Strange flaky stuff in freshwater tank…

[Badgers]

Hi all,

I am relatively new to aquariums (about 3 months in), after doing a partial water change I seem to have developed a load of what looks like a white flaky substance which seems to be gathering mostly on my 2 pieces of driftwood in the tank.

I have a 123 litre tank, did a 25 litre partial water change using RO water and added some API stress zyme+ treatment solution (30ml), water was perfectly clear this morning when I went to work this morning, when I came home this evening the tank is looking like it’s got dandruff…

I’ve had a bacteria bloom before after doing a partial change but that was just cloudy water rather than bits of substance settling on wood/decorations in the tank, that cleared up after a couple of days… I have attached a photo of one of the pieces of driftwood, is this something to be worried about or is it another cycle of some sort going on in the tank?

The fish seem to be perfectly happy, none of them appear to be struggling for oxygen or lethargic etc.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[Colin_T]

Looks like sediment. Is the filter working properly?

 

[Badgers]

Looks like sediment. Is the filter working properly?

Hi Colin, thanks for the reply.. it seems to be working ok, I have an aquaval 200 cartridge style filter, I had an issue with it before around a month ago where the cartridge seemed to be faulty and wasn’t getting much flow through it (I change the cartridges every 3 weeks and use the crystal clear ones), I’m debating on whether to change to a different filter with a bit more oomph to it though.

The sediment type stuff seems to have mostly gone from the driftwood but there is a bit on the glass still, not sure if this is because of the filter or if it’s my 2 bristlenose catfish and the clown pleco who have eaten it overnight though.

 

[Colin_T]

You don't want to change filter pads/ cartridges if you can help it. They get colonies of good bacteria living in them and that keeps the ammonia and nitrite levels at 0ppm. If you replace the cartridges, you get rid of the good bacteria and have water quality problems.

If the cartridges block up quickly, you can replace them with a sponge. Just find a sponge for a filter that is the same size or slightly bigger and put it in your filter. You can use a pr of scissors to cut the sponge down a little bit but they can also be squashed a bit to make them fit.

Sponges last for years and only need replacing when they start to fall apart. Until then you simply take the sponge and squeeze it out in a bucket of aquarium water. Re-use the sponge and pour the bucket of dirty water on the lawn/ garden outside. Established sponged should be cleaned once a month.

The stuff on the glass can be removed with a sponge.

 

[Badgers]

You don't want to change filter pads/ cartridges if you can help it. They get colonies of good bacteria living in them and that keeps the ammonia and nitrite levels at 0ppm. If you replace the cartridges, you get rid of the good bacteria and have water quality problems.

If the cartridges block up quickly, you can replace them with a sponge. Just find a sponge for a filter that is the same size or slightly bigger and put it in your filter. You can use a pr of scissors to cut the sponge down a little bit but they can also be squashed a bit to make them fit.

Sponges last for years and only need replacing when they start to fall apart. Until then you simply take the sponge and squeeze it out in a bucket of aquarium water. Re-use the sponge and pour the bucket of dirty water on the lawn/ garden outside. Established sponged should be cleaned once a month.

The stuff on the glass can be removed with a sponge.

Thanks for your reply and advice Colin,

The filter I have at the moment has self sealed cartridges that clip into the main body, I will attach an image of the cartridge. Is it possible to add a sponge to my type of filter or do I need a different type of filter? I have considered changing the filter as when I bought my tank it didn’t come with the stock pump for the tank (bought second hand) so i ended up getting a submersible one which sticks to the glass.

My tank does have a media cabinet at the back which was for the original filter system but is currently not really doing anything, are there things you can drop into the media areas that will help just by floating in there or should I just bite the bullet and buy the proper pump that was supposed to originally come with the tank?

My aim is to replace the tank with a larger setup in the not too distant future anyway so hoping what I have currently will suffice until I’ve upgraded.

I’m wondering if the sediment type stuff is from the bug bites I’ve been feeding my bottom feeders as it’s slow sinking stuff and sometimes it lands on the top of the driftwood, could it be the bug bites breaking down into smaller bits and settling?

I tend to do a partial RO water change, gravel vac and wipe the glass down every week as I prefer my tank to look pretty clear.

Thanks again for your advice

 

[Badgers]

Thanks for your reply and advice Colin,
The filter I have at the moment has self sealed cartridges that clip into the main body, I will attach an image of the cartridge. Is it possible to add a sponge to my type of filter or do I need a different type of filter? I have considered changing the filter as when I bought my tank it didn’t come with the stock pump for the tank (bought second hand) so i ended up getting a submersible one which sticks to the glass.
My tank does have a media cabinet at the back which was for the original filter system but is currently not really doing anything, are there things you can drop into the media areas that will help just by floating in there or should I just bite the bullet and buy the proper pump that was supposed to originally come with the tank?
My aim is to replace the tank with a larger setup in the not too distant future anyway so hoping what I have currently will suffice until I’ve upgraded.
I’m wondering if the sediment type stuff is from the bug bites I’ve been feeding my bottom feeders as it’s slow sinking stuff and sometimes it lands on the top of the driftwood, could it be the bug bites breaking down into smaller bits and settling?
I tend to do a partial RO water change, gravel vac and wipe the glass down every week as I prefer my tank to look pretty clear.
Thanks again for your advice

 

[Badgers]

Sorry I seem to be having issues uploading photos on here at the moment but the cartridges I use are these:

Aqua Internal Crystal Clear Filter Cartridge

The Crystal Clear Aqua Internal filter replacement cartridges have been specifically designed to be used with the Aqua Internal filters and each cartridge has a unique 6 stage filtration process, including active carbon and Zeolite!

www.fishkeeper.co.uk

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

The cartridge type filters that demand you buy and replace new cartridges are a con. Just a way for the companies to get repeat customers year round. Understandable from their point of view, otherwise people buy a filter with media they can reuse for the lifetime of the filter, might never buy a product from them again. So they came up with these. But they cause problems for hobbyists, and I'd blame a degrading cartridge media for that snow effect - never seen Bug Bites do that.

But if you're feeling enough food that it's settling on the substrate for too long, even when feeding plecos and cories, then you're overfeeding... easily done! Especially when we're newer to the hobby. Just ease it back a bit, since overfeeding can cause water quality problems too. But have never seen or heard of Bug Bites (quality food choice, nice!) breaking down in this way, or turning white.

You can use plain, non-impregnated sponge and filter floss in those filters, instead of buying often useless cartridges that can break down and do this, need to be replaced, or claim to do something you don't need them to do. Or that a properly working filter will do naturally anyway.

You can bulk buy sponge and filter floss on places like Amazon, even use (new, unused) kitchen washing up sponges in a pinch, as filter sponges. Just replace only some of the cartridges at a time so you're not replacing your entire beneficial bacterial (BB) colony at once, but take one of them (I'd look for whichever is breaking down first!), cut a new piece of sponge to the same size, then slide it into the slot holding it against the plastic part after snipping off the old media bit. Gradually replace your media a bit at a time this way.

If you have huge sections for media free, absolutely, fill them with filter media of your choice! There's biological, mechanical - your sponges will house BB and filter out larger particles, filter floss for finer particles and will need replacing more often, but if you like sparkly clear water, more floss is good, and can still be rinsed and re-used for a long time. But both floss and sponges can be reused and only need rinsing in old tank water (never under the tap, chlorine is meant to kill bacteria, while we're trying to cultivate it in our filters) and squeezing out to remove the worst of the muck and allow water flow again. They can last for years, and won't cost you a bomb to replace all the time either.

This video is really helpful. No need to replace your filter unless and until you want to, but you can maximise and adapt it, most hobbyists eventually get into setting up any filter with their preferences in media!

Last thing - why RO water? You didn't mention remineralising... if you use RO, which a lot of people do especially if in a hard water area and wanting soft water fish, that's no problem, but can be a problem if fish aren't getting some essential minerals even if in lower doses. Are you using a remineraliser too?