Cloudy Water

[akumastew]

I did the search for Cloudy water, and didn't find what I am looking for. :)

I wasn't able to do a water change for a couple of days due to being out of town on business.

I have a 125 gallon tank.

2 adult Discus
11 Cardinal Tetras
6 BNP
5 Corys

I change 25-30% water daily.

My wife has been feeding fish for a few months, so she knows how much to put in. I feed tetra bits twice a day, and occasional FBS/FBW.

When I got back, if you look from the side of the tank, you can barely see the other end of the tank.

The fish are acting normally, eating well and still doing their mating dances etc.

For a 125 gallon, I am hardly overstocked...and yet, it seems like I may have a bacteria bloom after only two days of skipped water changes. I have been gone for two days in the past and never had the issue.

There is no trace of ammonia or nitrite, but I guess if there was the bacteria would gobble that up quickly.

I have been doing my normal water changes in the 4 days since, and yet the cloudiness doesn't seem to be getting any better.

I do four weekly maintenance on my Eheim Pro 3 2180; but this is two weeks in to the 4 week cycle. So I dont think anything could have been shaken loose in the filter.

I did add the Quickfilter attachment to powerhead 3 weeks ago, but I don't think that could be causing the cloudiness.

Anyone got a suggestion, as too what may have happened. And recommendations on how I would go about fixing it.

Thanks

Stew

[Scribbles]

I would do some massive daily wc to see if that clears it up.

Chris

[akumastew]

Thanks Chris.

As I have to use a mixture of RO and faucet water, I am limited to about 25-30% per day changes.

I will continue with that, and hopefully it will look better soon.

- Stew

[nc0gnet0]

Is this a BB tank or do you have a substrate? If it is indeed a bacterial bloom, one option is a UV sterilzer in addition to a polish pad in your filter. I am curious as to what your nitrate levels are? In other freshwater tanks, dirty gravel is often the culprit here........

[akumastew]

My nitrates are under 12.5ppm.

My test kit only has 0 or 12.5ppm, so the shade is less than 12.5ppm.

I do have gravel, but I vacuum it each day.

There is very little left over food when feeding, although with gravel that is hard to tell.

I have seen very few full length poo particles. But, I do vacuum any poo I see lying around.

I already have a micron filter, if that is what the polish pad does.

I do not have a UV, and could add that without much problem.

- Stew

[Ardan]

I would double check ammonia and nitrites to be safe.

However I think it is a bacterial bloom due to the decrease in water changes that the biocycle is conditioned to. Less water changes = more waste left in the water column. No immediate harm to the fish and it should clear once the bacteria adjust to the levels of waste.

Wc's are good to help stabalize this.

hth
Ardan

[nc0gnet0]

I already have a micron filter, if that is what the polish pad does

Well, yes and no. The polish pad will help remove fine particles, just not near as effective as something like a mag 350 with micron filter. I really think the gravel is the culprit here, are you running a ugf?

[DocB]

First bet would be overfeeding or algae bloom
Also try UV and Purigen-I have gotten "crystal" clear results with it:thumbsup:

[akumastew]

I forgot I made this post.

What I found was this...

one of the filter pads had come loose, and restricted the flow of the filter.

I added 250ml of Purigen.

Cleaned and replaced the filter pad.

1 day and another water change later, the tank iss back to looking normal.

- Stew

[gogoravah]

I am having this same problem, but the water is tented green, so Im guessing algae bloom. Any advice for algae?

[kush]

I am having this same problem, but the water is tented green, so Im guessing algae bloom. Any advice for algae?

Daphnia! Clear up your green water and feed the fish at the same time!

Or Accurel (sp?) (not as much fun).

[Frankr409]

My nitrates are under 12.5ppm.

My test kit only has 0 or 12.5ppm, so the shade is less than 12.5ppm.

I do have gravel, but I vacuum it each day.

There is very little left over food when feeding, although with gravel that is hard to tell.

I have seen very few full length poo particles. But, I do vacuum any poo I see lying around.

I already have a micron filter, if that is what the polish pad does.

I do not have a UV, and could add that without much problem.

- Stew

That UV is a good investment, not only for what it does for green water, but also the pathogens that might exist in the tank.

[Foxfire]

I did the search for Cloudy water, and didn't find what I am looking for. :)

I wasn't able to do a water change for a couple of days due to being out of town on business.

I have a 125 gallon tank.

2 adult Discus
11 Cardinal Tetras
6 BNP
5 Corys

I change 25-30% water daily.

My wife has been feeding fish for a few months, so she knows how much to put in. I feed tetra bits twice a day, and occasional FBS/FBW.

When I got back, if you look from the side of the tank, you can barely see the other end of the tank.

The fish are acting normally, eating well and still doing their mating dances etc.

For a 125 gallon, I am hardly overstocked...and yet, it seems like I may have a bacteria bloom after only two days of skipped water changes. I have been gone for two days in the past and never had the issue.

There is no trace of ammonia or nitrite, but I guess if there was the bacteria would gobble that up quickly.

I have been doing my normal water changes in the 4 days since, and yet the cloudiness doesn't seem to be getting any better.

I do four weekly maintenance on my Eheim Pro 3 2180; but this is two weeks in to the 4 week cycle. So I dont think anything could have been shaken loose in the filter.

I did add the Quickfilter attachment to powerhead 3 weeks ago, but I don't think that could be causing the cloudiness.

Anyone got a suggestion, as too what may have happened. And recommendations on how I would go about fixing it.

Thanks

Stew

You may not want to hear this but a 20 - 30% water change is way too small to ever clear/clean any tank. Even 50% is almost useless.

If your goal is to clear the water, two 75% the same day or one 90% followed the next day by the same. Your water will be clear and your regular 30% should work for a while.

Is your tap water high in Nitrates and/or phosphates?

[Foxfire]

Didn't see this part:

"I do four weekly maintenance on my Eheim Pro 3 2180; but this is two weeks in to the 4 week cycle. So I dont think anything could have been shaken loose in the filter."

Are you shutting down the filter for any long time periods? Changing the filtering media? or in any way doing something to the bio-culture media? Any, some, all of these can really hurt those and cause a cloudy tank. Why so much maintance (four times a week?!) That sounds like way too much work for a filter. I don't need to touch my for a month or more and have crystal clear, perfect water for my discus. I do make a 20% change per day.