Cloudy tank full of dead protozoa?!

[Cichlidsrule]

A few days ago, I did a ten or fifteen percent water change on my ten gallon tank. This stirred up a lot of crap that apparently hadn't been sucked up by the filter, and the water got cloudy.
But instead of a temporary cloudiness that usually goes away after everything settles down, this stayed. It looks like a lot of whitish silvery dust floating around in the tank. There's no algae or planaria in the tank that I can see. I took a look at the filter, and realized the cartridge was really bad (I hadn't changed it for a while), so I replaced that, hoping it would clear things up a bit. But it's been roughly four days since I first changed the water and the cloudiness arrived, and I've done nearly a fifty to sixty percent water change two days ago. Nothing's changed.
After removing the fish from the water, to be on the safe side, I took a sample of the water up to my room and took a look at it under a microscope. After a lot of messing about with the focus knobs and the light color, I realized there were a load of things that looked somewhat like protozoa (I'm assuming most folks know what protozoa look like, because I'm not sure how to describe them) that were sitting in the water. They weren't moving and they weren't green, so I'm assuming they're dead.

So I guess this thread actually has two questions--
a) If there really are a load of dead protozoa floating around in my tank, why is it that a water change didn't do any good, and
b) How can I get rid of the cloudiness? Does any of the usual water treatment stuff at pet stores work at all?

[hvc801]

I had purchased a water clearer, and the bottle said to add recommended amount, and said it will clear out a tank in about an hour. I have a 30 gal tank and I thought it would probably tank a lil more... The stuff worked in 15 min, my water was crystal clear. It said it bunches up all the particals and then the filter will suck them up. The stuff is amazing-

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2754073

[trashion]

Don't use water clarifiers. They are pretty much snake oil. While they may work for some purposes, they don't for most.

[emc7]

Is the nastiness floating? A water change won't get an oily film, since it won't be sucked up in a siphon.

[TheOldSalt]

A new filter pad won't really start working until it gets a little slimy, which can take up to a week. After that it will start trapping stuff.

[jones57742]

Originally Posted by hvc801

I had purchased a water clearer, and the bottle said to add recommended amount, and said it will clear out a tank in about an hour. I have a 30 gal tank and I thought it would probably tank a lil more... The stuff worked in 15 min, my water was crystal clear. It said it bunches up all the particals and then the filter will suck them up. The stuff is amazing

hvc: what you are describing is a flocculation agent.

This agent will treat the symptom but not the problem.

If, for whatever reason, you have not addressed the "real problem" then in a couple of weeks, IMHO, we will be back into this thread.

TR

[emc7]

fifteen percent water change

Try a 50% water change. If you took out 10% of the fog, it would still be 90% cloudy.

[Cichlidsrule]

Cheers, thanks, you guys!

To answer your questions, emc-- I know what you mean, and the stuff's not making a film. Also, I've already done a 50% water change, and it hasn't done squat....
I'm gonna wait for a few days and see if the filter starts sucking up the stuff, like TOS said. If not, then maybe I will try that water clarifier stuff. I'm at my wit's end
Another note-- there's been little spots of algae speckling the sides of the tank recently, and the one poor snail I have in there can't keep up with it. Does this mean anything to any of you?

[emc7]

Sorry, I went back and read your post again. You did try the big water change. My next question is how long the tank has been set up. Sudden cloudiness and algae blooms often happen during cycling and usually go away in a few weeks with no intervention.

[Cichlidsrule]

Nope, this tank's been going for a loooong time...it's certainly cycled by now.