Really Cloudy Water

[breeks]

My daughter's 70L tank has 5 guppies, 1 Platy and 2 Molys - planted with a mix of artificial and real plants.

Water levels are testing healthy for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate.

Over the last week the water has got progressively cloudy to the point that you can't see the back of the tank from the front.

I did a 30% water change on Satuarday, changed filter media and things haven't gotten much better.

Water had a green tinge when I changed it a couple of days ago.

I assuming it's an algae issue?

The tank gets natural light during the day so I've asked my daughter to keep curtains drawn and use LED lights for a max of 8 hours to see if things die down a bit.

Any other ideas? More frequent changes? Was thinking of putting in a second filter to get the water churning a bit more......not sure if that woudl help things??

Any advice much appreciated!

 

[Avel1896]

Hey

Any picture ?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to TFF.

How long has the tank been set up? Is it cycled? What kind of test kit and water conditioner do you use?

Changing out the filter media can cause serious issues, if the tank is not well established.

 

[breeks]

Thanks for replies....picture attached.....tank has been running since mid-December.

Using Seachem Stability water conditioner and a Master Test Kit from API.

 

[breeks]

When I say changed media - I've kept the "bio balls" in the filter but switched out the actual filter material.

 

[Avel1896]

I tend to a bacterial bloom. Harmless. Waterchanges (same temp. and parameters) until it stabilizes.

 

[Byron]

This appears to be "green water" though it is not easy to tell if the green is due to a film of algae on the tank glass...?? But you are there to see first hand, so take out a glass or jar (clear) of water and see if it is green and if it is definitely the water then it is green water. This is caused by unicellular algae in the water that appear due to light and nutrients being in excess. Light you can control by having the tank light on for a shorter period each day--and using a timer so it is consistent every day does really help as it benefits the plants and algae is somewhat thwarted. You can go down to seven hours, and then to six if necessary. But the nutrient aspect is also important.

I know the fish are small now, but this is pushing the biological system in this small a tank. But it might also be overfeeding. It is a common misconception that fish need feedings every day, and food manufacturers all say several each day--nonsense. Fish can go a week, two weeks, three weeks without food and not starve. Except for fry and sometimes settling in new smallish fish, I only feed once a day, and one or two days each week is a "fat" day--the day of the water change is a good fast day.

And re water changes, these must be once a week, and substantial, 50-70% of the tank volume. You can dig the water changer into the substrate to pull out organics. Also keep the filter well rinsed. All the brown gunk you see is organic matter and this feeds the plants (somewhat) but also encourages algae when it becomes more than the few plants need.

Daylight is a real issue with green water...reduce the ambient daylight in the room as much as you can, and never have direct sunlight. I found that the longer and brighter days in summer were enough to increase problem algae in my tanks, and blocking the windows (easy to do in a dedicated fish room) solved that.

BTW, Seachem Stability is not a water conditioner, it is some sort of bacterial supplement, but not needed. The less stuff like this entering the tank, the better for the fish.

If the water is not green, then it is a bacterial bloom. This too is due to excess organic matter, so much of the above is still relevant for solving it.

 

[breeks]

When I did the water change at the weekend the water I was pouring down the drain was green - so will tell my daughter to keep curtains drawn when she's away at school and will put the tank lights on a timer, how long is resonable? 6 - 8 hours per day?

Feeding every second day at the moment....sounds like I should be pushing this out to every 3rd / 4th day?

I was nervous going up to 50% water changes, I guess I was naively thinking that the water contains the precious bacteria required for the cycle - assume larger volume of water change will lead to clearer water?

 

[Avel1896]

In case of green water, add daphnias that in addition to clear your water will be a good live food for your fishes.

 

[Byron]

When I did the water change at the weekend the water I was pouring down the drain was green - so will tell my daughter to keep curtains drawn when she's away at school and will put the tank lights on a timer, how long is resonable? 6 - 8 hours per day?

Six hours of "daylight" which means tank lighting to provide the day period for plants is OK. A couple members here went down to five hours. I have my tank lighting at seven hours, and problem algae was stopped for five-six years now. Have the light photoperiod on for the usual time your daughter is home to view the tank...no point it the light being on during a schoolday and off from evening on. So long as there is ambient light in the room when the tank lighting comes on and goes off (this to avoid serious stress to the fish from sudden light changes) the 6 or 7 hours can be any continuous period.

I was nervous going up to 50% water changes, I guess I was naively thinking that the water contains the precious bacteria required for the cycle - assume larger volume of water change will lead to clearer water?

Bacteria (with one exception) lives on surfaces, not in the water. It is part of the sticky biofilm, so it does not come off with rinsing either. Provided the water parameters--and here we mean the GH, pH and temperature--of tank water and tap water are reasonably the same, you cannot change too much water and it will benefit. Dig into the substrate for the organics, etc. Water changes will help green water by removing the unicellular algae and the dissolved organics that cause it.

I wouldnot reduce feeding further, in terms of days, but watch how much is fed each time--it need not be much. The food for most upper fish (substrate feeders are different) should be gone well within a minute.