Cloudy water

[Oli]

Hi guys, new 200 litre set up and cycling with old media + a large piece of mew driftwood. After a couple days, the water became extremely cloudy and I noticed some white algae/mould on driftwood. From what I’ve read, this caused the cloudiness. I took the wood out, cleaned it again, did a 50% water change and it is still cloudy. It has been a few days and the driftwood is no longer showing any white mould/algae, but the water is still cloudy. Is this a bacterial bloom or is this because of the driftwood. Should I wait more, it has been less than a week? Is it worth adding something like Seachem clarity??

 

[Byron]

You want the problem/issue to resolve naturally, so using any type of clarifier is not going to help long-term. And these can be dangerous, though here there are no fish involved, be even so, save your money.

As to the cause, this is probably (hopefully) a normal bacterial bloom. The bacteria involved live on organics, and they can reproduce very fast (roughly every 20 minutes). The fresh tap water likely contains a lot of dissolved organics; to us it looks clear and clean, but you would be surprised at the level of dissolved organics it can contain. And the bacteria involved rapidly consume these.

The above is the good aspect. It is possible that something else is occurring, which I'll mention just in case. I don't see any whitish fungus/slime/mold on the wood in the photos--is there any? If yes, this can cause this type of cloudiness, but more to the point, some of this is toxic and the only way to know is for a microbiologist to examine the fungus. If there is no sign of fungus on the wood, then this would not likely be the issue.

When all is said, I would suspect this is simply a bacterial bloom and nothing to worry about.

 

[Oli]

Okay sounds good, I did think it was likely to be a bacterial bloom. The driftwood has showed white algae/mould but only in small amounts, after taking it out and scrubbing it, it has yet to return. Also from what I had seen, it is normally much more white mould everywhere that causes this cloudy water. Mine has been in small amounts (as shown in the picture.) as it stands, I am adding a pinch of fish food every couple of days to “feed” the bacteria. I may add a goldfish or something when the water clears up in order to continue the cycle until my fish are in stock? Thanks!

 

[Oli]

Pic

 

[Byron]

I cannot say if the fungus is or is not toxic, since there is no way to determine the species other than examination by a microbiologist. I had the toxic fungus on a piece of wood a few years ago; the water in the tank became whitish cloudy, as in your photos, within a day of adding the one piece of wood. At the same time, the fish began having trouble respirating and became lethargic. I was lucky to have caught it in time; I know of others who lost fish. A marine biologist told me what it was. Not all fungus is toxic, obviously, but some is. I certainly would not put any fish in this tank until this is resolved. You might remove the wood, and do a full water change right down to vacuuming the substrate. Refill and see it this cloudiness returns.

 

[Oli]

Okay thanks for the info! So I guess for the time being it is best to do regular water changes and add a pinch of fish food a couple times a week to feed keep the cycle going? If it doesn’t get better within the next 4 weeks I take it we have a problem and will have to remove the wood (very expensive and the main thing I’ve wanted since starting the hobby)

 

[AbbeysDad]

For the really interested (and/or the obsessive?) here's a deep dive into Filtration and Water Quality. Some really good articles from myself, Byron, and Greg Sage of Select Aquatics of Erie Co.