Cloudy Tank

[skyharbor]

I am currently battling a cloudy tank. This is my second tank and it is giving me fits. My first tank houses my guppies and it is crystal clear...I have never had a prob. with water clarity.

The tank giving me fits is a 20 gallon with 8 Tiger Barbs and a few cories. I have gravel as substrate. I am running a Penguin 150 Bio-Wheel for filtration. I have never quite been able to get the water in this tank as clear as I want it...I added some clarifier the other day which seemed to have made it worse.

I am at at loss at what to do. Water params are fine 0ammonia/0nitrite/10-15nitrate..Ph is around 6.4 or so....and the tank is pretty well planted

Any suggestions or help would be most appreciated!

 

[whizingdonkey]

Not sure how much of a difference this makes, but some of those clarifiers have an optimal ph range. This is usually somewhere between 6.5-8.5. If your ph is 6.4 then maybe.....

 

[skyharbor]

Not sure how much of a difference this makes, but some of those clarifiers have an optimal ph range. This is usually somewhere between 6.5-8.5. If your ph is 6.4 then maybe.....

Viable explanation...however, my problems have been ongoing way before I put the clarifier in.


I am really frustrated right now.

 

[paulthegreat]

Did you do a thurough rinse on the gravel? New grav has a lot of dust in it and rinsing it four or six times is a good idea. Otherwise it may be an algea bloom which can happen in a new tank. If you have a good plant base it will help to keep the cloudiness in check. Also overfeeding can be an issue as well as direct sunlight.

 

[skyharbor]

Yes, I washed the gravel very well before I put it in. I have cut my feedings back lately also...no direct sunlight....

 

[WILDER]

Do you think your filter is good, as sometimes it can be the filter.

 

[freddyk]

If it's not a specific type of cloudy (bacteria bloom white, algae bloom green) then try installing a small sponge filter run by a decent air pump. It can do wonders.

 

[afireinside]

same thing happened to me, it was like that ever since i got my tank, and it just cleared up today. it won't harm ur fish, if it was like me.

 

[FishLuvr]

Cloudy water

2 possabilities

1) gravel not cleaned well enough - Usually occurs at the time you set up the tank

2) bacteria bloom (usually occurs after adding new fish)

The later sounds like your problem, as from your post it sounds as though you have had your tank setup a while

I battled a bacteria bloom myself, frequent water changes will clear this up no problem.

I IMHO don't like adding chemicals to my tank, not all fish can sustain the exposure to chemicals, and two if you have filters that include carbon, then its just like pouring your COSTLY chemicls right down the drain as thats the job of carbon to remove chemicals from the water

 

[skyharbor]

It is definitely not the gravel. The tank has been going for about 2 months now.

I am going to try more frequent water changes: I usually do a 25% change once a week.

Here is what I need to know: What is the ideal/safe amount of water to change and how often (without stressing my fish)?




Thanks everyone for your help!!!

 

[WILDER]

20% for a few days, have you been using meds and do you over feed the fish, what filter is it.

 

[WILDER]

http/freshaquarium.about.com/cs/watercon...cloudywater.htm

 

[skyharbor]

20% for a few days, have you been using meds and do you over feed the fish, what filter is it.

The filter is a Penguin BIO-Filter 150 (I keep the media rinsed and the wheel is turning).


I don't think I overfeed...I usually feed 2 times a day....sometimes color flakes...sometimes reg. flakes...shrimp pellets (enough for each barb to have one)...I will drop some algae wafers at night for the cories...I feed freeze-dried brine shrimp/daphnia....and I feed frozen bloodworms also. I never feed more than one type at a time..and always enough for them to eat in about 1-2 minutes.


I have not used any meds. I add Easy Balance once a week and used some Tetra Water Clarifier the other day (it actually made it worse).

 

[paulthegreat]

Once a day is usually enough. You can even skip a day now and again. I only ever fed my fry tank more then once a day and not more then they can eat in a few minutes. Even at that rate I can get a bit of cloudiness in the fry tank.