Cloudy water

[treedae]

I've recently started up a new tank and in attempting to get my GH and KH up, I've added a filter bag with Calcium Carbonate to my filter. Unfortunately, even though I thoroughly rinsed the CaCarbonate of all loose debris, I fear it is what is causing an increasing cloudiness to my tank. My GH and KH have slowly climbed (from 1 to 2 for both over about 1 wk.....my goal is 5-6), but I'm really annoyed with this cloudiness to my tank and would like to get rid of it. Any suggestions?

 

[krap101]

have you checked your ammonia nitrites, nitrates? that could be it. also could be an algae thing, or bacteria bloom. for the ammonia etc a couple a water changes over the next few days should fix it. for the bacteria/algae i think your suppose to stop feeding/feed less and cut off the food supply or put a blanket around it and dont feed em for a couple o days.

ive never had algae blooms/bacteria blooms so personally i dont know how to handle them. and dont quote me on this cuz im not 100% sure. most of my cloudy water is frmo my sand time to time.

anyway what color is the "cloud"

 

[treedae]

ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are all 0-0.125. It doesn't look to be algae and I was initially "hoping" it was a bacteria bloom. I'm thinking it's not because it's been around for about a week now. My feeding habits are on the skimpy side (they usually clear the food I give them in < 1 min), so that coupled with my nitrite/ate and ammonia levels convince me this isn't a problem.

The "cloud" is white (which is why I'm attributing it to the Ca Carbonate)

 

[krap101]

do you have sand?err driftwood would make it yellow, algae greenish, and bacteria i think yellow 2. hmm do you have hard water?

 

[treedae]

No sand, just regular gravel. No driftwood either. No, my water is very soft......my GH is just 2 (is 1 right out of the tap).

Has this happened to anyone else? What other options do I have for making my water harder?

 

[TankGirl]

Specifically, what are each of the readings for ammonia and nitrite?

Also, new setups often experience a bacterial bloom and I really doubt the crushed coral is responsible. Those particles are too heavy to stay suspended in the water. I use this in the filter of several of my tanks and I have not had this problem, so I suspect it is coincidental.

If you have any traces at all of ammonia or nitrite then you just do water changes to keep the levels down until the cycle is complete - the cloudiness will resolve itself and though it is unsightly it by itself is not harmful to the fish, though ammonia and nitrite are.

Good luck!

 

[treedae]

I just rechecked and my ammonia is between 0 and 0.125 ppm. Nitrite is 0. Are these normal levels during a bacterial bloom?

Also, my initial level of cloudiness got even worse after I increased the amount of Ca Carbonate in my filter bag. Do you really think this is still coincidental?

 

[TankGirl]

Your ammonia should be dead, flat zero, so there is no doubt the tank is cycling, and cloudiness is related to that, rather than the cc, in my experience.

All I can tell you is that I have never had cloudy water with crushed coral and I do not rinse it. I put in the bag dry, put it in the filter (the dusty particles are something I want in my tank to help do the job) and for a minute or less there is a cloudy burst coming from the filter but this rapidly sinks and disappears. Just my experience - others might have different reports.

 

[Meiko]

I've heared many reports of white clouds appearing in a tank after using stress zyme. Have you added anything like that to the water?

 

[treedae]

No, I haven't added any chemical treatments to my aquarium except some pH Down, but that was about 2 wks ago.

 

[krap101]

hmm. we probally wont figure out like this. i think you should do like 30-50% water changes until it goes away.

hmm wait if your cycling your tank right now try and keep the ammonia between
4-6 and the nitrates under 40 ppm

 

[treedae]

So I woke up this morning and my tank is crystal clear! oh and

Thanks for all the help and you were both dead-on tank girl and krap