to blame as it doesn't trap much waste/fish food. 

Yesterday the water was pretty clear, so when I feed them, I notice the white dust again. 


Problem:
Low gravel, doesn't trap anything.
Cory Cat Food Pellets.
Filter Floss takes 2 days to clear out the water. 

My main Problem:
My Ammonia is going up, I did 3 x water changes today to take to keep it down. Nitrite is going up too. My filter Bio Max is slowing returning but in the mean time, what else can I do?

A - 0.25 (Just did a change)
N - 0.5
N - 0


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Not much you can do sounds like it cycling unless you know someone who can give you some used media Where are you located maybe someone near you could help out. Post up that you need some Iam sure someone will help out.


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