Dull Water

[daniel63]

:? I have a 55 gallon tank, i've hat it for more than a year now.
But for the past 3 month, the water get very dull after 2 week after the 25% (with new filter) water change. I even tried changing around 80% of the water and new filter (carbon activated) but still 2 weeks later dull water (like brown). I tried the water clear liquids with no results.
Any advise??

Thanks in advance.

 

[Menagerie]

[center:36dbc23154] Welcome to AA, daniel63! [/center:36dbc23154]
What are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates)? How often do you do water changes (25%)? Do you vacuum the gravel during water changes? What types of fish are in the tank? How many? What are there current sizes? How often and how much are you feeding the fish?

 

[daniel63]

4 cychlid (3 in. each)
2 parrot (6 in. each)
2 catfish (5 in. each)
1 shark (8 in.)
2 guramies (3 in. each)
5 baby cychlid (3/4 in. each)
I change the water every 3 weeks
Yes, I do vacuum the gravel
I feed the fish 2-3 times a day
Ammonia = 0 ppm
PH = 7.0
Nitrites = n/a

 

[daniel63]

And 1 plecostomous (8 in.)

 

[Christmasfish]

Well, I will pipe up with the obvious..you are well overstocked..and as your population grows to adult sizes, your tank wil become harder to keep stable and healthy. Half may be adults depending on specie. That leaves the other half.

3 weeks is slooong time between changes with a population at its current size!
Even if your readings stay good for the bacteria, the electrolytes are long since used up out of that water, and how is it oxygenated? A airstone does not replenish oxygen directly and is rather modest in its help for that.
You have 60 inches of steadlily growing of fish. You have messy fish which require MORE then the fish inches /gallon rule of thumb.
You also have a mix of semi-aggressives that will become very explosive in a time not far off.
What KIND of cichlids? Some have way different requirements than others, and some are not semi-aggressive....they ARE aggressive! gourami can become aggressive as well..and they are NOT strictly top dwellers unless you have floating vegetation(silk OR real).
I'll let a cichlid keeper tell you the horrors in store if you have the wrong guys!
(I know I sound like negativity nellie, but it is better to correct things before you have a tank with floaters or stress causing an outbreak that you medicate your tank to square one with.)
You may have had the tank a year , but I am quite certain that all 17 fish were not present all year nor at those sizes....

 

[shawmutt]

Have you added anything to the tank recently?