We had a small problem with our aquarium, and what we did made it worse…
Bacterial bloom
Our aquarium suddenly became dusty. All kinds of small particles were floating through the water column.
We had bought our aquarium as a complete set. An aquarium, with 1 LED light, 1 heating element, and 1 external filter (EHEIM Experience 250). All of this came with a cabinet that we had to assemble ourselves.
We concluded that the filter couldn’t handle it. Then we made the classic beginner’s mistake of cleaning the filter media under the tap. We had seen a YouTuber do this who said it wouldn’t do any harm.
But it actually does, because we destroyed our filter bacteria.
In the meantime, we bought a second EHEIM Experience 250 filter and a sponge filter from SuperFish. And my husband installed both of them.
A thick white mist formed in the water. The Neon Tetras lost each other and swam together in very small groups. And one swam all alone in a corner.
The Corydoras didn’t let anything bother them and just went on doing what they always did: digging in the bottom.
Charlie, our Striped Bulldog Pleco, Plak and Band, our 2 Vietnamese algae eaters, and our 3 Siamese algae eaters didn’t seem bothered by it either.
We took advice from another YouTuber to change the water for 7 days.
After five days, we still saw no improvement. My husband bought a product to make the water clear. That product causes the bacteria to clump together and end up in the filter. The perfect solution, right?
And then everything turned green!
What had happened: We had bacterial bloom because we had killed our beneficial filter bacteria using an incorrect cleaning method. As a result, the wrong bacteria were able to take over, and our aquarium turned milky white. After that, we performed a water change. By adding new water, we introduced minerals into the water that served as food for the wrong bacteria.
The ‘clear water’ product used to clarify the water killed the wrong bacteria. And those dead bacteria became food for the floating algae, which started multiplying like crazy.
We solved this by leaving the light off for 4 days. The light was on for 1 hour a day to feed the fish.
When I returned from my stay at Family Resort Molenwaard, my husband painted the back of the aquarium (on the outside) black with chalkboard paint.
Do nothing!
And how could we have prevented this?
First of all, do not clean the filter parts with tap water. You may rinse the sponges, but you must always clean your filter media, very carefully, in a bucket of aquarium water.
And should bacterial growth occur for any reason? Then do absolutely nothing! Yes, at most you can add some filter bacteria from a bottle, but otherwise: Do nothing!
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” – Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
In which situation in your life is it time today ‘to take your hands out of your aquarium’ and let God do His work?
I am participating in the Huisvlijt link party!
Huisvlijt Link Party Week 39
4 responses to “It’s simple: do nothing”
When I first began reading your post, I was thinking- Do Nothing! I do not have an aquarium but remember the days when my mom kept one. Something about the water needed to turn. What ever that meant. Good thing, You’ll know better next time! 😁
All the best.
Thank you.
Last Sunday was ‘day 100’ and my husband and I said to each other: ‘It was a rollercoaster. Never a dull moment with an aquarium.’ 😂
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