Seachem Pond Matrix is a media that you can use in your fish tank or pond filter to help reduce the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels.
If you don’t rinse these stones before adding them to your aquarium or pond, however, then this product is going to make the water cloudy or milky.
To see how you can get rid of the cloudiness and milkiness, you can take a look at this tutorial at Aquarium Blueprints.
Quick Summary
If you don’t thoroughly rinse Seachem Pond Matrix before adding it to your fish tank or fish pond, then the water will get cloudy or milky. Thankfully, this issue won’t harm your fish and should go away over time with your regularly scheduled water changes and tank maintenance.
If you want to clear out the water as soon as possible, however, then we recommend doing daily 20% water changes and adding activated carbon media in your filtration system.
Why Pond Matrix makes your water cloudy
When you open a brand-new container of Seachem Pond Matrix and pick up one of the stones, you will notice a lot of white dirt will get stuck on your fingers.
The manufacturing process tend to cause a lot of dust to appear inside the container. So, if you would dump the filter media in your tank or pond right away, then the dust particles will quickly spread through the water column, creating a cloudy or milky appearance.
Is the cloudy water caused by Pond Matrix harmful to your fish?
The cloudy water caused by adding Seachem Pond Matrix most likely won’t harm your fish. This is because the dust particles come from the filter media, which has been designed to be safe for use in an aquarium or fish pond.
Should you get rid of the cloudy caused by Pond Matrix?
If you leave the cloudy or milky water alone, then the dust particles from the Pond Matrix stones will either get picked up by your mechanical filtration or fall down to the substrate.
Over time, you will be able to get rid of these particles by cleaning or replacing the foam or sponges in your mechanical filtration. Vacuuming the substrate will also remove the particles from your fish tank or pond.
How to quickly get rid of the cloudy water caused by Pond Matrix
To quickly get rid of the cloudy water caused by using Seachem Pond Matrix, we recommend that you try taking the following steps:
1. To start off remove around 20% of water from your tank or pond. While you can remove more, you may risk stressing out your fish.
2. When removing water, try to you aim for the cloudiest portion of the water.
3. After taking water out of the tank or pond add new water back in.
If you are using tap water, then you will need to use an aquarium water conditioner first in order to remove chlorine and chloramine. If you don’t then these chemical compounds will end up harming your fish, beneficial bacteria and other organisms living in your tank or pond.
4. Keep doing daily water changes of no more than 20% until you tank water or pond water becomes clear.
5. In addition to water changes, you may want to consider adding activated carbon media in your filter as doing so will help get rid of the cloudiness and milkiness.