cloudy water

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lauriezuki

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 4, 2018
Messages
39
Location
N. Illinois, USA
I think we lost our cycle. Our 28 gallon was getting hazy, so we did a pwc. --about 1/3 volume. I added bacteria starter, API stress coat, stress zyme, and Tetra EasyBalance. Next morning the water was so hazy that we can barely see the back wallpaper. Any ideas ? or explanations ? or REMEDIES ? TIA. Laurie
 
We cleaned it, (of COURSE !) ....:whistle::confused::fish1: We have so many guppies (over 100) in a 30 gallon tank. We took all the gravel out so we could clean it easier. It's now bare bottom. We pulled the fish out with about 10 gallons of their water. And used that same water when we refilled the tank' adding new aged water about 15 gal.-we didn't totally FILL the tank at that time.
------------ We NEED to find homes for all these pretty little fish...Know of anyone who wants some ? Lots of them are cobras. with orange tails.We LIKE guppies, but THIS is getting ridiculous.-------
.........TODAY we got our order from Chewy.com which included TWO new AquaClear 110 power filters. (for 2 of our 3 tanks.) Hoping that will help a bit. We have had hazy tanks before, but never THIS hazy. I'm wondering if adding the 'bacteria starter' products starts this haze ? Do you know ? It's not like fish poo can start the haze OVERNIGHT ! and the haze happened overnight. We don't like Dirty Tanks, but when we clean the dirt, we lose the cycle. :banghead: The ONE tank we have (20 gal) with crystal clear water, has junk on the leaves of all the plants..artificial and real...They look yukky, but the water is crystal clear. What a dilemma. Any words of wisdom ? -besides, 'don't DO THAT AGAIN' ? LOL .. TIA...L.
 
Part of your bacterial filter / BB colony was in the substrate so you need to lighten up on the foods for a couple days, 1st off. Maybe skip a day or feed really, really lightly.

The water may clear some when the filter BB can catch up in processing the ammonia.

Check for ammonia and nitrIte and nitrAte to make sure you are in safe zone. If not, do PWC until it is safe again.

Look for a local online group, or state Aquarium Society, lfs, or

This group is having a swap Sunday 3/17 if you are near enough to them
https://www.greenwateraquaristsociety.org/swap-meet-information

here more options
https://www.greenwateraquaristsociety.org/list-of-fish-clubs
 
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You removed the gravel? That's where a lot of your BB resides so it explains the bacterial bloom. Your tank definitely has a load on it. More filtration helps build the BB but idk if I would have removed the gravel at this point. Mute point now.

Do daily water changes of 25-33% until the water clears up. Feed only 4 days a week.
 
Hazy Tank Water

I think we lost our cycle. Our 28 gallon was getting hazy, so we did a pwc. --about 1/3 volume. I added bacteria starter, API stress coat, stress zyme, and Tetra EasyBalance. Next morning the water was so hazy that we can barely see the back wallpaper. Any ideas ? or explanations ? or REMEDIES ? TIA. Laurie

Hello laurie...

I don't think you lost all the bacteria. There's bacteria living on all the surfaces inside the tank. You don't need to vacuum the bottom material to keep a clean tank. You just need to remove and replace half the water weekly and service the filter system every other water change. This way, you just remove the dissolved waste material before there's time for it to build up and negatively affect the fish. I would test the tank water a couple of times weekly and if you see a trace of ammonia or nitrite, change a quarter of the water. This will get the chemistry back into the safe zone for the fish and grow the bacteria colony.

B
 
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