Green cloudy water after carbon change

MissCourtney

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Hey guys,
The carbon in my hob filter was about 2 months old, and wasn't really cleaning the water much anymore. So I bought, rinsed and put in a new activated carbon pack. Almost right away the water started getting white cloudy... couple hours later and it turned green!

Google says using carbon dosing can cause cloudy water but there is nothing out there about it being green..is this an algae bloom being released into the water?
Will it clear up on its own? Will it settle for me to vacuum?
Do I need to dose the tank with something? Good bacteria?

So confused. I thought carbon cleared cloudy water? Im Trying to keep the lights off incase it is algae and I'm just helping it grow with the lights lol.

16694688035855452397123829875503.jpg
 

Rmckoy

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Adding carbon and carbon dosing is completely different .

carbon dosing is adding a source of carbon ( vinegar , sugar , ethanol or even nopox. )

the activated carbon cartridge you added of rinsed should clear the water by removing toxins .
Green water is a sign of a algae bloom which is generally high nutrients , poor lighting or a combination of both

have you tested nitrates , phosphates ?

a way to tell if you need to change carbon I use is siphon water from the tank into a white bucket , if the water has a yellow tinge to it , change the carbon .

I wouldn’t follow googles Diagnosis for this particular issue . And look for the cause of the issue .
 
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MissCourtney

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It's only a 10 gallon. Our large tank sprung a leak during cycle so they're living in the quarantine while we cycle another bigger one. There is 1 valentini puffer, 1 tomini tang, 1 yellow watchman gobi and a few small hermit crabs.
Tank has been running about 3 months or so.. I just did a water change and cleaned it on Thursday, so it was crystal clear water before the carbon change. The water did have a yellow tinge before - I knew the carbon needed to be changed but our lfs sucks and its a bit of a drive so to get there and them have the right size carbon pack was a whole thing.
Lighting is just a led light strip, it doesn't have dimmer or anything on about 8-10 h a day, depending on the day.
Anyways, checking my numbers now and will post them shortly!
 

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It's only a 10 gallon. Our large tank sprung a leak during cycle so they're living in the quarantine while we cycle another bigger one. There is 1 valentini puffer, 1 tomini tang, 1 yellow watchman gobi and a few small hermit crabs.
Tank has been running about 3 months or so.. I just did a water change and cleaned it on Thursday, so it was crystal clear water before the carbon change. The water did have a yellow tinge before - I knew the carbon needed to be changed but our lfs sucks and its a bit of a drive so to get there and them have the right size carbon pack was a whole thing.
Lighting is just a led light strip, it doesn't have dimmer or anything on about 8-10 h a day, depending on the day.
Anyways, checking my numbers now and will post them shortly!
That’s a lot of fish for a 10 gal
Sorry to hear about the leaking display tank.
Is there any way you can increase filtration perhaps adding another hob filter ?
 
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MissCourtney

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The filter on it is for a 20gal so I was thinking it would be enough, but I might have to double up..
Here's my parameters.. idk why the ammonia spied but I just dosed with prime to neutralize it
 

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Rmckoy

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The filter on it is for a 20gal so I was thinking it would be enough, but I might have to double up..
Here's my parameters.. idk why the ammonia spied but I just dosed with prime to neutralize it
Ammonia is dangerously high . Which brings us back to my last comment ( that’s a lot of fish for a 10 gal .
if you can increase the filtration it might help but neither tank has been cycled , this is nature

keep a eye on ammonia . And preform large percentage water changes as needed to keep ammonia from spiking .
 
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MissCourtney

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Would it be beneficial to dose the tank with MacroBacter Clean? Would it help clear up the algae bloom?

I've been testing parameters every other day, and doing large water changes weekly, I've been managing the ammonia quite well. I may have left some Nori in the tank last night accidentally after giving tomini a snack ‍♀️
 

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Would it be beneficial to dose the tank with MacroBacter Clean? Would it help clear up the algae bloom?

I've been testing parameters every other day, and doing large water changes weekly, I've been managing the ammonia quite well. I may have left some Nori in the tank last night accidentally after giving tomini a snack ‍♀️
Leaving left over seaweed probably didn’t help but the end of the day.
the biological filter should be able to process everything not to tip the scale with a little added food .
There are too many fish in this small tank

Instead of weekly water changes. Monitor ammonia and preform daily 50% water changes as needed until the larger system is ready .
I would dose the new system with nitrifying bacteria such to try speeding up the process . What’s the size of the newer larger system that you’re waiting to cycle ?

@vetteguy53081 what’s your opinion on this ?
any products you trust to speed up or instantly cycle a system to make it safer for all these fish ?
 

vetteguy53081

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Hey guys,
The carbon in my hob filter was about 2 months old, and wasn't really cleaning the water much anymore. So I bought, rinsed and put in a new activated carbon pack. Almost right away the water started getting white cloudy... couple hours later and it turned green!

Google says using carbon dosing can cause cloudy water but there is nothing out there about it being green..is this an algae bloom being released into the water?
Will it clear up on its own? Will it settle for me to vacuum?
Do I need to dose the tank with something? Good bacteria?

So confused. I thought carbon cleared cloudy water? Im Trying to keep the lights off incase it is algae and I'm just helping it grow with the lights lol.

16694688035855452397123829875503.jpg
Something else is going on as carbon does not cause blooms and I am getting a hunch that you are using mechanical filtration only which will be an issue. Not only is your test kit notorious for false readings but they are already high and API mainly with ammonia tends to read lower than shown which reverts back to filtration.
Your tank likely has a hang on filter with minimal movement and sediment entrapment and needs to be addresses.
Your remedy will be temporary, but you'll need to do a major water change and replenish the filter cartridge. I would
seriously consider a hang on skimmer such as icecap K1-50 to remove inorganics. Additionally I would even consider a second hang on filter to help clear tank but you are running mechanical filter and are lacking chemical and biological means which are necessary. I would lower and minimize lights on period which is feeding the algae spores and do the above mentioned to get tank cleared.
Adding water clarifiers are an alternative and not a solution and rarely resolve this type of issue

The filter on it is for a 20gal so I was thinking it would be enough, but I might have to double up..
Here's my parameters.. idk why the ammonia spied but I just dosed with prime to neutralize it
 

vetteguy53081

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Leaving left over seaweed probably didn’t help but the end of the day.
the biological filter should be able to process everything not to tip the scale with a little added food .
There are too many fish in this small tank

Instead of weekly water changes. Monitor ammonia and preform daily 50% water changes as needed until the larger system is ready .
I would dose the new system with nitrifying bacteria such to try speeding up the process . What’s the size of the newer larger system that you’re waiting to cycle ?

@vetteguy53081 what’s your opinion on this ?
any products you trust to speed up or instantly cycle a system to make it safer for all these fish ?
You said speed???
You should be aware (I just had to) tyhat Speed = disaster. Filtration likely the issue
 

Rmckoy

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You said speed???
You should be aware (I just had to) tyhat Speed = disaster. Filtration likely the issue
Speed and reefing should never be used Together . But for the life of the livestock living in a small tank waiting for their home to be ready .
Ammonia will be the end of all fish if something isn’t done ..
 
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MissCourtney

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I did a 80% water change. Cleaned most of the green out. Dosed with prime to be safe.

Found 2 dead hermit bodies. Most likely aided in the ammonia spike.
It's honestly been really good for weeks so this was a surprise.

I know it sounds like a lot in the tank, the Gobi is barely an inch long, tang and puff are each maybe 1.5 inches long. They're all tiny, young. No ones fully grown yet.
We have the 40gal tank cycling. (It was the sump tank for our big dt) and we'll be redoing the silicone and trying the big tank again in the spring.
 
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MissCourtney

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This is the params of the 40 so far. It's been a few weeks going, zero lights on.
How do I know for sure for sure when it's ready?

And yes, I'm going to be buying a better test kit. I have learned API isn't the most trustworthy
 

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Rmckoy

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This is the params of the 40 so far. It's been a few weeks going, zero lights on.
How do I know for sure for sure when it's ready?

And yes, I'm going to be buying a better test kit. I have learned API isn't the most trustworthy
What was added for a ammonia source ?
Depends on the method you chose will determine how long it takes to be ready but you already have zero ammonia and nitrite , with higher nitrates .
Let it go for a few days and see if anything changes

I believe @brandon429 bases it on days not tests .
 
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MissCourtney

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For ammonia we put in frozen krill, spiked the ammonia good.. it's been at least a month maybe even two now. Since the day the other tank went we started this one pretty much right away..
 

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Your water turned that way because the existing carbon was acting as the bacteria bed. You removed it, hence removing all your bacteria. You now how a bacteria bloom and pea green soup water from algae.

Water changes and a UV will clear it up. Go get you a small bag if Ceramic media and drop it in the back of the filter and leave it. Your bacteria will colonize and keep that from happening again.

As others have said, that's a prison cell for those fish.
 
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