Help clearing up water

[Darylb]

My tank is constantly cloudy all water Params seem fine but only really started happening when I added plants :/ what would you suggest I do should I add more filtration to the tank? Or is there a chemical I can add? Also how do I trim this plant it's grown so rapidly

 

[dmolavi]

Looks like an algae bloom of some sort in the water column. What kind of filtration (and how many GPH) do you have currently?

 

[dmolavi]

I would check the following:
1. Phosphate level: Shouldn't be zero for a planted tank, but shouldn't be higher than 1-2ppm.
2. Lighting: How long are your lights on? You might want to consider dialing them back.
3. Feeding: Are you overfeeding your fish? Excess food becomes nutrients for the algae.

For filtration, if your phosphates are high, get a pouch of Seachem Phosguard. It works very well, just make sure to follow the instructions *precisely*. I would also recommend adding a micron filter to your filtration, either a 50 or 100 micron pad will work. I use these on my tanks when needed to polish the water: Coralife Pure-Flo Micron Filter Pads The best part is that they can be washed and re-used, so the packages lasts forever.

 

[Darylb]

It's a 30 gallon internal filter it's only got like sponge stuff inside it I'm thinking about getting a big HOB filter or something like that I got a spare HIB here now but it has sucked up some of my fish cos it doesn't have a guard or anything on it just a straight pipe :/

 

[dmolavi]

It's a 30 gallon internal filter it's only got like sponge stuff inside it I'm thinking about getting a big HOB filter or something like that I got a spare HIB here now but it has sucked up some of my fish cos it doesn't have a guard or anything on it just a straight pipe :/

Yeah, definitely use a HOB. Get a guard for the intake, or put a sponge over the intake from your LFS. That will allow you to run more media in the tank. There is no such thing as too much filtration (I have 2 Penguin 200s on my 56 gallon tank and the water is crystal clear).

 

[Darylb]

I think the other one is a 20 gal filter I was thinking about going like 100gal hob or something also do you know what plant that is in the last pic and how to trim it it's grown from about half way down the tank to curled up on the surface

 

[dmolavi]

I would do at least a 100GPH HOB. Remember that once media is added, the actual flow rate will be lower. I recommend Purigen and Matrix (both by Seachem) along with filter floss (polyfill) and, when needed, those micron pads I linked in my previous post. Carbon is only needed when removing meds from the water column.

Re: the plant...it looks like Cabomba: Aquatic Plants for Freshwater Aquariums: Cabomba

 

[Darylb]

Thanks and yea I think that's the plant

 

[Darylb]

Just done some measuring of my tank it's not a 20 gal it's a 17 I got 48watts of light in the tank and they are on for 10-12 hours a day depending on what time I finish work I had a timer but it didn't work properly maybe tomorrow ill open my blinds and just let them have natural light also if my maths is right I have about 2.8 watts per gallon could that be to much?

 

[dmolavi]

Natural light may be worse, depending on how intense. It could increase the tank temp (esp on a tank that small), and will definitely encourage algae growth.

I'd dial back the lighting (a digital timer is what I use), and get some good filtration going.

 

[Darylb]

Okay thanks ill take it back to maybe 6 hours and increase the filtration ill go to my LFS on Friday and get a new filter ill run my HOB. And internal and then get a third one too