Cloudy Tank

[Falconwithaboxon]

Hello,

Using rocks and driftwood found at a local park is not a good idea. Did you boil them ? Did you check limestone ?
Bacteria bloom is certainly caused by these roots. 20% water change is a good idea if 3 days apart.
What are your fishes precisely ?

Yes, I did boil them. I did not check limestone, not sure what you mean to be honest.

45 Gallon Stock:
2 Angels (Unknown Type)
2 Opaline Gourami
8 Black Veil Tetra
6 Pearl Danio
8 Emerald Cory
2 Julii Cory
1 King Tiger Pleco
1 Colombian Spotted Pleco(Plans to rehome soon)
4 Mystery Snail
4 Nerite Snail
Tall stem plants and ferns

 

[AbbeysDad]

Bacterial blooms happen when there's excess organics in the water so bacteria go crazy until the resources are exhausted. Others are correct in that bacterial blooms usually go away in a day or two. But perhaps the it's the decaying driftwood, or just maybe you're feeding too much so organics are replenished? Reduce feeding and stay on top of partial water changes would seem prudent.

Contact Support

 

[Falconwithaboxon]

Bacterial blooms happen when there's excess organics in the water so bacteria go crazy until the resources are exhausted. Others are correct in that bacterial blooms usually go away in a day or two. But perhaps the it's the decaying driftwood, or just maybe you're feeding too much so organics are replenished? Reduce feeding and stay on top of partial water changes would seem prudent.

Contact Support

I have reduced feeding to a pattern of feed once a day for 3 days then skip a day.

 

[Avel1896]

@Falconwithabox it looks like you have fishes that prefer acidic and soft water so if rocks are limestone water doesn't suit these fishes. The best way to check rocks is to use some hydrochloric acid. Vinegar or lemon juice aren't enough precise.
To me, tour tank is crowded and lacks plants.
pH 7.4 is too high for these fishes. What are GH and KH ?

 

[P J]

Reasons for the Bacterial Blooms​

There are several possible reasons for “bacterial blooms”. Almost all of these reasons can be summarized by saying “there is not enough brown gunk in the filter”:

1. The filter is less than 3 months old and hasn’t had time to form a large amount of “brown gunk”, i.e. the aquarium isn’t “established”.
2. The filter is a hang-on-back with insufficient surface area to form a lot of “brown gunk” or the cartridge in a cartridge filled hang on back is being changed out for a new one every month or even every week.
3. The filter is a canister which is filled with an ineffective filter media such as Matrix, Biohome, ceramic rings, lava rock and/or bioballs with insufficient filter media surface area to form a lot of “brown gunk”.
4. In our “cleanliness is next to godliness” world, everyone keeps cleaning away this “brown gunk” because it’s “obviously fish poop”.
5. The hobbyist has changed out a filter and doesn’t realize the new filter needs to be cycled.
6. The hobbyist is overfeeding, feeding more dry food that the size of a fish’s eye once a day.
7. There is inadequate aeration. One needs a large area of “choppy waves” at the surface or a moderate sized air pump and air stone to properly aerate the water.
8. The substrate is larger than 1/8th inch, allowing food to get down where fish can’t get to it.

One good way to understand most bacterial blooms is to understand that there MUST be a collection of bacteria and organisms in an aquarium feeding on excess food and on fish waste. The question is does the hobbyist want the collection to be in the water column as a “bacterial bloom” or does the hobbyist want it to be in the filter as “brown gunk”. Most hobbyists want this collection to NOT be in the water column. This means it MUST be cultivated in the filter as “brown gunk”.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Reasons for the Bacterial Blooms​

There are several possible reasons for “bacterial blooms”. Almost all of these reasons can be summarized by saying “there is not enough brown gunk in the filter”:

1. The filter is less than 3 months old and hasn’t had time to form a large amount of “brown gunk”, i.e. the aquarium isn’t “established”.
2. The filter is a hang-on-back with insufficient surface area to form a lot of “brown gunk” or the cartridge in a cartridge filled hang on back is being changed out for a new one every month or even every week.
3. The filter is a canister which is filled with an ineffective filter media such as Matrix, Biohome, ceramic rings, lava rock and/or bioballs with insufficient filter media surface area to form a lot of “brown gunk”.
4. In our “cleanliness is next to godliness” world, everyone keeps cleaning away this “brown gunk” because it’s “obviously fish poop”.
5. The hobbyist has changed out a filter and doesn’t realize the new filter needs to be cycled.
6. The hobbyist is overfeeding, feeding more dry food that the size of a fish’s eye once a day.
7. There is inadequate aeration. One needs a large area of “choppy waves” at the surface or a moderate sized air pump and air stone to properly aerate the water.
8. The substrate is larger than 1/8th inch, allowing food to get down where fish can’t get to it.

One good way to understand most bacterial blooms is to understand that there MUST be a collection of bacteria and organisms in an aquarium feeding on excess food and on fish waste. The question is does the hobbyist want the collection to be in the water column as a “bacterial bloom” or does the hobbyist want it to be in the filter as “brown gunk”. Most hobbyists want this collection to NOT be in the water column. This means it MUST be cultivated in the filter as “brown gunk”.

Geez, you and your brown gunk, lol...for the last time, you DON'T need brown gunk in a cycled tank...or any tank!

 

[Falconwithaboxon]

@Falconwithabox it looks like you have fishes that prefer acidic and soft water so if rocks are limestone water doesn't suit these fishes. The best way to check rocks is to use some hydrochloric acid. Vinegar or lemon juice aren't enough precise.
To me, tour tank is crowded and lacks plants.
pH 7.4 is too high for these fishes. What are GH and KH ?

I'll check the rocks

I am aware it is crowded and lacks plants but I am working on the plants and I feel comfortable with the stock

KH - 40
GH - 60

 

[Falconwithaboxon]

Okay everyone, I feel dumb lol. It cleared up right away after I cleaned my filter

 

[Avel1896]

KH - 40
GH - 60

ppm I guess ?
Your bacteria bloom is due to overpopulation.
NO2 NO3 ?

 

[Falconwithaboxon]

ppm I guess ?
Your bacteria bloom is due to overpopulation.
NO2 NO3 ?

Yeah ppm sorry

0 and 0

 

[Uberhoust]

@Falconwithaboxon Glad your tank is working out now. I have started this before I saw your response but thought I would still add it. I find using native materials for my tanks add interest to the hobby. Here are some of my rules / ideas that I use. I know that some view the use of native materials controversial.

I don't think the small piece of wood in your tank would be the major or sole cause of your cloudiness, particularly if you boiled the piece first. I have not yet had an issue with collected wood in any of my tanks. When I use personally collected wood there are a few things I watch for:

• Aged wood, the wood should be dead for a while before using in the aquarium
• Make sure the wood is not resinous, pines in particular can be highly resinous which has a potential of releasing interesting compounds to the water. I personally don't know what the resin, sap, would do but I don't think it would be good.
• Wood from water sources should be dried and aged, then boiled if possible. Ich is endemic in the natural environment along with other pathogens I don't want in my tank.
• I avoid pieces with bark remaining on the piece.
• Large pieces too large for boiling I treat by scrubbing and cleaning the surface, I use a pressure washer for hard wood, then treat with oxygen bleach (primarily Hydrogen Peroxide), leave in a sheltered spot to dry. Then thoroughly clean and rinse with water only.
  • Some risk of introducing some fungal or algal organism to the the tank but personally haven't ever had an issue with this. I live in a temperate climate which might help with this.
  • You risk bleaching the wood to a lighter color if that is an important consideration.

Personally collected rocks, gravel I check for the following:

• Carbonates - Raise the pH, I use muriatic acid (a common concentration of HCL, available from Home Depot, very corrosive so be cautious) to test. You only need a few drops on the rock. If the rock has white encrustations make sure to test those areas as well.
  • Major fizzing and bubbles -> likely limestone (Calcium carbonate mostly)
  • Minor fizzing and bubbles -> likely another carbonate, dolomite for example (Magnesium carbonate) not as strong a push to higher pH
• Porosity - The more porous the rock is the more reactive surface it will have and the faster it will change the pH if it is reactive. Porous limestone can raise the pH rapidly whereas a more solid piece might raise the pH slowly.
• Iron or Copper staining - No rocks with reddish rust staining, or any blue/green staining.
• No rocks with mineralization or crystals (other than quartz, mica) - pyrite crystals for example are not good in an aquarium
• No rocks from areas with arsenic, or from salt plains, or evaporative basins
• No gravel from the ocean unless it is for a high pH tank. (you can clean the salt out but not the shell fragments). All gravels and sands get a soaking in normal bleach before final rinse and wash.

 

[AbbeysDad]

There are several possible reasons for “bacterial blooms”. Almost all of these reasons can be summarized by saying “there is not enough brown gunk in the filter”

Uhm....nope!

 

[Avel1896]

@Falconwithaboxon uh no, not quite. It is KH 2.25 and GH 3.35
Why are they this low ? Osmosis water ?
No NO2 no NO3 ? How do you check ?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Uhm....nope!

The "brown gunk" thing is getting old, and fast...

 

[Uberhoust]

@Avel1896 In my area the water out of the tap has KH and GH lower than can not be measure from my test kits, <2.0. This is because the water is from surface sources that flow over areas with high amounts of woody debris. In the summer the water has slightly higher KH and GH but not by much. Adjacent areas with with well water have much higher KH and GH values.