Cloudy Water, Gunk On Filter Cartridge

[GetItSahn]

The water in my 29 gallon has started to slowly get cloudier over the past week. I have tried doing more frequent water changes to counteract it but it isn't getting better. I have an Aqueon Quietflow 30. I removed the top to look at the cartridge and upon looking at it i noticed a thick, brown, gunk coating 90% of the cartridge. I rinsed it in old tank water to the best of my abilities and removed the thick coating of it. There's still a light brown color to it but the water isn't running over like it was before and hopefully my water will be more clear in the morning. The filter has carbon in it and has been used for maybe 3 weeks total.
 
Have I done anything wrong so far? Is the cloudy water completely unrelated? should the cartridge ever be washed or cleaned?

 

[Nordk]

I'm assuming you have a carbon cartridge only, is that correct? Is the tank cycled?
Carbon is only used in filters for removing chemicals such as meds (the only real reason you'd need it) and does nothing for water quality. Carbon looses it's effectiveness after a few weeks so yours isn't doing anything right now. Manufactureres reccommend replacing cartidges every month to sell more of them, but you don't need carbon unless you're removing meds.
Do you have any bio-media (sponge, ceramics, etc) in there? This is what you should have in the filter, the bacteria colony will get turn the ammonia to nitrite, and then to nitrate, which is removed by live plants and/or weekly waterchanges. Never replace bio-media unless it is physically falling apart, and only then by replacing about 1/4 to 1/3 at a time.
The "brown gunk" is most likely uneaten food that's been sucked inside the filter, and is a sign you're overfeeding. What's your ammoinia reading? It may be high if that's the case and is probably the cause of the cloudy water.
You did the right thing to wash the cartridge in tank water, never use tap water as it will kill the bacteria and you'll have to restart the cycle. There isn't really a need to wash media unless it's developing gunk, which is a side-effect of a larger problem, most likely over-feeding.

 

[GetItSahn]

I'm assuming you have a carbon cartridge only, is that correct? Is the tank cycled?
Carbon is only used in filters for removing chemicals such as meds (the only real reason you'd need it) and does nothing for water quality. Carbon looses it's effectiveness after a few weeks so yours isn't doing anything right now. Manufactureres reccommend replacing cartidges every month to sell more of them, but you don't need carbon unless you're removing meds.
Do you have any bio-media (sponge, ceramics, etc) in there? This is what you should have in the filter, the bacteria colony will get turn the ammonia to nitrite, and then to nitrate, which is removed by live plants and/or weekly waterchanges. Never replace bio-media unless it is physically falling apart, and only then by replacing about 1/4 to 1/3 at a time.
The "brown gunk" is most likely uneaten food that's been sucked inside the filter, and is a sign you're overfeeding. What's your ammoinia reading? It may be high if that's the case and is probably the cause of the cloudy water.
You did the right thing to wash the cartridge in tank water, never use tap water as it will kill the bacteria and you'll have to restart the cycle. There isn't really a need to wash media unless it's developing gunk, which is a side-effect of a larger problem, most likely over-feeding.

 
Thanks for your response. tank is cycled. I haven't tested ammonia in a few days. i could bring some water into the pet store though. The carbon cartridge goes inside a bio-holster but that's all i know as far as bio-media. So is your suggestion that i should buy a sponge and put it in next to the carbon cartridge? Will that help with the water being cloudy or the gunk? and yes it is a carbon cartridge only

 

[Nordk]

If you've only got carbon in there, it isn't truly cycled. There will be some bacteria growing on the cartridge's floss though, so if you put a bio-sponge in the filter so that the two are toutching, it will eventually colonize the sponge, you can also do this with ceramic media, though it's a bit trickier. Once the bio-media has been colonized, you can get rid of the carbon, as it isn't needed and is already worn out.
Yes, you do need the bio-media, the bio-holster is only a plastic piece that holds the cartridge or other media.
If you put some nylon stocking over the intake tube, and cut back on the amount your feeding, the gunk will go away and the water will clear up. What is most likely happening is that you're having to put more food in the tank than you should because some of it is getting sucked into the filter.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Without a water test we won't know for sure the cause of your cloudy water. If it's a kind of white colour that could be a bacterial bloom which isn't anything to worry about in itself BUT they are usually caused by an ammonia spike which IS a problem. I would do a large water change (50%+) and take a sample to your LFS for testing or even better buy your own liquid test kit. 

 

[GetItSahn]

If you've only got carbon in there, it isn't truly cycled. There will be some bacteria growing on the cartridge's floss though, so if you put a bio-sponge in the filter so that the two are toutching, it will eventually colonize the sponge, you can also do this with ceramic media, though it's a bit trickier. Once the bio-media has been colonized, you can get rid of the carbon, as it isn't needed and is already worn out.
Yes, you do need the bio-media, the bio-holster is only a plastic piece that holds the cartridge or other media.
If you put some nylon stocking over the intake tube, and cut back on the amount your feeding, the gunk will go away and the water will clear up. What is most likely happening is that you're having to put more food in the tank than you should because some of it is getting sucked into the filter.

So once this bio-sponge gets colonized, i won't need a filter cartridge? If you had to estimate how long it would take the bio-sponge to colonize, what would you say it would take? I looked up the brand of my filter and they don't sell cartridges without carbon in them.

Without a water test we won't know for sure the cause of your cloudy water. If it's a kind of white colour that could be a bacterial bloom which isn't anything to worry about in itself BUT they are usually caused by an ammonia spike which IS a problem. I would do a large water change (50%+) and take a sample to your LFS for testing or even better buy your own liquid test kit. 

Unfortunately, i can't get to the store until tuesday which is why i was trying to look for a solution i can do at home but i will get it tested on tuesday for sure.
Another thing, when I lifted my filter cartridge out of the bio-holster. All this white stuff flew into my tank, it was the stuff that gets sucked up when i gravel vacuum. It's like moldy food, i haven't been getting much out of my gravel lately but it was alot a week ago

 

[Nordk]

It should take less than the full 2 months as you're not starting from scratch, i'd say 40 days to be safe, though I'm not a numbers-man.
You won't need the cartridge afterwards, like I said, they're only needed for removing meds and the manufacturers say you need them so they can sell more. Any aquarium sponge that will fit in the filter will work, they're not brand-specific as they all do pretty much the same thing, the only reason to buy same-brand media is to make sure it fits. Measure the dimensions of your cartridge and find a sponge that's the same size or a little bigger, and cut to fit if neccesary.
Alm0stAwesome also made a good point in suggesting that you get your own liquid kit and doing a water test. API makes a masterkit that does fair-enough in accuracy and is on the lower end of the price scale. Avoid dip-strips, they're well known to give false readings.

 

[GetItSahn]

Alright, I'll give these things a shot!
 
Thanks to Nordk and Alm0stAwesome