cloudy tank

why does my tank become cloudy when i change the carbon filter on my tetra whisper EX30.before the water so clear the fish looked liked they where flying in the tank. last night i changed the filter and the water all of a sudden became cloudy.

 

possibly due to fine particles being trapped on and in the filter, that get released and blown into the water column when you change the carbon
also possibly fines from the carbon getting blasted around the tank from the new batch
also possibly as the filter is cleaned and new media added, you may be experiencing a slighter higher flow rate, which could then cause particles settled in locations in the tank to be moved by the increased current and clouding your water

Steve

 

is any of this harmful to my fish/corals/inverts. cause i found this morning one of my pepermint shrimp to be dead and he was fine last night before i changed the carbon filter. any ideas on the cause?

 

difficult to work out the cause of death - are you sure it is dead? and not just the molted external shell of the shrimp?

the 2 things could be connected, but also could be purely coincedental

is the filter used for anything other than carbon?
do you have biological media in the filter? if so , how do you keep that clean?

sorry if the above seems an obvious question and you rinse it in old water from the tank
but it has been known for people new to the hobby not to realise this and wash filters under the tap, causing bacterial die off and resulting ammonia spikes - which would account for death of inhabitants after a filter cleaning

Steve