Weird material in new, cycling tank

I am cycling a 10 gallon tank. Brand new gravel. Seriously cleaned tank. (Bought used, used vinegar then bleach spray and rinsed the heck out of it. So clean. I added the tetra quick start (I think... whatever everyone here has suggested). It got very cloudy 12 hours in but cleared up sometime in the next few days. (I had to leave a few days). That was 2 weeks ago. Ammonia is finally starting to go down but when I added water last night all this cloudy material came swirling into the water. The filter caught most of it. I stirred up the gravel 30 minutes later and a ton more came up. I had no access to a camera then. I did it again this morning, and not much came up. I turned the filter off a second so there were no bubbles and took the attached photo. It kinda shows it. Last night most got caught in pre-filter. Must clean that today. Any ideas what that stuff was? Worried about my tank... if I need to restart.

If you used bleach and/or vinegar on the substrate, throw it away. Porous rock/gravel absorbs substances and they may not leech out for some time. Smooth surfaces like the glass tank can be cleaned using a diluted bleach/water mix but then thoroughly rinse several times and leave to air dry. This does not work with porous materials like rock, gravel, sand and wood.

Byron said:

If you used bleach and/or vinegar on the substrate, throw it away. Porous rock/gravel absorbs substances and they may not leech out for some time. Smooth surfaces like the glass tank can be cleaned using a diluted bleach/water mix but then thoroughly rinse several times and leave to air dry. This does not work with porous materials like rock, gravel, sand and wood.

Click to expand...

I did nothing but rinse rinse rinse with the gravel. It was brand new so no need to clean. When I DO clean gravel I boil it then rinse. The vinegar and bleach was only used on the glass. Dried appropriately. Today is the first day there were nitrites. Yay! I'm just concerned about that weird cloudy thin material.

metropolis93fan said:

I did nothing but rinse rinse rinse with the gravel. It was brand new so no need to clean. When I DO clean gravel I boil it then rinse. The vinegar and bleach was only used on the glass. Dried appropriately. Today is the first day there were nitrites. Yay! I'm just concerned about that weird cloudy thin material.

Click to expand...

OK, then I would suggest (note, suggest, not state) that the particulate matter may be from the boiling of the gravel. Most hard rock would not likely do this, though any rock can explode if boiled so perhaps that is suggestive, but I don't know what material the white substrate is made of, and it may be breaking apart.

Byron said:

OK, then I would suggest (note, suggest, not state) that the particulate matter may be from the boiling of the gravel. Most hard rock would not likely do this, though any rock can explode if boiled so perhaps that is suggestive, but I don't know what material the white substrate is made of, and it may be breaking apart.

Click to expand...

It's Petco brand gravel.. I have the same stuff in my other aquarium (same color) without that issue. But who knows! I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks!

metropolis93fan said:

I did nothing but rinse rinse rinse with the gravel. It was brand new so no need to clean. When I DO clean gravel I boil it then rinse. The vinegar and bleach was only used on the glass. Dried appropriately. Today is the first day there were nitrites. Yay! I'm just concerned about that weird cloudy thin material.

Click to expand...

Did you wash the gravel with hot water?

NoLa24 said:

Did you wash the gravel with hot water?

Click to expand...

No. I used cold.

@NoLa24 @Byron I moved my artificial plants around and stirred up a ton more of this stuff. This is up close against the filter sponge. I stirred around yesterday and thought I'd kicked the problem but obviously not. My inclination is to remove all decor and gravel vacuum the heck out of it but afraid that will screw up the cycling. Thoughts?

metropolis93fan said:

No. I used cold.

Click to expand...

But did you boil the gravel at any point? Artificial gravels like the colored ones will let out a hazy chemical type of stuff if exposed to heat. I know this because years ago I rinsed some in very hot water and the hazy film stuff came out of it when I filled the tank.

metropolis93fan said:

No. I used cold.

Click to expand...

Also probably goes without saying but definitely do not put any fish in there, they will all go belly up within a few hrs. Again, know this from experience (I was a dumb 16 yr old).

I only ever use natural river gravel in my tanks, I find this stuff kind of weird

Get the gravel out. Start the cycle again rather than go forward in hope.

NoLa24 said:

But did you boil the gravel at any point? Artificial gravels like the colored ones will let out a hazy chemical type of stuff if exposed to heat. I know this because years ago I rinsed some in very hot water and the hazy film stuff came out of it when I filled the tank.

Click to expand...

No. No boiling was needed as it was brand new. I don't plan on fish until I get this fixed, don't worry. If worst comes to worst I'll get the filter fully established and then gravel vac. Totally empty it. Fill with treated tap water to see if same thing happens (tap water is horrible. Kh and gh levels through the roof) and if it does buy new gravel. If not, empty again and refill with distilled treated with a shrimp water treatment for appropriate gh and kh minerals. Wait. Make sure it's okay. And that it's still fully cycled. Then get the critters. At least that's what I'm imagining. If you have a better idea I'm all ears!

White substrate is stressful on most fish we keep because it is not natural (in their habitats) and the fish will react by attempting to lighten, which means they are not going to be colourful as they normally would be. Since there is a problem with this gravel, I would get rid of it. You can use sand which will be beneficial for the sort of fish you can have in this size of tank. I use Quikrete Play Sand (available through Lowe's and Home Depot in NA) because it is without question the best sand for substrate fish. You could have the pygmy cories in this tank, with upper small fish like some of the tetras and rasboras. As for cycling, if you get some plants that are relatively fast growing, you do not need to artificially cycle the aquarium. And floating plants work best for this, plus they shade the fish which is again natural.

Concerning the GH and pH and using distilled water with shrimp additives, remember that every water change will require the same type of water, with the GH/pH adjustment in another container, not the tank if fish and shrimp are present. It is easier to be able to use the tap water, so what is the issue with it? Do you have the GH, KH and pH of the tap water on its own (not from the aquarium)?