Cloudy Water.

[Shrooom1]

Ok . . . . I have a new 50 lt tank, it's been running for nearly 4 week's now. At the end of the first week I used some Easy Balance from Tetra to help sort out my new tanks PH level.

The next day the water changed to this,

At the end of the second week I went to Maidenhead Aquatics near Truro to ask what was going on and for them to test my tank water. They said that the test water was coming on but to leave it for another week, do a 30% water change and to use Clear Fast from Nutrafin to help clear my tank. 3ml every 24 hours.

No joy !

At the end of the third week the water was still cloudy but the Clear Fast had started to clumpy the cloudy water and the filter was doing it's best to clear the clumps, and when I mean it's best, I mean some of the clumps where making there way back into the tank. So this Sunday just gone, I went back up to Maidenhead Aquatics and spoke to someone else and they said to change my filter media to some Synthetic filter floss and that should stop the clumps from getting out again, and change it every other day.

What I need is some help to sort this out, I'm sure 4 weeks of this is to long. Never happened in my first tank, and yes, this is only my second tank so I'm still new.

 

[DrSlackBladder]

I made the mistake of adding easy balance when I first set up my 100 litre for a fishless cycle - cloudy, brown water was the result, couldn't see from one end of the tank to the other. So I added nurtrafin filter aid as prescribed, which apparently would work wonders; this just made a slightly darker murky tank full of water. Filter was not clearing it (same filter as yours, just higher capacity). So I did a nearly 100% water change, just adding dechlorinated water; problem gone. Since then, I completed my fishless cycle, and now have a thriving community tank with clear water. This brief lesson has made me wary of all chemical additives; just dechlorinated water is all you need!

 

[yfaris67]

ya, don't use that stuff! if i were you, i would empty most of the aquarium and add new water. change the filter media and add some bacteria to jump start the cycle.

 

[fluttermoth]

Most of us here have very little faith in bottled bacteria products. There's no need to change filter media to deal with bacterial blooms.

 

[yfaris67]

id clean everything as if it was new and start over, id even clean the filter. but if you want just do a water change.

 

[Shrooom1]

[background=rgb(255, 255, 255)]UPDATE,[/background]

[background=rgb(255, 255, 255)]Ok, so I started over! On Tuesday night I cleaned the whole tank, washed the gravel and the filters and put in new filter media. WOW, clear water !![/background]

[background=rgb(255, 255, 255)]I've just got up to get ready for work and went to check and see how the tanks looking, and to my surprise the water has started to go cloudy again !! But this time I've not put a drop of anything thing in yet. What should I put in the tank to start with now ??[/background]

[background=rgb(255, 255, 255)]What's going on now ?? Could it be the new filter system, should I use my old one which is still in my old tank ??[/background]

 

[techen]

Why did you recycle your tank. Cloudy water is pretty normal in new tanks and would have faded after awhile but now your stuck waiting all over again rofl.

 

[Shrooom1]

No I do understand where your coming from, just when we chatted before my post I was told the for a tank my size 4 weeks was a long time with no change.

Plus the fact that the "easy balance" was a waste of time and money.

What I'm getting at now is that I haven't put a drop of anything thing in my tank, and that it's only been 2 days, but my water has started to turn cloudy. No way as bad as it was before hand, because before it looked like someone had tipped a pint of milk in. lol .

Is this the start of my cycle!?!?

 

[techen]

No I do understand where your coming from, just when we chatted before my post I was told the for a tank my size 4 weeks was a long time with no change.

Plus the fact that the "easy balance" was a waste of time and money.

What I'm getting at now is that I haven't put a drop of anything thing in my tank, and that it's only been 2 days, but my water has started to turn cloudy. No way as bad as it was before hand, because before it looked like someone had tipped a pint of milk in. lol .

Is this the start of my cycle!?!?

Pretty sure a few of us said its most likey bacteria bloom that happens in new tanks. You need to wait for it to go away. Nothing you add will really make it clear. I would just leave it myself and let it work itself out. What is in your water ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/PH?

 

[Shrooom1]

Ok, understood. But I'm only 2 days in now, so is this the same thing, a bacteria bloom ?? I'll do a test when I get home in work, and let you know ASAP.

I understand that I'm going get stuff wrong, I'm still new to this.

 

[Shrooom1]

GH / KH - PH - NO2 / NO3
30 30 6.5 0 20

 

[yfaris67]

ph is low, add bacteria suplament, or see how it is in a week