whats causing cloudy water after water change

[matt2426]

I know this question has been brought up before but I age and aerate my water for 24 hrs and also add a heater to make it match my tank temp anyway Ive been doing about 30 percent water changes my tank has been cycled for probally 4 to 5 weeks now and everytime I do a water change my tank gets pretty cloudy for an hour of two was wondering if you guys have any suggestion or ideas and will this cause any harm to any fish I have cards in there now no discus yet am planning on getting some very soon and my water readings are ammonio 0 Nitrate 0 Nitrite 0 ph 8.2 I do have a big ph swing from aged water compared to straight out of tap thanks

[Ryan925]

I know this question has been brought up before but I age and aerate my water for 24 hrs and also add a heater to make it match my tank temp anyway Ive been doing about 30 percent water changes my tank has been cycled for probally 4 to 5 weeks now and everytime I do a water change my tank gets pretty cloudy for an hour of two was wondering if you guys have any suggestion or ideas and will this cause any harm to any fish I have cards in there now no discus yet am planning on getting some very soon and my water readings are ammonio 0 Nitrate 0 Nitrite 0 ph 8.2 I do have a big ph swing from aged water compared to straight out of tap thanks

Are you adding conditioner to your barrel ? Are you storing more water than you are changing?

[matt2426]

Are you adding conditioner to your barrel ? Are you storing more water than you are changing?

I add the conditioner into the aquarium right before I add the water and no I'm not storing more water than I'm changing I use everything in the barrel thanks

[dillct]

Chloramines or Chlorine? If you're adding prime or safe, what ppm levels are you targeting with your dosage? I think a lot of people underdose, especially as the directions for these products only target 1ppm where most municipalities can see as high 2-4ppm especially when pipes are flushed or following heavy rains.

[matt2426]

Yes I use prime and use 3 cap worth I have a 125 gallon tank so I use 3 caps worth which on the bottle it says treats 150 gallons is that not enough?

[dillct]

Yes I use prime and use 3 cap worth I have a 125 gallon tank so I use 3 caps worth which on the bottle it says treats 150 gallons is that not enough?

I don't know whether you're treating for chlorine or chloramines and how much is in your source water? The bottle recommends 5mls per 50 gallons which treats 1.2 mg/L chloramine. Have you tested your water before and after treatment?

[matt2426]

I don't know whether you're treating for chlorine or chloramines and how much is in your source water? The bottle recommends 5mls per 50 gallons which treats 1.2 mg/L chloramine. Have you tested your water before and after treatment?

I never have tested my water for chlorine or chloramines I just figured its safe to add prime before a water change I guess I should test for it

[dillct]

I use hach strips for total/free chlorine. Here in Houston I might test upwards of 4ppm one day and nothing the next. Its scary to think what they put in our water. I always dose for the max amount of Safe, which is typically 4 times what Seachem recommends as their standard dose. I know you're using Prime, but I've seen many recommendations here on this site for Safe and its typically at 4 times the recommended dosage listed on the bottle. I don't see why it would be different with Prime. http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...em-Safe-dosing

[bluelagoon]

Sounds like your tank is not fully cycled.No mention on how many gal. and cardinals.Is your bio load big enough to have a good cycle?

[matt2426]

its 125 gallons and 40 cardnials and I'm pretty sure its cycled I got some cycled media from an established tank about a month ago that I added ive had the cards in there for about a month also

[matt2426]

Sounds like your tank is not fully cycled.No mention on how many gal. and cardinals.Is your bio load big enough to have a good cycle?

and the cloudiness only happens right after a water change for a few hours tank is crystal clear now but thanks for the reply I do believe its cycled though

[bluelagoon]

Your tank is cycled for that amount of fish only;if you were to add a group of discus ,it could also cause cloudy water until the BB catches up but not established yet.What I mean by established is when the BB becomes like dental plaque;basically tougher.This can take up to six months.Even chlorinated tap water can be used to clean your sponges.I've been doing this for years in older set ups and it seems not to disrupt my cycles at all.What little bit of ammonia your cards are producing is not enough left in the water for the BB to feed off of,hence the cloudy water.The bio load is not big enough yet to keep the BB fed so it takes few hours to catch up.

[bluelagoon]

Also,your nitrates should never be zero in a cycled tank.

[matt2426]

Also,your nitrates should never be zero in a cycled tank.

Ok thank you for the help much appreciated so would it be safe to add a group of discus or do I need to give the tank more time thanks

[ssevasta]

You could safely add discus but only if you're willing to test for ammonia a few times a day and commit to doing daily 75-100% water changes.