Cloudy water ??????

[crshnbrn]

My tank has been up for 6 months water always crystal. I have a 55 gal with an aquaclear 500 and a pair of aquaclear 4000 powerheads on the side (filters in the middle). Also running airstones under the powerheads to really shake up the surface. Lately my tank water has been slightly cloudy.. I am doing 25% water changes a month as always and my water levels are great amonia ph nitrites nitrates and all that good stuff. I did a water 10% water change 3 days ago and it looks the exact same. Ive got 2 blue gouramis a flame dwarf 3 neons 2 rainbow bosemani a pleco a cory cat and 2 rainbow pristella. Any help would be great, i saw a bunch of water clarifiers at my lfs but does this stuff really work? Any help would be great. tia shawn

 

[Allivymar]

Clarifiers tend to clump the microscopic stuff together so its heavier and falls to the substrate. Doesn't get rid of it tho; its still in the tank.

What sort of cloudy? Whitish? Greenish? Diff colors will have diff underlying reasons. And what are the exact parameters? When did you last check them?

 

[Zic]

maybe algae on the glass front? Put your finger in the tank and make a line on the glass. If it comes clean, you just need to buy an algae pad (looks like a dishwashing scrubber) and clean it.

 

[azn dreamer]

It's probably a bacterial bloom...have you added in anything new to the tank lately?

 

[TankGirl]

I would recommend stepping up your water changes. Do you have zero ammonia and zero nitrites? That will tell you if you are undergoing a mini-cycle. Overfeeding can cause cloudiness, which will offset the balance. I personally do 25% twice a week, which is for a slightly heavier stocked tank than what you have, but I would at least do it every two weeks. You can't hurt anything and it can only help.