Tank filter releasing sludge back into tank

[Holyship26]

Hi guys

Was doing my weekly water change and as I normally do I turned off the filter. After water change was completed, I turned the filter back on and the nozzle released a huge amount of brown sludge back into the tank.
How do I rectify this? Please help.

 

[Circus]

When you do a water change, rinse out your filter media in the old tank water. Every few months I make sure to clean the impeller and media basket too. That sludge is partly old fish poo and decomposing organics.

 

[Holyship26]

When you do a water change, rinse out your filter media in the old tank water. Every few months I make sure to clean the impeller and media basket too. That sludge is partly old fish poo and decomposing organics.

thanks. I’ve currently turned off the filter in fear of doing more damage. Should I turn it on and just let the sludge completely empty out?

 

[Circus]

thanks. I’ve currently turned off the filter in fear of doing more damage. Should I turn it on and just let the sludge completely empty out?

I would condition/dechlorinate a bucket of water and clean it out in that. The sludge is already present, it being in the tank itself rather than the filter won't cause any problems, it'll just look gross.

 

[Colin_T]

clean the filter

 

[raylove]

Often it's just slime dislodged from the pipes when you restart the motor. I had a Fluval with the intakes through the bottom glass so it wasn't practical to clean the pipes very often and this happened every time even though the main filter was thoroughly cleaned. As Circus days, it's not harmful and after a few minutes it settles and will likely be unnoticeable. Clean the filter as best you can and don't worry about a bit of blowback.