Cloudy Water

[jaybon]

I wonder if anyone can help i have had my tropical fish tank for 6 weeks now, it temp is set at around 25-26 degrease i have 9 plants and 21 fish a mix of platties and mollies and a plec i have a lump of lump wood. the tank is a fluval 180ltr and a fluval 205 filteration system. a 300mm air stone. i washed all the stone and soaked for a couple of days and washed on 6 separat occassions over the 2 days. i feed the fish with flakes ans frozen flees, i feed them flees every 3 days as a treat. has anyone got the answer?cloudy fish tank

 

[rocknurworld2006]

check your water parametrs mainly ammonia and nitrite as it could be a bacterial bloom and your fish could be at risk""

 

[fourthtimelucky]

Do check your water parameters, as a bacterial bloom would be an indicator of possible disasters...

... but don't panic just yet! If you have very hard water in your area (like me) and your kettle is full of limescale (like mine) and you inadvertently empty the whole thing into the bucket when heating up water for a water change (like I did)... then you get a very cloudy tank all of a sudden! Scared the beejesus out of me the first time. A water change should sort it.

 

[Colin_T]

Have you cleaned the filter recently? Cloudy water is usually brought about by fish food breaking down in the water and an inefficient filter. If you have cleaned the filter recently you might have wiped out the beneficial bacteria living in it and since there is nothing to break down the fish food and waste you get cloudy water.
Cut your feeding back and do some partial (50%) water changes using dechlorinated water.
When you clean the filter wash the filter materials in a bucket of tank water and when they are clean put them straight back into the filter. Don't wash the filter materials under tap water.

 

[MHunt]

I've not had cloudy water, but I did notice green water start as a light cloudiness in the tank. There are a couple of clarifying treatments you can use. If it's green water I use king british green water treatment to treat the symptoms. I don't know what i'd use for a bacterial bloom, but either way you need to try and find and treat the cause rather than the symptoms otherwise it'll just keep coming back. I'd do a large water change (50%ish) and reduce the amount you feed the tank for now and see how it goes.

 

[jaybon]

check your water parametrs mainly ammonia and nitrite as it could be a bacterial bloom and your fish could be at risk""

Thankyou for all your help i will test water see what the levels are, and go from there i cant do a big water change yet as the tank is only about 6 weeks old i have done a 20% change last week and cleaned out the foam filters and media and carbon, when i done the change. i have about 6 snails living in the water they are small as they must of been on the plants when i brought them. i tell you this in case this may be an indicater for anything?

 

[MHunt]

Don't worry about doing too many water changes. If something isn't right with the tank the first thing to do is a water change. In the short term it will dilute whatever is making the water cloudy. Just make sure it's the right temp for the tank and it's dechlorinated properly.

 

[rabbut]

I agree with mhunt. Waterchanges are the best preventitive and active treatment out there, you can never do too many.

HTH
Rabbut

 

[jaybon]

Don't worry about doing too many water changes. If something isn't right with the tank the first thing to do is a water change. In the short term it will dilute whatever is making the water cloudy. Just make sure it's the right temp for the tank and it's dechlorinated properly.

Don't worry about doing too many water changes. If something isn't right with the tank the first thing to do is a water change. In the short term it will dilute whatever is making the water cloudy. Just make sure it's the right temp for the tank and it's dechlorinated properly.

Thankyou very much for your imput, i will do this tomorrow

 

[Colin_T]

i cant do a big water change yet as the tank is only about 6 weeks old i have done a 20% change last week and cleaned out the foam filters and media and carbon, when i done the change.

I am not sure who told you that you can't do big water changes on your tank because it is new, but they are wrong. You can do big water changes on a tank anytime you want as long as the new water is free of chlorine and has a similar temperature and PH to the tank. It can cause issues during the first few weeks by diluting the ammonia in the water and reducing the food for the bacteria to grow on. However, most people put plenty of food in the tank and that gets the levels back up pretty quick.

Your problem probably arose because you cleaned out the filter materials last week. Only wash filter materials out in a bucket of tankwater and never replace more than half the filter material at any one time. In fact the only thing you need to replace in the filter is carbon and that should be done about once a month for normal carbon, and once every two months for activated carbon.

If you have iron plant fertiliser in the tank then don't use carbon at all because it will remove the iron from the water. Likewise if you have to treat the fish with medication take the carbon out and throw it away. When you have finished medicating the tank and the fish are better, do a water change and put some new carbon in the filter.

 

[jaybon]

i cant do a big water change yet as the tank is only about 6 weeks old i have done a 20% change last week and cleaned out the foam filters and media and carbon, when i done the change.

I am not sure who told you that you can't do big water changes on your tank because it is new, but they are wrong. You can do big water changes on a tank anytime you want as long as the new water is free of chlorine and has a similar temperature and PH to the tank. It can cause issues during the first few weeks by diluting the ammonia in the water and reducing the food for the bacteria to grow on. However, most people put plenty of food in the tank and that gets the levels back up pretty quick.

Your problem probably arose because you cleaned out the filter materials last week. Only wash filter materials out in a bucket of tankwater and never replace more than half the filter material at any one time. In fact the only thing you need to replace in the filter is carbon and that should be done about once a month for normal carbon, and once every two months for activated carbon.

If you have iron plant fertiliser in the tank then don't use carbon at all because it will remove the iron from the water. Likewise if you have to treat the fish with medication take the carbon out and throw it away. When you have finished medicating the tank and the fish are better, do a water change and put some new carbon in the filter.

Thank you for your imput, i did nit mention one thing that might be usefull, a couple of my plants are quite green, i dont mean the colour of the plants it algae is this normal or is it down to bad water?

 

[Colin_T]

Plants can vary on how green they look. Healthy plants can be dark, normal or light green coloured. If they are pale green or yellow they are suffering from nutrient deficiencies. A good quality iron based aquarium plant fertiliser will fix that problem.

 

[rabbut]

It can cause issues during the first few weeks by diluting the ammonia in the water and reducing the food for the bacteria to grow on.

I question this comment I'm afraid. Many on the scientific forum have found research showing that more regular waterchanges speed the cycling process, rather that slowing it. You will run into more problems by not waterchanging and allowing toxins to build up, than you will through doing the watechanges. In a fish-in cycle, waterchanges are often life saving for the fish too.

All the best
Rabbut