Strange grey color to the water

[Magnum Man]

I’ve had water issues in the past, been adding RO for a while now, and been doing extra water changes, to get my water back to where is should be… but I have one tank that has a grey clouding… most of my tanks have more filtration than average, this tank has an aqua clear 70, plus a full under gravel with 2 power heads, and 2 - 10 inch air bars… I stirred it up a week ago, and it got all cloudy but still hasn’t cleared… I thought maybe it was the ceramic dust from the bio media in the aqua clear, I didn’t rinse it when I added the filter 6 months ago, as I didn’t realize how much dust there was in the ceramic media, it was the 1st time I used ceramic media in a filter… but seems like there is way more cloud, than that filter dust right now there isn’t anything other that the original gravel, which I vacuumed ( I’m changing over the tank right now ) none of my other tanks has ever clouded like this… thoughts???

One of the Oto’s on the glass showing the cloudy water… it’s not been disturbed for a week, and has a seasoned filter( been running continually for at least 6 months )??? the tank has been set up for 6 months with this gravel, & filter and about a year totally

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Looks like a bacteria bloom?

 

[Colin_T]

Need a picture showing the entire tank under normal white light

 

[Magnum Man]

I'll have to grab that tonight, as I'm at work right now... that is a normal white light ( although the black lights that come on for an hour before & an hour after the white lights may still be on, in the picture I attached )

 

[Magnum Man]

Been a week… still grey… center tank in this group… did a 5 gallon water change yesterday… didn’t seem to make any difference

 

[Magnum Man]

I’ll be changing out the gravel as well, when I continue to change over this tank, but what ever is in the water is not filtering or settling out in the “normal” amount of time… it’s been transitioned to mostly RO water right now, and I’ve not added anything to the water, as far as additives or minerals

 

[Magnum Man]

Wondered about the gravel, but it’s a name brand aquarium gravel, and was clear for about 9 months, before I started digging into it… the last picture it’s been undisturbed for a week

 

[Magnum Man]

You can still see a few glo fish, but there are 5 Cory’s that have been doing fine, and a couple Oto’s, a couple dwarf crayfish, and a few pompon crabs, for residents… if that helps

 

[Colin_T]

It could be the gravel or whatever was in it. It should clear u eventually. There's nothing much in there that can cause it so just monitor and do water changes. Hopefully in a couple of weeks it will settle down.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The gravel looks to be covered in algae and it sure looks like a bacterial bloom in the water. The bacteria involved are not the nitrifyiers. They are heterotrophic bacteria. Unlike the nitrifiers which, under optimal conditions, can couble in 8-14 hours, the ones in your water can double rapidly.

What is the reproduction rate of bacteria?

every 4 to 20 minutes

Why it matters: Bacteria are among the fastest reproducing organisms in the world, doubling every 4 to 20 minutes.

https://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=879

Next, often what feeds the bacteria also feeds algae. Something in your water is feeding these living things. The question is what it could be, something in the substrate, the tap water, that you are adding or that the inhabitants are making. The most common cause of the clouding is excess food and for the algae it is excess light. But there are other potential culprits.

If you can figure out the cause, you will be able to solve the problems.

edited for some bad typos- yikes!

 

[Magnum Man]

BTW… the gravel is green… this was my football tank

 

[TwoTankAmin]

OK- then that is one problem you do not have to deal with.

What team?

 

[Magnum Man]

MN Vikings… purple glo fish… way out of my box

 

[Naughts]

Can you clarify how frequently you clean the gravel in this tank? Or has it been left until recently when the cloudy water started?

 

[Magnum Man]

I did fully clean gravel the last 3 times, in preparation for removal, and typically that’s how I do water changes, is with a gravel vacuum … being this was my football tank there were white lines ( solid stainless weld rod, with white silicone tube slid over the top ) to simulate the white lines on a football field, so gravel got vacuumed when it was set up, but working around the white lines… I will admit, that white changing over to RO water, I was doing 5 gallons at a time, every other day, and just siphoning the water out on the opposite side that RO got pumped in, to allow a more gradual blending, of the water for the tenants…
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