cloudy tank

BIGblue · Post by **BIGblue** » 26 May 2003, 02:17

Hello,

As some of you may have figured out by now, I'm having a lot of trouble with my 29 gallon tank. I can't get the tank to clear up.

I have tried just about everything to get rid of the cloudy water. I have been doing 30% water changes about 3 times a week. I got rid of my UGF, and got a sponge filter with a carbon filter tip. I got rid of my gravel and got new gravel. I have 0 ammonia, and the nitrite levels are around .15 (close to 0). The tank is not new. Its been running for a little over 3 years, and this is the first time I've ever had a serious water problem.

Any suggestions or opinions are greatly appreciated. If anyone needs more info, just let me know, and I'll add it.

Thanks

Post by **Barbie** » 26 May 2003, 02:57

The fact that you are reading nitrites, is a sure sign that your filtration is either not able to keep up with the bioload in the tank, or disturbing your previous filtration methods caused a minor "recycle" of the tank. You don't mention the contents of the tank, the nitrate levels of the tank, or the amount of light it gets per day. Those answers would give us more information to work on helping you solve your problem. Daylight that the tank is getting can also be contributing to "cloudy" water.

The odds are good that the condition is caused by an algae bloom, if its been going on for more than two weeks. I use a HOT Magnum filter with a micron cartridge to control most algae problems that occur in the water column. A UV or diatom filter will also work as a mechanical method of cleaning up the tank.

You can also add aeration and not feed the tank for a couple days, and cover it with a blanket. The dying algae will cause an ammonia spike and rob the fish of oxygen if you don't reduce the amount of food in the tank and increase oxygen though, so be careful. This also won't solve the problem that initially caused the bloom, but the odds are good that the disturbance of the biobed when you changed filtration types is to blame.

Hope that helps.
Barbie

BIGblue · Post by **BIGblue** » 26 May 2003, 04:41

The only thing I really changed was the gravel and the undergravel filter.

I am using an Emperor 280 and Rena Air Pump 300 so I don't think filtration or oxygen levels are the problem. The tank is housing a 5" managuense, a 3"jack dempsey, and 1.5" synodontis (The synodontis was a rescue, My friend was going to throw him in the lake so I took him in, He was perfectly healthy). I know the tank is too small for the Managuense, but I've had him for a long time, and I'm not getting rid of him.

The only reason I was even checking nitrite levels was because it comes with the test kit I bought. According to the MASTER TEST KIT from AQUARIUM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. everything is fine. The tank still looks like crap though.

I hope this helps a little more.

BIGblue · Post by **BIGblue** » 26 May 2003, 06:12

BTW: The tank doesn't get a lot of sunlight at all. The only time the tank gets any light is when I turn on the room light, or when I turn on the tank light.

Post by **Barbie** » 26 May 2003, 18:26

If the sole source of filtration before your change over was the UG filter, then it would definitely have affected the filtration when you changed it out. That master test kit doesn't contain a nitrate test, does it? I'm sure oxygen levels aren't a problem. They WOULD be, if you had a sudden die off of free floating algae though, I promise.

You could also try fasting the fish for a few days. That would give the biobed a chance to catch up (which it obviously needs to, since you are getting a nitrite reading at all) and might solve your problem. If the tank isn't getting any natural sunlight, and less than 3 or 4 hours a day of tank light or ambient room light, then algae is probably not the source of your problem.

If this problem is less than 3 weeks old, I'd recommend just being patient and waiting for it to clear up on its own. Reduce the amount of food you're putting in the tank until the bacteria bloom settles down and it will clear up more quickly.

Hope that helps,
Barbie

DeLBoD · Post by **DeLBoD** » 26 May 2003, 19:05

You could get some LIQUISIL GENERAL TONIC to speed up the prosses or even a nitrite remover used for goldfish bowls ,it could help dunno just a thought .
The gravel change will have really hit you're bio system hard and it will take some time to clear up.

Barbie is quite right.

BIGblue · Post by **BIGblue** » 26 May 2003, 19:54

I guess I have no choice but to be patient. Should I continue doing frequent water changes until it clears up (3-4 times a week), or should I slow down on the water changes. I used to do a water change twice a month.

Thanks Barbie, DeLBoD

DeLBoD · Post by **DeLBoD** » 26 May 2003, 23:08

If you are getting a nitrite reading then I think youâ??re half way there because ammonia is being converted to nitrite. (correct me plz if wrong here).
So maybe add some active carbon filtering to clean up the nitrite or just hang on and do 10% a day water change.

BIGblue · Post by **BIGblue** » 27 May 2003, 01:06

I already got some Black Diamond active carbon rocks. The emperor filter cartridges also come with some carbon rocks in them.

The fish seem to be doing perfectly fine. Its weird because there used to be 2 channel cats, 1 managuense, 1 green terror, 2 "common" plecos, and 1 albino clawed frog in the tank and I never had a problem with cloudy water. Now there are only 3 fish in the tank and the water is all cloudy.

I'll keep doing minor water changes until the tank clears up. Thanks again.