changed filter and now water is cloudy

[chris_harper]

i changed my filter last thursday, friday my water got real cloudy. sunday i did a water change (10gallons). what do i do? my aquarium is a 37 us gallon with the eclipse3 system. it has a power head on the left that pulls water up; it goes to the right over the filter, which has carbon in it; the through the bio-wheel; then back into the aquarium. my parameters are : pH 7.8, nitrites 0 ppm, nitrates 40ppm; and ammonia is 0 ppm. what should i do? tia

 

[Nina7777]

When you say changed the filter do you mean replaced the old filter with a new or just changed the cartridges?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

It sounds like you got rid of to much bacteria at once, and now the aquarium is struggling to catch up. The cloudiness, if this is the case, is bacterial bloom. Keep treating your tank as normal and it will go away on its own.

Remember, try to rinse the filter media whenever possible instead of replacing, and rinse it in aquarium water. Or as an alternative clean/replace only half the media at a time. Whether this is possible depends on what kind of filter it is.

 

[Ted H]

I have a similar problem although I havent touched my filter , all my paramiters are fine too. the only thing I have done is disturbed the substrate when I added some plants.......I've a Fluval 203 filter .. will the addition of some filter floss in the filter for a shor time help clear the cloudyness ?

 

[chris_harper]

my filter is like an air filter in a car, i guess is the best way to describe it, with the carbon in it. i rinsed it out in aquarium water, the replaced it with a new cartridge. i can't replace just the media. i will wait and see what happens i guess.

 

[Ted H]

Do those water clearing chemicals work or should we leave them and just be patient?

 

[Nina7777]

the only water clearing product that has worked for me, was seachem clarity. Its really good at clearing the water, and completely natural.

 

[BIGMAC]

I had the same problem i did a water change of about 20-25% then let the tank settle and the water cleared within a few days you may need to do a couple of small water changes.