Cloudy Water

[Samgaz]

Hi,
I've been doing frequent water changes in my 90g tank but the water seems to be getting cloudy. Kind of like when you first set up a tank. My tap water is filtered and this hasn't happened to any other of my tanks. But I don't change the water in those tanks as often.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks
Sam

Oh ya....all my tank are planted

[White Worm]

Do you use a water conditioner like prime that handles chlorine? Have you tested your tap water? With a large water change and no conditioner, you could be knocking back your bio a little depending on what they treat your tap water with.

[Samgaz]

I haven't been useing conditioner for every water change due to the fact that the the water is already cleaned of all chlorine (water softener system) and is tested annually. But if I need to add water conditioner, I will start right away.

I also have Multi-purpose Bio-Support. Should I use that too?

Both these products I have are "Big Al's" products. Is that an OK brand?

Thanks
Sam

[Samgaz]

Still need help. Water is still cloudy.

Using conditioner and bio-support.

Today I bought new chemicals "Prime" and "Stability" also a new test kit. Just finished testing water. Everything tested good but the ph was 7.4 Is that too high? If it is too high how could I lower it?

[judy]

Ph is fine, if that's what the Ph always is. Discus don't need low Ph so much as they need stable Ph.
You should use Prime with all water you put into the tank.
It sounds like a minor bacteria bloom which can happen with new water, but shouldn't if your biofiltration is up to snuff.
What filtration do you have, and how do you clean it? If you are rinsing your filter media out in tap water, you're wrecking your biofilter. Rinse your media in a little water siphoned from the tank. If you're replacing your media completely very frequently, you're removing the established biofilter and your tank will just keep going through mini-cycles.

[Samgaz]

Thank you Judy,

You're a big help. I feel alot better. I use a Rena canister and 2 sponge filters. I rinse the sponges in tank water but wasn't using Prime for WC. But I will be starting tomorrow.

The info about the ph was very helpful. I was kind of worried.

Thanks again Sam

[Samgaz]

Hello, It's me again

I've been doing my daily water changes.
I've been adding "Prime"
I've been adding "Stability"
I've been testing my tank water

and still the water is cloudy.
Been about a week now

The fish seem pretty happy.
Plants are doing fine.

How long should it take to get clear water again? The water was crystal clear before this happened.

Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks in advance
Sam

[BSW]

Same thing was happening to me. Water tested good, fish weren't stressed, I do tons of water changes but, just could never get it really clear. And never figured out why either !
But I added a Magnum Hot 250 water polisher to the tank, and now the water is so clear it looks like it isn't even there !
B

[ed8t]

Is there any way that you can check the turbidity levels from your water supply?

Our city tests drinking water for cloudiness, or turbidity. Cloudy water is created when fine particles like sediment or organic matter wind up in the reservoirs through heavy rainfall. Other causes of turbidity can be construction or changing of pipes, high water flows due to a fire or flusher truck filling, or high flows due to hot weather.

When turbidity levels are high, say greater than 1ppm, I expect some cloudiness right after a water change. Settles down after a couple of days if I let it, but they get daily water changes so they stay somewhat cloudy. The tanks that get once a week changes are cloudy for a couple of days, then crystal clear after that.

[Samgaz]

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeees...............FINALLY

I was getting so upset about the cloudy water, that I was pretty much asking people walking down the street for help....lol.

Went to MOPS (Mail Order Pet Supplies) to pick up some supplies. The guy there ask me a couple of questions and figured I had algae in the water and since I was doing daily water changes it never had a chance to turn green.

He recommended a UV sterilizer. So I bought one. at this point I was willing to try anything.
The water started to clear up by the next day. By day 3 the water was crystal clear.

By the way the prices there are really good..if anyone lives in this area.

Thank you all for all the help.
I ended up learning alot about my tank in the process.
Thanks again
A very happy Sam :D:D:D

[Nocturno13]

What brand/model UV sterilizer did you get?

[Samgaz]

The Turbo Twist X3
The replacement bulbs are about $40 but I found them really cheap on Ebay