# Other Aquarium Forums > Fish Care, Nutrition and Water Management >  Clear water with white dust like particle in aquarium.

## cainyew

Recently i bought a packet of sponge to change the existing black colored sponge that came with the filter, and after 2 weeks i found this white dust like particles in the tank. It has caused the deaths of 8 cardinal tetras affecting them with seems like white spot disease, been googling for answers but all came back with only one which is to change water frequently until the "Dust" like particles disappear. I have did 3 times 30% water change for a week but to no avail, :Sad:  all i could do is watch the tetras die, please advise or maybe someone have any answer to my predicaments.
Thanks.
By the way i attached few pictures hope it may give a clearer pic of my setups.CameraZOOM-20130121182622328.jpgCameraZOOM-20130121182530458.jpgCameraZOOM-20130121182428556.jpgCameraZOOM-20130121182305677.jpg

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## jazzyboi

Probably you changed the sponge in the filter to a newer one. It happened to me last month and I had cloudy like water for a few weeks plus outbreak of white spots in my discus and neon tetra disease in all my cardinal tetras of 50. They all long dead then. My discus survived the white spots with some traditional proper treatment (heater and sea salt combo, plus "ginseng tonic" for them). I was using an Eheim HOF, then I changed to my old trusty Eheim 2217 which I was using it 20 years ago! Had the old sponges in it and I use them. The water becomes crystal clear once again. By changing new sponge, or cleaning up your filter entirely, you are removing the good bacteria that you need in your aquarium. So it means you need to use some old sponges back in your filter (which had already gone through the cycling period). Change water would not change much about the situation. Try adding some carbon compound in your filter as well. It works. I am using this in my two feet tank.

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## cainyew

As of 25/1/2013, i just changed the sponge in the filter and no change in water condition, i did the change then i saw ur post jazziboi. Anyway i changed the charcoal and rearranged the sponges a bit. because the flow of water is going up ie. sucked up then purged out so i let the sponge "catch" or filter the larger debris from the bottom then go through the ceramic pearl "cushion then go through the porous bio pad filter out the rest before cleaned off by the charcoal. Hope that this does the trick as i don't want to see an empty tank.

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## jazzyboi

Good luck! Think your tank needs to be re-cycled all over again.

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## cainyew

So if i am not misinterpreting what you are trying to say is that my tank has no good bacteria which is why i am seeing the white particles? If thats so, i have a bottle of powdered bacteria powder if i add that to the tank will it help?

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## jazzyboi

What I mean is that you have already got rid of the good bacteria and you need to re-cycle the tank over again. No use introducing artificial bacteria thingy. After another water change, your problem may come back again. Let the tank naturally generate its good bacteria to counter the 'white particles" problem. Another possibility is that your filter might not be powerful enough to filter your current tank, you may consider to change to a canister one?

In the case, should your tank be empty of fishes, it is not a bad sign, you can then concentrate on letting the tank recycle itself without any fishes for a few weeks before introduction of new fishes. In addition, during this period, the ich (white spots) disease would not find another host to feed on, that way, they will die of hunger and then the ich will be totally got rid of in the whole tank before you put in newer fishes. You can then use the heater and sea salt treatment to kill the free-swimming state of the disease in the tank. 

If you want to save your current fishes from further casualties, segregate to a 'hospital tank" and do the heater and sea salt treatment, also you can try using Microre-lift's Herbtana(http://www.microbelift.com/products/...na-freshwater/) for the "ginseng" tonic treatment to boost their immune system to fight the diseases.You could find this at Seaview Aquarium. Then your affected empty tank can be left alone to be treated as mentioned above, before you introduce your cured fishes back into it. 

I have been successful with the treatment mentioned recently. But I must say, once you see tetras with half white bodies, it means they got the Neon Tetra Disease and it's contagious. Net them out immediately and do the Euthanasia method, after all there is no known cure for it. They will die within 24 hours anyway. This disease will affect most tetras, like the cardinal, rummy nose, neon. And it will also infect the other fishes in the same tank eventually as well. That was what happened to mine, it started with the milky water, then white spots outbreaks on the newly introduced 50 cardinal tetras, then my lamp eyes and Discus all got infected, except my corydoras pygmaeus and corydoras panda. The corys seems very hardy and unaffected by everything!

With the increase in water temperature and sea salt, I must warn you that your plants may melt away! My downoi and moss, melted with that high temperature. Good luck!







> So if i am not misinterpreting what you are trying to say is that my tank has no good bacteria which is why i am seeing the white particles? If thats so, i have a bottle of powdered bacteria powder if i add that to the tank will it help?

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## jazzyboi

I forgot to add, I added a bag of Seachem Matrix to my Eheim 2217 canister filter, maybe that helps too.:-)

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## stormhawk

The particles are present because they could have come from the white pad you are using. If you did not rinse it beforehand in warm water, whatever lubricants were present during the manufacturing stage will be released into the water. Adding bacterial cultures at this stage can help but if those are pieces of the pad, they will do nothing. Low quality sponge pads are present in the hobby, and being cheap means that some of them are or were originally meant for home use but were packaged for aquarium use instead.

You need to cycle your tank as per normal and probably do a full water change at this stage. Do not fret, things like this happen. As for the bacteria culture, if you don't know whether it is truly filter bacteria you are adding, don't bother. Let it re-cycle as per normal and do water tests frequently until it is safe for fish.

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