Cloudy

[Sasha the breen]

I have been cycling my tank for four days and its really cloudy! i cant see the back.It's a 16 gallon tank with sand and gravel substrate with a fluval 2 plus filter i was wondering how to make the water crystal clear?(im using the white filter pad)

 

[goldene]

What was it like when you first set up your tank was it clear then, and did you give the sand a good clean, it could just be down to the cycling process and should clear once fully cycled, are you doing a fishless cycle by any chance or have you added fish already, if so how many and what type of fish, that could be the reason its gone cloudy, you can get something to add to the water that helps clear the tank 'I have forgot what its called now' clear something by nutrafin.

 

[Sasha the breen]

no fish and im not doing the fishless cycle and it was clear the first day(not crystal though) then it suddenly got darker and cloudier

 

[Bol]

If the cloudiness is uncolored (that is, basically white), then there's a good chance it's a bacterial bloom. If so, that's to be expected, and generally a good thing. It should clear up in a day or two.

Been testing your water, for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates?

 

[Sasha the breen]

no its yellowish coloured and i've never been testing yet

 

[Shizat]

If its yellowish add some extra carbon to your filter if you have any carbon in it at all since this removes the discoloration from water and takes out odors.

 

[goldene]

well if you are not doing a fishless cycle or with fish the tank won't cycle as you need bacteria to start the cycle, so the yellow colouring sounds like you need to re-clean the sand and start again, then do a fishless cycle by adding flake food to the tank and test your water untill it has cycled.

 

[goldene]

read this on how to cycle your tank. My Webpage

 

[wetwetwet]

Have you got any bogwood? Tannins in bogwood can give water a yellow/brown tint - could be this along with unwashed gravel and or bacteria bloom

There is some very good threads/articals pinned in beginners about new set-ups

Fishless cycling imho...

Which ever you're doing testing the water is essential...




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