As I said, I removed the Purigen bag and it cleared up...Totally amazed. But to answer your questions. When I replaced the filter, I couldn't use any of my old media but I did use tank water to fill the filter. My tank is a 26 gallon Bow Front. I have 9 Neon Tetra's, 3 guppies, a cory cat (lil grandma) and my new Dwarf Grimley. But here are a few pics of the tank now.