What is wrong with my tank?!

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Humanis1993

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Mar 20, 2011
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138
I am running a aqueon quiet flow 30(200gph) in my twenty gallon tank and the tank is super foggy. I ran some tests and the ph is 7 the ammonia and nitrates and nitrites are way down yet it is not clear at all. The temp is set at 80. I tried a water change(30%) and it cleared up for a day and went right back to super fog.
 
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As you can see in the second picture you can barely see the other side of the tank. There isn't glare. It's just you see the fogginess
 

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8 months. I've never had this problem before. I do regular water changes and I do gravel cleanings. And the livestock I've actually reduced. But 3 Berta bulbs
1 golden loach
1 pitbull Pleco
1 Bolivian ram
1 white Molly
5 zebra dans

Used to also have 3 bettas included but I recently moved them to a new tank
 
Do you dose ferts? I have noticed when I dose Seachem Comprehensive my water gets cloudy. The only way it would clear is to add charcoal to the filter, but that sort of defeats the purpose of dosing since the charcoal absorbs most of the fert. I just use osmocote plus now.
 
white cloudy water can indicate things like bacterial blooms or bacterial die off. If you just moved some fish out that could be one reason. I also read that algae blooms will cause cloud, but that is usually green or brown. as long as ammonia and nitrite levels are zero, nitates are minimal, and fish are acting normal, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
It's been like this since the beginning of this month is why I am worrying :/
 
bruinsbro1997 said:
What are the exact levels of ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates?

Did you replace any filter cartridges or such like that?

Ya that make it cloudy but for a month idk.
 
I I'd replace the filter cartridge that had the carbon and everything. But I left the bacteria colony part in the filter
 
Yeah don't replace filters until they are literally falling apart. The company tells you to (they want the $$) but you shouldn't. Just take the filters out regularly and rinse them in old tank water, do not rinse them in tap water. The chlorine in tap water will kill the good bacteria on the filter.
 
steez said:
Yeah don't replace filters until they are literally falling apart. The company tells you to (they want the $$) but you shouldn't. Just take the filters out regularly and rinse them in old tank water, do not rinse them in tap water. The chlorine in tap water will kill the good bacteria on the filter.

+1... I too, used to replace my filter cartridges like they "recommend", only to continually lose fish.. I currently have a rena smartfilter 55 on my 20 and the filter media in the tank is every bit of 10 months old... its actually kinda funny because the older it gets, seems like the more stable the water is... just try to run some filter floss or extra carbon for a week or so to clear up the water
 
I don't even use carbon in my filter, due to the fact that it removes fertilizers for my plants. I have a few packs of carbon that I would use if I had to medicate the fish and then remove the medication or something of that nature. For the most part, I think the carbon causes more problems than not
 
Ya apparently ur suppose to rinse it with aquarium water till it's literally falling apart. Then replace it with a new one but use the sleeve part to help the new filter pick up the BB.
 
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