Cloudy Water (even Though Chemistry Is All Good)

[AML225]

Hey Guys,

I haven't really posted in several months as I have been away from my tank since May, needless to say it's good to be back.

I have a 20 long well planted tank with a Biowheel 150, fluorite black sand substrate, 64w Nova t5 extreme light.

I moved the tank a week and a half ago (and subsequently cleaned it) however the filter elements were kept in tank water and since re-setting it up regular testing with an API master liquid test kit has showed nothing. Before the move the tank had green water as it was situated next to a window.

At the time of the move I had 4 Black Skirt Tetras, 1 Sterbai Cory, 2 Similis Cories, and 4 otos.

Immediately after the move:

The water had a slight greenish/brownish tinge and on all the horizontal leaves a brownish/grayish dusts would settle no matter how much I cleaned the tank or removed the dust. It would easily come off by moving the water around the leaf or shaking the leaf lightly. I do regular doses of Flourish Excel (1.5-2 caps a day) and the water is a constant 80 +/- 2 degrees throughout the day with exactly 8 hours of light.

More recently:

Since the move I've been doing regular 20% water changes every 2-3 days, added 2 stem plants, removed my bog wood, added an aquaclear 50, moved the aqua clear carbon upstream of the element in the biowheel, and added Mini Bio Chem Zorb in place of the carbon in the Aqua Clear.

Since the water chemistry is fine and all fish appear healthy I beefed up my cory shoals to 4 Sterbai and 4 Similis (total) So here's what I currently have:

4 Black Skirt Tetra
4 Similis Cory
4 Sterbai Cory
4 Otos

Since all these changes the dust has gone, the water has less of a green tinge and more of a milky/brown tinge when the lights are off and a green/brown tint when the lights are off (the wall behind the tank is white). However the magnitude of the cloudiness has stayed the same.

The biowheel is fairly clean but the actual wheel itself has a brown tint which it hasn't had in the past.

I'm at a loss what to do. I had the water tested for Phosphates and ZERO showed up. Nitrates, Nitrites and Ammonia are all ZERO.

I'm sorry for the long post but I have no clue what to try next. Please feel free to ask any questions that might help pin my problem down.

 

[Colin_T]

the glass could be dirty
you might have dirty tap water compared to your last place.
maybe the wall is brown, sorry, couldn't resist that one
possible do a 50% water change each day for a few days and see if it gets better or worse. If it gets worse it is probably your tap water.
have you gravel cleaned the tank?

 

[AML225]

I have sand substrate and I've cleaned that as best I can.

The tank has actually been here before so it's not the water. I just moved it to my sisters while I was away for a few months and brought it back when I came back.

It's not the glass as the water I take out has a tinge.

 

[guidedbyechoes]

I've had problems like that. They included a dead fish being somewhere in the tank in a hidden place. Too much lighting, the wrong kind of lighting, bulbs that needed changing. Also poor circulation. And final being exposed to sunlight because another occupant wanted the window open in my fish room because she thought the room looked gloomy.

Thats all I can come up with besides the chemistry of your water.

 

[AML225]

Well just for fun when I was doing my water change today I took out the activated carbon in both my filters and added a 3/4 dose of Tetra AlgaeControl within 2 hours the water was CRYSTAL clear. It says I can do another does in 3 days up to 3 total doses if the algae comes back at all. After that we'll see.

(fingers crossed!!!)