HELP! I have really cloudy water!

[Hrector0248]

I did a monthly 75% water change and about a day later it turned really cloudy and it have been getting progressively worse it seems like. I bought a uv sterilizer from petsmart and I am waiting for it to come in the mail. Is the cloudy water going to hurt my fish? Any idea what caused the cloudiness and how to treat it??


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[michellev512]

What are your parameters...did you do anything to the filter. Cloudiness sometimes means bacterial bloom or your water got messed up :/


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[Hrector0248]

I changed the filter cartridges about four days before I did the water change.


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[Hrector0248]

I also took a sample of my water the fish store in town and they said my water was perfectly normal.


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[FishayFishay]

Whens the last time you vacuumed your gravel? Maybe during the water change, you poured the water rough

 

[treemanone2003]

What are your parameters...did you do anything to the filter. Cloudiness sometimes means bacterial bloom or your water got messed up :/


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Agree on the bacterial bloom possibility and wanting to know water parameters. This should clear up in a few days.

I changed the filter cartridges about four days before I did the water change.


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More than likely the cause of this. What filter are you running and is there a specific reason you changed them ? HOB's should be rinsed in tank water when doing maintenance and only be changed when they're literally falling apart.

I also took a sample of my water the fish store in town and they said my water was perfectly normal.


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Do you know what they used for testing ? It would be best to have your own liquid test kit on hand as they provide more accurate results.

What do you have for stock and how long has the tank been set up ?


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[Hrector0248]

I vacuumed the gravel as I did the water change. I changed the filter because it was completely black. I don't know what kit they tested with. I have a pleco, a red wag platty, 3 neon tetra, 3 black skirted tetra, 2 peppered Cory catfish, and 2 dwarf gourami. It has been setup sense December.


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[treemanone2003]

Edited post. (Fat finger pushed reply too soon.)

Ok. Chances are that you have not fully cycled and created a bacterial bloom.

I've also just caught something I missed in your first post. You said 75% monthly WC. This needs to be corrected to weekly WC's in the future AFTER your tank cycles. In the meantime, you really need to get a liquid test kit ASAP. I'm hedging bets that your LFS is using test strips and they are FAR from accurate. Ammonia is going to be the biggest issue (right now) and should ALWAYS be at absolute 0. The only way to correct this for now is with PWC's.

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[Hrector0248]

I do a 10-20% water change every week and a 75% water change every 4 weeks. I will get a test kit tonight from the pet store.


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[treemanone2003]

I do a 10-20% water change every week and a 75% water change every 4 weeks. I will get a test kit tonight from the pet store.


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Sounds good. In the meantime it may be helpful to get a 50% WC in beforehand of possible. If not, get the kit and test starting with the ammonia. Any signs of it then a WC is imminent. Example is if your test reads 40ppm, a 50% WC will bring it down to 20ppm immediately. Also test your tap water for everything so you have a base to go by.

Good luck and keep us posted !!


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[Hrector0248]

Will do. Thanks for all the help guys!


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[Hrector0248]

Just did a 10% water change. The water color has turned green throughout the day. The local pet shop didn't have a test kit at the moment and said that they would get one by Wednesday. Uv sterilizer should be here by Friday. If I keep doing 10% water changes is the algae bloom going to hurt my fish??


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[NigelK8485]

It won't hurt your fish, just increase aeration because it can rob your water of oxygen.

When you get the uv sterilizer, it'll start killing the algae and you'll need to keep up with cleaning your filter and depending on the uv you got making sure it remains clean so it doesn't begin to malfunction from being gunked up with too much dead algae.

One thing you should do aside from increasing aeration is turn off the lights. Keep the tank dark, the room dark, windows closed and covered. This will help keep the algae bloom from getting too bad before you get the uv in there.

Also, as was said before, when cleaning your filter just rinse it out in used tank water to preserve the beneficial bacteria, don't replace the actual cartridges unless they are falling apart.
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[treemanone2003]

It won't hurt your fish, just increase aeration because it can rob your water of oxygen.

When you get the uv sterilizer, it'll start killing the algae and you'll need to keep up with cleaning your filter and depending on the uv you got making sure it remains clean so it doesn't begin to malfunction from being gunked up with too much dead algae.

One thing you should do aside from increasing aeration is turn off the lights. Keep the tank dark, the room dark, windows closed and covered. This will help keep the algae bloom from getting too bad before you get the uv in there.

Also, as was said before, when cleaning your filter just rinse it out in used tank water to preserve the beneficial bacteria, don't replace the actual cartridges unless they are falling apart.
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I agree with everything here, 100%. As well, I would like to add that since ammonia levels (and if the cycle is fully complete) are unknown at this point, I would recommend a larger WC. It looks to be a 55g tank and 10% is honestly fairly small given the unknowns. I'd shoot for at least 30% and preferably closer to 50% if not more. It won't hurt. Just be sure to add a dechlorinator as usual. Refer back to post #10 on the breakdown.


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