Cloudy Tank...

[tamara]

I have a partially cloudy tank, i can actually almost see the clouds in it...
It was just cycled [i put the filter in my other tank for 3-4weeks]
and during the 3-4 weeks, the tank aquired LOTS of algea, so i just naturally scrubbed it off &did water changes
but now it's not algea..it's some cloudyness...i put my fish in there sunday...so they've only been in there so far for a day
[10male guppies, 1bristlenose pleco, 10gallon tank]
and i don't know if this matters or not..but it is infront of a window..but i think that only has to do with algea?

 

[england]

cloudy is it whitish or greenish or brownish?
whiteish you need to keep doin water changes<might be alot of fish so quick for filter to handle and gone into a mini cycle so wc/wc/wc
green isnt such a prob just a alge bloom,you can by a chem at fish shops which clump it together and filter sucks it up...ive used it and it works

 

[Amiee]

I think my tank is going through a mini cycle at the moment too, just added some new fish last night, woke up this morning to white cloudly water, so water changes on the agenda today, just took two bucketfulls out not long ago, will be doing 2 more tonight, looks like it is getting clearer with the help of some filter aid.

Cloudy water is my pet hate of adding more fish!!!

 

[Sysiphus]

Only one way to pin this down a little and that is water test for ammonia and nitrItes. Sounds like you are still cycling and water changes are needed, but the testing will tell you alot about where the cycle is and how much water needs to be changed. Post back the tests and the answers will be more accurate.

 

[tamara]

Well in my already cycled tank it looks kind of brownish, but i think that's from when i had all my fish together while my other tank was cycling--so it was over load of debris hanging around?
and in my just cycled tank, it's more greenish, when i do water changes and pour the tank water down the bath tub, it's very green looking on the white bath tub.

 

[england]

if its greenish id say you have a alge bloom....maybe its getting alot of light<sun>
u can get green away at fish shop follow instuctions
a non chemical way is to move the tank out of direct sunlight wc/wc/wc

 

[tamara]

Only the back of it is facing the sun, and i don't think there are any other places to put the fish tank, so is there a possible way to prevent light from coming into it? maybe like..tin foil on the back or something???

 

[Danno]

If you got some cash that needs to be spent I would suggest diatomatious filtration.

 

[Sysiphus]

Yes, nothing like a diatom filter once a month.
http/www.diatomfilters.com/

 

[tamara]

wow, that's quite amazing--but it's a little out of my price range...maybe something that's cheaper? not almost 100$.

 

[Sysiphus]

Well, Green water is not a bad thing for the fishies. I have had green water so thick that unless the fish were pressed against the front of the glass you could not see them. But I digress -

The green water, or pea soup, is an algae bloom. Free floating planktonic single celled algae is what is turning the water green. The cause is almost always, excess nutrients (nitrates and/or phosphates) or excessive lighting.

Algae consumes oxygen at night and a severe algae bloom can reduce oxygen to critically low levels, so while treating the tank, try to increase water circulation until you have the problem solved.

Common causes:

Overfeeding - Most aquarium flake food is high in phosphates and as the food decays these phosphates are released.
Infrequent filter changes - Decaying material in the filter can also cause increased nitrate and phosphates.
Infrequent water changes - Water changes is the method used to control nitrate and phosphate levels in your aquarium. Phosphates can also be controlled through the use of phosphate pillows available at your local aquarium store.
Excessive light - not only aquarium lighting but also might be intense room lighting like you mentioned eariler.

Solutions

The solution is twofold. First eliminate the current algae bloom and secondly prevent it's return. The only way I know to control algae blooms is to control the nutrient and lighting levels of the tank.

Getting rid of the current algae bloom

Covering the tank for 72 hours wouild do it. Read about it by clicking here Green Water Treatment. During that time you can't allow any light source to enter the tank. Again I would recommend increasing the water circulation so as not to deplete the oxygen.
Aquarium clearing chemicals - especially the flocculents that bind tiny bits of debris into bigger, easier to filter out clumps, can be used to clarify the water in a few hours or overnight.


First to prevent return

Reduce feeding - You need to assure that all of the food is eaten
Reduce light - If indirect or sunlight look for ways to reduce (I liked your idea of foil on the outside back of the tank). Reduce the number of hours the tank lighting is on.
Increase filter changes and water changes - to control nitrate and phosphate levels.
Vacuuming the gravel will also help.

 

[tamara]

Wow, great reply! are there any chemicals or anything that's 50$ [canadian] or less ? or about that pricing?

 

[Sysiphus]

Wow, great reply! are there any chemicals or anything that's 50$ [canadian] or less ? or about that pricing?

Hehe, Save ur money and cut back on food and lighting - if you have a bad case of green water - black out your tank for 72 hours - believe me ur fish won't mind. No peeking.

 

[tamara]

Yes, i'm going to do that for the weekend, but i just went out and bought "HAGEN, Green-X"
anyone have any experience with this?
it just gets put into the filter and it's supposed to work.