Cloudy Water - so annoying!

[Yassmeena]

My tank completed it's cycle over 2.5 months ago, and has had cloudy water ever since. It looks foggy, without clear visibility. It's a BB with some plants in a pot. I do daily 25% WCs.

Does anyone know what might be causing this, or how to resolve it? I'd love to hear peoples experiences and feedback...

Also, has anyone tried Seachem Clarity? Is this something I should consider?

Thanks!

Yasmin

[waters10]

My tank completed it's cycle over 2.5 months ago, and has had cloudy water ever since. It looks foggy, without clear visibility. It's a BB with some plants in a pot. I do daily 25% WCs.

Does anyone know what might be causing this, or how to resolve it? I'd love to hear peoples experiences and feedback...

Also, has anyone tried Seachem Clarity? Is this something I should consider?

Thanks!

Yasmin
Hey, Yasmin.

2 solutions that are usually suggested on this case is diatom filters or magnum with micron cartridge.

I currently run a magnum HOT with the micron cartridge to get clear water. I have 2 cartridges that I replace every 3-4 days. Those are reusable, by putting them on a bleach solution overnight. It works pretty good, but it's one more maintenance thing you have to do on your tank. Never used diatom filter, so I can't comment on those.

[gwrace]

You might want to describe your tank size, filter configuration etc. In most cases that I have seen cloudy water is a bacteria bloom that is short lived after a new tank is setup. I seem to deal with cloudy water and brown diatom algae for the first 3-4 months after a new tanks is setup. After that all conditions stabilize and water is crystal clear.

[waters10]

I forgot to say that it's probably better to find the root cause. The solutions I mentioned are to polish the water. And although they would solve your problem, they might mask another problem you might have there. I wonder if this is related with your past water problems.

[Yassmeena]

Hey, Yasmin.

2 solutions that are usually suggested on this case is diatom filters or magnum with micron cartridge.

I currently run a magnum HOT with the micron cartridge to get clear water. I have 2 cartridges that I replace every 3-4 days. Those are reusable, by putting them on a bleach solution overnight. It works pretty good, but it's one more maintenance thing you have to do on your tank. Never used diatom filter, so I can't comment on those.


I forgot to say that it's probably better to find the root cause. The solutions I mentioned are to polish the water. And although they would solve your problem, they might mask another problem you might have there. I wonder if this is related with your past water problems.

Thanks Fabricio. I am not looking to add any more work to my maintenance routine though. :o

I also don't think it has to do with the degassing water. That causes cloudiness, but a different kind. More like diffuse bubbles all over the tank. This is more foggy.

I am definately with you on finding the root of the problem! Thanks for suggesting it. :)



You might want to describe your tank size, filter configuration etc. In most cases that I have seen cloudy water is a bacteria bloom that is short lived after a new tank is setup. I seem to deal with cloudy water and brown diatom algae for the first 3-4 months after a new tanks is setup. After that all conditions stabilize and water is crystal clear.

3-4 mo's? I have heard of new tanks being cloudy. But I didn't know it was for that long!

Do other people have the same experience?

Thanks everyone!

Yasmin

[tcyiu]

I forgot to say that it's probably better to find the root cause.

Agree. Whether you mechanically filter it out or use chemicals, it will continue unless you get to the root cause.

It does not sound like gas bubbles because those WILL dissipate in a few hours.

If you do have a bacteria bloom, one possible cause is that there may not be enough filtration media surface area to hold all the bacteria that has grown to feed off the available waste. What I did in my case was to add a bunch of ceramic rings to my canister and my bloom cleared up in a couple of days.

You can try adding a sponge filter with a lot of surface area, or add driftwood that that provide a lot room for the bacteria to hold onto.

Tim

[Yassmeena]

Agree. Whether you mechanically filter it out or use chemicals, it will continue unless you get to the root cause.

It does not sound like gas bubbles because those WILL dissipate in a few hours.

If you do have a bacteria bloom, one possible cause is that there may not be enough filtration media surface area to hold all the bacteria that has grown to feed off the available waste. What I did in my case was to add a bunch of ceramic rings to my canister and my bloom cleared up in a couple of days.

You can try adding a sponge filter with a lot of surface area, or add driftwood that that provide a lot room for the bacteria to hold onto.

Tim

Ok - I'll add more media. I already have a peice of DW in the tank.

I am really curious to hear from others on whether it takes that long for the water to clear up from a new tank.

Thanks all!

Yasmin

[fishorama]

Could it be algae? Sometimes green water type algae can look white in the water but usually a little greenish in the filter. I use filter floss or the WM polyester pillow stuffing in the filter to get very fine particles but it may clog fairly quick. If it's bacteria floss will help too both mechanically & as another place for it to grow.

[DiscusKeeper403]

Are you feeding beefheart or any mixes?

[Yassmeena]

Are you feeding beefheart or any mixes?

I am feeding BH yes. Why do u ask?

[vss]

Hi Yasmin, do you use direct tap water or you store the water before W/C? If possible, age your water for more than 14 hours, do more than 40% W/C per day, clean your filter and put new activated carbon in both your storage tank filter and main tank filter, stop feeding. See if this helps after two days. If not, I guess it could be some microbe problem like microalgae in your tank that makes it cloudy. In this case, very large W/C or even sth like the clarity might be needed.

If it is because lots of bubble-like stuffs in the water or even on the tank walls, first check your local water, try to age it before the W/C. Also check the outlet of your canister filter. Sometimes due to air leakage, the filter outlet can keep spraying out very fine bubbles.

HTH.

-Xiaofei :)

[Spardas]

I'd also go with what vss suggested and increase the % of water change with aged water.

How's that aging barrel coming along? I'm sure once you start changing a lot more water, the water will clear. Throw in another sponge into the tank too, :D.

[DiscusKeeper403]

Just another thing to think about. My seafood mix really seems to cloud the water, especially if any of it is left uneaten. A huge water change clears it right up of course. Maybe try doing a 100% water change with aged and tank temp. water and holding off on feeding your mix for a few days to see if it helps. I wouldn't really recommend feeding a mix as a staple (if you are) if you are only doing 25% w/c daily anyways.

HTH

[Skillet_007]

Hey yasmin, I have had this problem before too. With me it has always been bacteria. It has happened to me with small and large tanks. In the larger tanks (my 125 for example) it lasted several months, even with twice a week 50% water changes. I fixed the problem by adding more filtermedia. In HOB filters I rarely use carbon cartridges but just put plain ol' floss pads back there that I rinse off once a week, of course I alternate that. After I started putting more bio media in the tanks, it cleared off quickly. I have had this happen in a couple established tanks a few times also, when I neglected my responsibilities too :embarassed: lol, so if that ever happens after the cloudiness goes away, it could be a sign of routine maintenance. Hope it helps!

Skillet

[diamond_discus]

Just another thing to think about. My seafood mix really seems to cloud the water, especially if any of it is left uneaten. A huge water change clears it right up of course. Maybe try doing a 100% water change with aged and tank temp. water and holding off on feeding your mix for a few days to see if it helps. I wouldn't really recommend feeding a mix as a staple (if you are) if you are only doing 25% w/c daily anyways.

HTH

+1 here ... If you are feeding BH mix, you need to do large WC. I do 90% WC every other day and it's not even enough to keep it really clean. Perhaps you can try to do a big WC, then stop feeding BH for a couple days and see if your water is still cloudy ... How much filtration do you have for your tank? Do you have a prefilter ?

Overfeeding is another possible cause for cloudy water.

Don't add any chemical until you figure out what is causing the cloudiness.

[Yassmeena]

Hey all,

I started feeding BH only recently, and the cloudiness was there before the BH.

I have not setup my aging system yet, I've been busy with exams and probably won't get to it till the summer. :o

I am however, doing a couple experimental things. I am turning the tank lights off for several days. If the water clears up, I'll assume it was green water.

If not, I'll stop the BH for a week. If it clears up I'll assume it's BH and that I need to up my WCs.

If not, I'll add more filter media and see if that doesn't help.

Thanks for your help. I'll post results here over the next couple weeks.

Yasmin

[Arjunpun]

Aging the water worked for my new tank. Try it

[gwrace]

Adding nylon scrubbing pads to any filter can greatly enhance bio filtration. I have them in my HOB and canisters.

[ExReefer]

Maybe too frequent water changes on a newly established tank? You could be causing mini-cycles with each change.

A few months ago I swaped out my substrate for sand and did a major water change. I'm certain this caused the tank go through the cycle process again as my water was cloudy for a week (despite additional water changes). I stopped the water changes for a bit and the water cleared up.

[Wahter]

How much lighting do you have over the tank - I thought you had a lot light on one tank? If you have a lot of light, but not many plants, you could be creating conditions ripe for algae.



Walter