Cloudy Water That Won't Go Away.........

[margaret64]

Hi Everyone,
I'm quite to new to this whole aquarium hobby, but I enjoy it greatly. I have a 6 gallon tank where I'm trying to raise some Endler's someone gave me, a 75 gallon community tank, and a 37 gallon tall tank where I am keeping 6 angelfish and 2 algae eaters. The 6 and 75 gallon tanks are doing great, but I'm having (for about 2 weeks now), a problem with very cloudy whitish water in my angelfish tank. I had a penguin biowheel 70 in there, and last week added another in case I wasn't filtering the water enough. I keep doing 10 gallon water changes, using prime in the new water. My water testing, ammonia is zero, and ph is 6.8. I also brought water samples into the fish store twice and they tested more things, and told me my water is fine. I tried seachem clarify as they recommended, but that only seemed to make things worse. The tank has been going since Dec. 4, I did have an ick issue that may have messed things up about 3 weeks ago, but so far all the fish seem fine. The water, however is, UGLY, and it had been a beautiful clear color even when it was cycling. Am I making things worse by constantly changing water? Should I just leave things alone? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This tank used to look so beautiful. Thanks in advance,
Margaret

 

[Chri$]

Your tank is probably going through a bacterial bloom. It should clear up after a while

 

[margaret64]

Your tank is probably going through a bacterial bloom. It should clear up after a while

Thanks so much for answering! Should I leave it alone as much as possible, or continue to water changes at certain intervals? Is there a usual amount of time this usually lasts?
Thanks very much,
Margaret

 

[The-Wolf]

bacterial blooms can last weeks but on average it should clear within 48hrs

 

[margaret64]

bacterial blooms can last weeks but on average it should clear within 48hrs

Thanks for that info, because mine has been lasting for about 2 weeks now. My husband insists I'm probably just prolonging things by keeping trying to fix it, so maybe he's right, and if I just let it run it's course, it will go away. Thanks, Margaret

 

[The-Wolf]

ok if it has been going on tha long, it could be a particulate problem.
this is there are millions of minuet particles of matter (think dust motes)
suspended in the water these are so fine tha your filter just lets them through.

there are products on th market that will clump these particles together allowing your filter to trap them.
try interpet filter aid, or Sera aquariaclear

 

[margaret64]

ok if it has been going on tha long, it could be a particulate problem.
this is there are millions of minuet particles of matter (think dust motes)
suspended in the water these are so fine tha your filter just lets them through.

there are products on th market that will clump these particles together allowing your filter to trap them.
try interpet filter aid, or Sera aquariaclear

Okay, that is a thought. I will look for these items. I did try the seachem clarify that was supposed to do that, but it just made my water much worse. Maybe these other products will work better. Thanks, Margaret

 

[pokagon55]

This sounds alot like to much build up in your gravel. Have you tried vac. your gravel with your water change? If you have alot of build up in your gravel you will have alot of bacteria floating around, just like it did when you started you tank for the first time. What about the filter media? It is recommened that you change the carbon once a month.

http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/cloudywt.htm
http/www.nunnie.com/cloudy.html
Try these links they might help you

 

[margaret64]

This sounds alot like to much build up in your gravel. Have you tried vac. your gravel with your water change? If you have alot of build up in your gravel you will have alot of bacteria floating around, just like it did when you started you tank for the first time. What about the filter media? It is recommened that you change the carbon once a month.

http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/cloudywt.htm
http/www.nunnie.com/cloudy.html
Try these links they might help you

Thanks for your input. I will check out these sites. Every time I do a water change I've been doing it through the gravel vacuum. It used to look pretty nasty, but now it doesn't look too bad. I've been doing the carbon changes, too. I'm willing to try anything, I want the pretty water back!
Margaret