Why Is My Aquarium Water Not Crystal Clear?

[theking]

Aquarium was setup in the beginning of september, aquarium is fully cycled all water parameters are good, 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and nitrates are all in good standing, water changes usually every 3 to 7 days with 25% of the water out, I use either Aqueon water conditioner or the Tetra water conditioner.

29 Gallon aquarium:
5x blue neon tetras
6x black neon tetras
2x hatchetfish (I will be buying more either tomorrow or next week, adding them gradually)
9x ghost shrimps
4x swordtail fry ( a month old, will be giving them away probably this week as well)

I have Crypt wendetiis and Anubias lanceolata, will be buying more plants the next time i visit petsmart as well.
I also have 3 pieces of driftwood that I got from petco a while ago.

I do not overfeed, I feed my fish once a day with somedays they are fed twice a day, all food is being eaten and the food that falls to the gravel gets eaten by my shrimps.

thanks in advance

 

[Tuxyu3]

Did you soak the wood before you added it? Bogwood can release tannins that will discolour your water and could alter the pH, generally speaking it will be harmless to fish.

 

[theking]

No I did not soak anything, I put it in the water as is from petco (they did not seem to have that yellow water problem where that wood was in)

 

[BigFish01]

I would say that its the wood causing it. they probably didnt have the wood in their tank long enough to darken the water. Also their filters run like ten tanks at a time so it would take a lot of tannins to dirty up 2000 gallons or so of water. They do have a filter bag that you add to your filter that will clean your water. I have well water and i used them for a while and it worked really really good. I'm not sure if its recomended from the experts on here or not. but it might help you in your current situation. Cant remember what its called but might be good to take a look. I got mine at petsmart. the petco by me really sucks and the tanks have dead fish in them allll the time.

Anyways I tried to find it on the website but no luck. If I make it out tomorrow I will stop by and take a look so you can try to find it. Its like 13.00 a pouch and lasts for two months. just put the whole pouch in the filter after rinsing it and your good to go!

 

[Baccus]

Seachem will quickly clear your water, but your water looks like it might also have a bit of an algea bloom on the glass. If you rub the glass does a spot get slightly clearer?

 

[BigFish01]

finally found what i was looking for. here is a link. http/www.apifishcare.com/products/Product.aspx?ProductID=90

Worked great for me. worth a shot at least!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Tannins are great for the tetras, especially. There are ways to clear it quickly, but I prefer it. I'm setting up a biotype tank for South American tetras and corys, and once the wood has released its tannins, I'm thinking of using some peat in my filter to keep up the effect.


Water changes will remove the tannins as well. They will come back, but eventually the tannins will slow down. 3 pieces of wood will darken that tank fairly quickly though. My tank is double yours in volume, and it darkened up quickly with two pieces of wood. My 110 gallon also darkened (yellow) with 2 smaller pieces of wood.


Its not a bad thing at all... and regarding the algae... just use a scrudper and suck up what comes off the glass.

finally found what i was looking for. here is a link. http/www.apifishca...px?ProductID=90

Worked great for me. worth a shot at least!

Always put this type of product in your filter AFTER the rest of the media, as this product will also remove ammonia from the water, which will starve your bacteria, causing a cycle.

This product or any "zeolite".

 

[theking]

Baccus,
which seachem product will exactly clear up my water? and what is the recommended dosage?

Bigfish01,
Where should I place that filter media? I am using an Aqueon filter.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It should be the LAST thing that the water flows through before going back into the tank.

 

[BigFish01]

That is a very good point! I didnt realize that would starve the bacteria. They are right. it should be the last thing that the water flows through. what model of aqueon filter are you using?

I had two filters running on my 55gal at the time. I transferred the media from one to the other while I was using it. wouldnt happen to have a second filter you could run for that would you? you can never have too much filtration

 

[theking]

i think its the 30 gallon one, came with the aquarium

 

[BigFish01]

Well like they said it would have to go after the filter cartridge. so it would be the last thing that the water passed through on its way back into the tank.

 

[greenmumma141]

Def. the bogwood, I added a tiny little piece to my tank and it darkened it pretty quickly. I do weekly water changes and that helps, but it still darkens, but less and less with time.

BigFish, it's funny you say that b.c I go to my petsmart for a lot of things (def. not advice though lol) and the petco is closer, but their tanks are all horrible here too! I only use them for emergencies (they're much closer) and the cheap bogwood

 

[theking]

Another question, do I take it out of the bag that it comes in? or place it with the bag?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

What is "it"?