Cloudy water
- Thread starter magnamon00
- Start date
Mike777,
Its a very delicate balance between generating enough ammonia for the tank to start cycling and too much that will create a bacterial bloom. Its hit or miss in a new tank but if it develops in an established tank, its time to sit back and think up a plan of action to get things cleaned up.
Ken
Its a very delicate balance between generating enough ammonia for the tank to start cycling and too much that will create a bacterial bloom. Its hit or miss in a new tank but if it develops in an established tank, its time to sit back and think up a plan of action to get things cleaned up.
Ken
magnamon00,
I didn't see on this thread where you listed your water parameters. I'll assume your ammonia level is high causing an algae bloom. Being a newbie myself, I have been through this many times. I found a product called Ammonia/Nitrite Eliminator made by Acquamarine. I think the web site I first found it on was Aquadirect. I was in a desparate situation where my ammonia level was so high, I was doing large water changes twice a day. I used this product at 3 times the recommended amount (per Aquamarine's rep's suggestion) for 2 days, and my ammonia level and cloudiness were gone. I now keep some of this stuff handy for future emergencies. I think you can also find it at Dr. Foster and Smith. It says on the jar ist's a bacteria-based product. It's a powder like substance.
I didn't see on this thread where you listed your water parameters. I'll assume your ammonia level is high causing an algae bloom. Being a newbie myself, I have been through this many times. I found a product called Ammonia/Nitrite Eliminator made by Acquamarine. I think the web site I first found it on was Aquadirect. I was in a desparate situation where my ammonia level was so high, I was doing large water changes twice a day. I used this product at 3 times the recommended amount (per Aquamarine's rep's suggestion) for 2 days, and my ammonia level and cloudiness were gone. I now keep some of this stuff handy for future emergencies. I think you can also find it at Dr. Foster and Smith. It says on the jar ist's a bacteria-based product. It's a powder like substance.
Sorry to contradict you Terminator 
, but as I was trying to say earlier, if you are cycling a tank without fish, adding a chemical to destroy ammonia in the tank is just going to prolong the whole process ie, you are removing the good bacteria's source of food and so limiting the potential for a large colony to grow.
Even with an established tank, ammonia is a sign the tank is not healthy in a more general sense than just the ammonia problem. It has gone out of balance either because new stock was added too soon or the bacteria in the filter died off due to chlorine in the water, medications, a lack of flowing water (filter switched off) etc etc.
The bacteria colony has to grow everytime you ad a single new fish, in order to remove the ammonia the new fish produces, so even when the tank is cycled, its not safe to start adding lots of fish in one go.
I get annoyed when I hear people in a pet shop advising people after a water test by saying 'you've got ammonia in your tank, I can sell you something to take it out' while ignoring that the tank isnt healthy due to lack of maintenance or the other causes above.
Ken
, but as I was trying to say earlier, if you are cycling a tank without fish, adding a chemical to destroy ammonia in the tank is just going to prolong the whole process ie, you are removing the good bacteria's source of food and so limiting the potential for a large colony to grow.Even with an established tank, ammonia is a sign the tank is not healthy in a more general sense than just the ammonia problem. It has gone out of balance either because new stock was added too soon or the bacteria in the filter died off due to chlorine in the water, medications, a lack of flowing water (filter switched off) etc etc.
The bacteria colony has to grow everytime you ad a single new fish, in order to remove the ammonia the new fish produces, so even when the tank is cycled, its not safe to start adding lots of fish in one go.
I get annoyed when I hear people in a pet shop advising people after a water test by saying 'you've got ammonia in your tank, I can sell you something to take it out' while ignoring that the tank isnt healthy due to lack of maintenance or the other causes above.
Ken
Ken,
I totally agree with what you are saying. I guess in my experience of newbie boo boos, whenever my tank gets hazy or foggy looking, I have ammonia problems because I am overfeeding, messed up my bio filter after cleaning, etc. I guess I made an assumption that ammonia was the cause of the cloudiness. The product I mentioned I don't think would hurt the bio bugs or neutralize the ammonia to a state where it could not be consumed. I think it merely helps the biological to grow faster to catch up to the ammonia.
I totally agree with what you are saying. I guess in my experience of newbie boo boos, whenever my tank gets hazy or foggy looking, I have ammonia problems because I am overfeeding, messed up my bio filter after cleaning, etc. I guess I made an assumption that ammonia was the cause of the cloudiness. The product I mentioned I don't think would hurt the bio bugs or neutralize the ammonia to a state where it could not be consumed. I think it merely helps the biological to grow faster to catch up to the ammonia.
I love the name bio bugs! I used to use a product called Cycle which is supposed to speed up bacteria growth and indirectly tackle the ammonia problem, I guess thats what you were saying so apologies for that one! Its stuff like amquel and the like that directly neutralise ammonia that I have a disliking to.
Ken
Ken
aquamanis
Fish Crazy
Gee, I really hate to throw a spanner in the works but I think you may be getting mixed up Ken. Amquel and other ammonia locking products are probably incorrectly labelled when they say remove ammonia. They don,t actually remove the ammonia. It just binds the ammonia making it non toxic to fish. The ammonia is still available to the bacteria for growth so they don,t interfere with the cycling process.
Thanks for the info Aquamanis, I dont buy em myself just see the hype on the labels about removing ammonia 'instantly'.
Well if your sure the binded ammonia is processed just as well by bacteria then great, fire away with the chemicals! But the bit that gets my goat is the LFS selling these products without explaining the reason why ammonia is high, how it can be prevented and proper tank maintenance. Its like a building surveyor saying, "well you've gotsome nasty cracks in your walls and foundations, I got some nice white filler here that will sort you out..."
Ken
Well if your sure the binded ammonia is processed just as well by bacteria then great, fire away with the chemicals! But the bit that gets my goat is the LFS selling these products without explaining the reason why ammonia is high, how it can be prevented and proper tank maintenance. Its like a building surveyor saying, "well you've gotsome nasty cracks in your walls and foundations, I got some nice white filler here that will sort you out..."
Ken
njparton
Fishaholic
Don't know really.mike777 said:
Maybe increase fish and feeding more slowly?
Over filter your tank?
JamesTasker
Fish Crazy
I have two dwarf gouramis and if I don't break up the flakes, the fish seem to choke and back out it comes. What would you suggest in this case Ken_g_w?
I have 2 Dwarf Gouramis to, a Colisa Lalia and a Colisa chuna they both do the same, I feed them flakes, freeze ried bloodworm and pellets for corys. Its ok if they spit out the flakes, the flakes break up quicker this way and mine hunt down the bits. As I was saying before, I think this is mostly a problem for people who are new to fishkeeping and dont know how much to feed and how often. The fish will allways be hungry so overfeeding is a very easy trap to fall into. If you know how much food you should give them and how often, your tank is fully cycled and you have some bottom feeders then giving them smaller bits of flake is ok once you can see the food is all being eaten.
I have seen my dad feeding the fish in the small tank I gave him, and he was crushing the flake food between his fingers and in it went in a cloud of fish food, there was no way the few fish he had were going to eat it all before it sank and the tank hadnt fully cycled yet, so I had to show him to feed less and not break up the food.
I have seen my dad feeding the fish in the small tank I gave him, and he was crushing the flake food between his fingers and in it went in a cloud of fish food, there was no way the few fish he had were going to eat it all before it sank and the tank hadnt fully cycled yet, so I had to show him to feed less and not break up the food.
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
250 -
230 -
196 -
175 -
170 -
157 -
145 -
129 -
117 -
110 -
99 -
90 -
81 -
80 -
72