Added surface skimmer, got cloudy water

[schiavonir]

Today I added the Nanocube brand Modular Surface Skimmer to my 6 gallon nano. What apparently happened was that all the detritus that has collected and settled in the sump area came up and is now circulating through the tank. Will this clear up again, or do I need to change something? The overflow is working perfectly and skimming the surface nicely, but the rest of the water looks terrible.

What happened?

My tank has been set up for about a month and a half. I've been doing small water changes, but haven't changed the carbon or rinsed out the sponge yet.

 

[Agu]

Are you sure it's crud and not air bubbles ? The crud should settle down pretty quickly and not harm anything.

The sponge needs to be cleaned much more often if you choose to use one. Personally i prefer not to use mechanical filtration.

Carbon pretty much uses up it's effectiveness after a couple of weeks or less and becomes a mechanical filter also. If I feel a need(ie yellow water) I'll use it for a week and remove it. Also, small quantities replace often is more effective than large amounts left in for a long time.


fwiw,