Water Murky

lukes280 · Apr 26, 2010

Ok i did a water change yesterday and the last couple of times i have done it the water has not become 100% clear. It is a white misty colour. i clean the wat once every 1 to 2 weeks but don't clean the gravel untill the end of each month. I was going to do the gravel after school today but not do a water change as i did it yesterday. Any idea

Thanks
Luke

chrisbassist · Apr 26, 2010

How old is the tank and what are your stats?

First thing I think of is bacterial bloom but I'm sure there are plenty of other things it could be. Just need more info.

lukes280 · Apr 26, 2010

ok the tank is around 3 months old and it stats i dont know as dont have a kit but getting one in a couple of weeks. it has occured over the last couple of days so??

Thanks
Luke

chrisbassist · Apr 26, 2010

Could well be bacterial bloom then. Just keep up regular maintenance and it'll go away.

Gilli · Apr 26, 2010

You really do need to do a good gravel vac once a week. If you are not doing this you have a months uneaten food rotting and a months poo lying there polluting the water - not healthy for your fish! It sounds as though you have a bacterial bloom - did you cycle your tank? if you didnt then its because you dont have a sufficient amount of bacteria established on your biological filter to process ammonia etc. If your tank was fully cycled then it sounds like the bacteria cant cope with the overload of poo/uneaten food.

My bet is you didnt cycle your tank if you dont have the equipment to test the water. Read up on the cycling your tank article on here.

Cycling your tank

lukes280 · Apr 26, 2010

OK and my tank has never gone this murky. there is never any uneaten food in my tank trust. my fish are always eat every last bit. Ok well i will clean gravel as well and see what happens

Thanks ever so much for the replies

Luke

Gilli · Apr 26, 2010

You will always have some uneaten food in the tank - little bits of flake food that break off when the fish are feeding that fall down in between the gravel for instance. If your tank is not properly cycled you really do ned to read up on that link I gave you and also buy a proper liquid test kit to test your water quality, because although they may not look it your fish will be suffering.