I changed my fiter element cause it was totally clogged. The water was running over the top. My tank was crystal clear. Now 5 days later the water is cloudy, any suggestions why? It seems as the element gets really dirty the water is clearer. Change the filter and itstays cloudy.

Is this an established tank? If so, that's pretty surprising. Usually cloudiness is due to over-feeding/bacteria blooms during cycling, or addition/disturbance of sand and other fine media. I wouldn't feed until it goes away and if the fish start have trouble breathing (stay near the top), add an air stone and lower temp.

I have had the tank up for 8-10 months. The fish seem fine, they are all over the place. Just seems to get cloudy after I change the element. I do have an air tube along the bottom in the back too.

Im guessing its because the filter pad you removed was established.When changing it out you are removing a good bit of the beneficial bacteria,causing another cycle.I have always rinsed mine out in a bucket of tank water and when its time to change them out,I place a new one in the filter with the old one for two weeks.This allows the new one to get a nice colony going on there before throwing the other out.

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Hello flipper...

Even established tanks can go through a "cloudy phase" that can last several days, if not weeks. I have a heavily stocked and planted 55 G that's been a little cloudy lately. I just add a small power filter and fill it with a dense polyfiber and carbon pad. The dense material will trap the floating particles in the water and the water will eventually clear.

Don't forget large and frequent water changes as a good way to clear up the water in the tank. I remove and replace a minimum of half the water in my tanks weekly.

B

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