Fish tank cloudy

[Nemo91]

Hello, everyone
I have a tank that is cloudy not to the point you cant see the fish or the back of the tank. I have added more filter media to the tank. but it hasn't cleared, I have done a water test are they are all fine. Its not due a water change yet as its fairly a new tank, I have small a mount of fish in their to let the filter build up.

Kinda running out of surjections can anyone help or advice please.

 

[xxEMOxLIZZARDxx]

What are your water parameters and can you post some photos?

 

[Essjay]

Green cloudy or white cloudy?

 

[Nemo91]

What are your water parameters and can you post some photos?

i will try to if you look at the front of the tank it looks clear but if you look through the tank at the side, you can see its slightly cloudy.
no all clear only thing is high is the gh levels

 

[Nemo91]

Green cloudy or white cloudy?

white cloudy

 

[sharkweek178]

i will try to if you look at the front of the tank it looks clear but if you look through the tank at the side, you can see its slightly cloudy.
no all clear only thing is high is the gh levels

Do you have a testing kit or maybe some test strips? So you can tell us the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. Temperature, pH and water hardness too.

 

[connorlindeman]

white cloudy

Bacteria bloom. Your tank is stabilizing
Whats your parameters?

 

[Nemo91]

Bacteria bloom. Your tank is stabilizing
Whats your parameters?

nitrate and nitrite is clear my is ph is mid 7.0-7.5 kh is 80 and gh is 120-180

 

[Nemo91]

Do you have a testing kit or maybe some test strips? So you can tell us the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. Temperature, pH and water hardness too.

i do i have tested my tank the last 4 days 2 days with out fish and 2 days with fish after the tank has been cycled if you look at my tank straight on its clear if you look at it width wise its cloudy

 

[sharkweek178]

i do i have tested my tank the last 4 days 2 days with out fish and 2 days with fish after the tank has been cycled if you look at my tank straight on its clear if you look at it width wise its cloudy

Can you post the specific results of your testing? Specifically, the levels for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates?
How long did you spend cycling the tank before you put the fish in?

 

[Nemo91]

the test stripe don't have an ammonia result but the tank is well under stocked for the size of the tank.
no3 - 0
no2 - 0
ph 7.0-7.5
kh 80-120
gh 120-180

 

[Essjay]

How long did you spend cycling the tank before you put the fish in?

This is important. Many people believe that just letting the tank run is cycling but it's not.

If you can't test for ammonia, how did you cycle the tank? Cycling means adding ammonia and testing for both ammonia and nitrite until both are zero withing 24 hours of adding ammonia.

 

[Nemo91]

I used api quick start and ran the filter for 3 days then tested the tank to make sure the gh and ph was all safe before adding fish. the tank its self is clear from the front but slightly cloudy from the side. I have 6 neon tetras and 2 African shrimp in a 450L tank.

 

[Essjay]

That isn't cycling. I'm afraid. The API product contains the wrong species of nitrite eaters, and it perhaps speeds up the ammonia stage a bit.

But having just 6 fish and 2 shrimps in 450 litres/120 gallons is not going to make much ammonia. I doubt a tester would register any ammonia made by that few fish. However, the more fish you add, the more ammonia that will be made in the tank and you could well see ammonia building up as more fish go in, followed by increasing nitrite. Can I suggest you get an ammonia tester ready for checking the water as you add more fish. With a pH above 7, a lot of any ammonia will be in the toxic form so it is important to be able to test for ammonia.

 

[Essjay]

Forgot to mention the cloudiness

This is common in new tanks. White cloudiness is usually a bacterial bloom, but these bacteria are not the ones we want to grow. White cloudiness can also be dust from the substrate or occasionally an algae bloom, though those are usually green.

The bloom bacteria 'eat' carbon based matter while the bacteria we want 'eat' nitrogen based matter. Bloom bacteria live floating in the water so we see them as the cloudiness; the bacteria we want live bound to surfaces. Bloom bacteria multiply very quickly.
Bloom bacteria are present in tap water and tap water contains carbon based things. When water conditioner is added, chloramine/chloramine is removed which allows the bloom bacteria to start multiplying. The bloom is not harmful, just annoying for the fish keeper who can't see into the tank properly. Once the bacteria have eaten all their available food they die and the water clears. But as every tank is different it is impossible to say how long.

It could be substrate dust if it wasn't washed properly. This dust usually settles withing a few days.