Three filters cloudy water :( Grrrrrr

[mlw]

Got 5 2.5 cobalt blue discus almost three weeks ago. Started out feedng 5 times a day have reduced it to two. Do 50% water changes every other day and use my HOT in between to remove any uneaten food after I feed them.
Tank is a 75 gallon planted (crypts java moss, java fern, hair grass) tank with eco-/flourite mix substrate. There are about 15 to 20 diamond tetras, 5 cories and a clown pleco in there with them.

Water stays cloudy. Two weeks prior to getting the discus I broke the tank down and changed the substrate.

When I broke down tank I drained 50% of original water into two rubbermaid containers. I kept three filters going on the two rubbermaid containers that the fish and driftwood and plants were in. I also seeded two bags of gravel for bout three weeks to make sure I had plenty of nitrifying bacteria.

Kept an eye on nitrites and ammonia and the tank didn't seem to have cycled again.
this is tank two days after substrate change.

http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/38037/2269436560101580664S500x500Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2269436560101580664iCsYGV)

Since I have had the discus and been changing the water every other day the tank is always cloudy even with three filters. Not sure why, nitrites and ammonia 0. I think it is because I unsettle the substrate a bit to make sure there is not food rotting want to make sure there isn't something else going on.

On another note fish don't seem to mind the frequent water changes. They come right to the front of the tank. Those are bubbles from teh water change in the photo.
http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/45745/2034954590101580664S500x500Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2034954590101580664apsqnl)

[smiley]

At first instance it looks like a bacterial bloom but since u mentioned its seeded, other parameters could come into play

would u be dosing any fertilizers?

[mlw]

No haven't been dosing dry ferts. Pretty much have been ignoring the plants and worrying about the discus.

[Bela]

I recently ran through a new setup of a 70 G. Did a fishless cycle with ammonia and a commercial bacterial culture. I ran through a TERRIBLE patch of cloudy water, upped my water changes to 70 - 80% DAILY for a week, and most of the cloudiness is gone. I think it was a bloom in my case. I'm new to discus, and have 9 sub adults growing out. These guys are MESSY EATERS, which puts a lot of cloudiness into the water. Good luck with yours. Lovely fish! - KW

[Bela]

p.s., lovely tank, too! The plants look great. I have a terrible time keeping a planted tank. I lose the algae fight every time . . . sigh.

[joanr]

I'd turn down the lights for a few days, just keep on long enough to keep plants alive, a few hours a day, run the HOT with the Micron filter 24/7 cleaning/rinsing it once a day. Just sounds like a minor bloom, and the extra feeding of the Discus tends to scum the tank real quick. Wipe down inside glass with heavy duty white paper towels, even the parts that are still under water, the towel will not shred if you fold a bunch of it into a square pad. You would not believe the gunk that builds up daily on things like intake tubes and air line hose. Wipe all that down also. Even though the tank is cycled cloudy water is still something that can occur. I have used the Tetra water clarifier on occasion and also people are using the Seachem Purigen to help with water clarity.

[daboo]

Joan,
Are you still having some cloudiness? You might also look at your phosphate level. Levels as low as 1 ppm can drive an algae bloom. I've had to deal with this twice. Now I just keep 100 gm of Phosban in my fluval filter above the carbon and my water stays clear. I find within two days the cloudiness pretty much disappears.

Note that the microalgae that cause the bloom will knock your nitrates down because they use it as a nutrient. The algae do no harm - it's just unsightly to look at. The greater feedings you are doing with introducing the discus can cause the phosphate to increase like this.

[rickztahone]

the thing that stands out that you said is in regards to the bubbles after WC's. if you get bubbles you will need to age your water.

[joanr]

Joan,
Are you still having some cloudiness? You might also look at your phosphate level. Levels as low as 1 ppm can drive an algae bloom. I've had to deal with this twice. Now I just keep 100 gm of Phosban in my fluval filter above the carbon and my water stays clear. I find within two days the cloudiness pretty much disappears.


Who Me! No cloudy water here...it was the OP that I was responding to with a few ideas to correct his problem. But now that I have actually tried the Seachem Purigen I would highly recommend it to anyone for crystal water. Of course I have a BB tank, no plants. Don't know how well it would work in a planted tank.

[Darrell Ward]

My guess it's that dang substrate. :)