Milky White Water

[crimsonpython24]

Hello,

The water in my school's tank recently became milky white, as such:

Water parameters:

• Nitrite & Nitrate: close to 0 ppm
• Temperature: 25 degrees C
• pH: 6.5 (usual ~7)
• kH: 50 (mg/L)
• gH: 90 (mg/L)

It became like this all of a sudden. The tank water was clear for a month.

The recent thing that might be blamed is that I washed 1/2 of the ceramic rings in the canister filter using water from a drinking fountain and then changed 40% of the water two days later because there are algae. The filter's a Tetra ex 800 plus (but it's down to 200 liters per hour or something due to clogged pipes, I will be changing them tomorrow). The tank is 180 liters in volume.

I looked this data up, and people say that it's bacterial growth and it's going to go away on its own. I'm not sure if that's the thing happening in my case though; this has been the case for four days and isn't getting better.

The fish still has their appetite and none of them are dead (yet).

Can anyone please help? Thanks in advance.

 

[itiwhetu]

You really need to plant this tank. Live plants are an important part of the goldfishes diet. The fish population is not correct for this tank either. I would suggest no more than 4-6 fish of that size in this tank.

 

[Sgooosh]

You really need to plant this tank. Live plants are an important part of the goldfishes diet. The fish population is not correct for this tank either. I would suggest no more than 4-6 fish of that size in this tank.

make sure to get goldfish plants that they wont eat
if they eat and kill the plants, its just going to cause more agony

yeah.... goldfish are poop machines and 4-6 babies still need to be rehomed

 

[itiwhetu]

make sure to get goldfish plants that they wont eat
if they eat and kill the plants, its just going to cause more agony

yeah.... goldfish are poop machines and 4-6 babies still need to be rehomed

Goldfish never really eat plants not like Silver Dollars. They tend to more graze on the algae so I always like Val. in a goldfish tank, they can run their lips up and down the plant without destroying it.

 

[Attenbruh]

The cause is usually due to bacterial bloom. As the new aquarium goes through the initial break-in cycle, it is not unusual for the water to become cloudy or at least a little hazy. ... Decaying plants or excess food that remains uneaten can also cause the milky water seen in bacterial bloom. - Google

 

[Attenbruh]

there are algae

That may be because of a bacterial bloom in the tank (As I stated above)

 

[Attenbruh]

Are you sure how many are in there. My tank was 65L (17.8G) and I only had 2 goldfish which were a mess

 

[itiwhetu]

Are you sure how many are in there. My tank was 65L (17.8G) and I only had 2 goldfish which were a mess

I think 20 fish

 

[Attenbruh]

I think 20 fish

In the tank?

 

[itiwhetu]

In the tank?

I think there are about 20 fish in this tank. If you count the obscure ones as well.

 

[Attenbruh]

That is far to many, if you can access a fish store you could ask them to look after some for the time being.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

I noticed you didn't mention the ammonia reading, so from that I'll guess that you're using the cheaper sticks, rather than a liquid test kit. API do an excellent one, that includes ammonia measurements and this is one of those must-have investments for anyone serious about fish welfare.

I really can't see how the fish eating the plants will create more agony, apart from damage to the wallet in buying replacements.
'Goldfish' will nibble, but they mainly go for the algae and most damage is caused by their habit of grubbing around in the substrate.
That said, floating plants are a boon and some plants, such as Elodea, are almost dirt cheap.
These plants will help manage the wastes produced by those too, too-many fish.

It's too late now and you've created the bacterial bloom. This should clear up relatively soon.
When you 'cleaned' your filter, et., you effectively killed a load of your beneficial bacteria and it'll take a little time before it grows back to capacity.
You would've killed more bacteria if you didn't condition the water before adding it to the tank.
In future, only rinse filter media in a bucket of aquarium water and always use a water conditioner.

Your algae was a result of too much organic nutrients/waste in the water and too much light. Changing the water will not really manage this, because the causative factors will remain.
Stop overfeeding and cut down on the light, perhaps by covering at least one of the tank sides and add floating plants. More plants generally will reduce algae.

 

[Colin_T]

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day until it clears.

Reduce feeding.

Make sure the filter is running properly and don't replace the filter media/ materials.