Cloudy water?

[Mustangman11224]

Hey all my water has been a bit cloudy lately not noticeable from a front view, but when looking through my 36 gal length wise it's noticeable, and when my blue led light comes on at night... my daytime lights are only on about 10-12 hours... in fact today i left them off all day to see if it would clear up. my filter media is a month old and was very dirty when I rinsed it for the first time today (with the tank water) my tank has no noticeable algae and is a little over a month old... Fish in cycle is in progress and I do water changes every two days... Nitrites 0 nitrate 10-20 ppm ammonia is usually .25-.50. I do a vacume of all the gravel every 2 days... Except under my driftwood log it is wedged in-between the glass so I cannot get under it. Any thought to what I should do? Should I put new filter media in? O and one last thing... I have been feeding my pleco cucumber and squash everyday.. But it is only in there for about 12-14 hrs before I take it out and add a new price. And I have two aquatic plants...( Small)
Thanks for the help
Dan

 

[armymp327]

water is cloudy due to a bacterial bloom because your tank is still cycling, will go away once the cycle is complete

 

[simplicitysarah]

someone suggested that I put carbon filters in my HOBs, and if that didn't clear it its bacterial bloom... the carbon cleared mine.. but 2 days and just a hint of cloudiness

 

[Mustangman11224]

Ok thanks I'll try the carbon.

 

[Melba]

Did you soak or boil the drift wood before using it in your tank? If not tannins might be coming from the wood which will cause the water to look yellow/brown. It is not harmful to your fish.

If the water isn't yellow/brown, it's most likely a bacterial bloom just as armymp327 said earlier.

Also keeping your fish tank lights on for more than 6-8 hours a day can encourage unwanted algae growth (I learned the hard way because I loved having my fish tank light on).

 

[armymp327]

Ok thanks I'll try the carbon.

if you try the carbon and it as no effect (im guessing it wont) then it is most likely a bacterial bloom.

you can also take some tank water into a white Styrofoam cup under some good light and look to see if the water has a green tint to it. If it does then it would be algae

but since you are cycling im sticking with bacterial bloom which is normal

 

[gravereaper0]

water is cloudy due to a bacterial bloom because your tank is still cycling, will go away once the cycle is complete

+1 on that, don't waste your $$ on carbon just yet, wait for the cycle to complete.

 

[Mustangman11224]

I did soak the driftwood for a week and a half... When in the clear tank the water looks clear but cloudy .. when I syphon it into my white bucket it's yellowy brown so I probably didn't soak the driftwood for long enough... Also my filter media was very dirty, like dark brown I rinsed the outside on both sides but is still is brown is this ok or does it need to be changed... After rinsing it(with tank water) and reinstalling it all this fluff that looked like the filter outside started floating around... It's only a month old but I was told to rinse not throw out... How long Till a filter change is required?

 

[gravereaper0]

I'm assuming you're talking about the sponges. It'll take years before they completely fall apart, at least that's what I read. And they'll never be as white as the day you bought em. As far as the driftwood, it definitely takes longer then a week and a half to leech out the tannins. Also a cup of water softener salt per 10 gallons is recommended to kill anything in the wood. How big is the piece? Maybe you can just boil it.
And get some carbon to get the tannins out of your tank water.

 

[Mustangman11224]

I am using bio bags well the aqueon brand... idk if tht changes anything... I'm getting a canister filter soon lol maybe in 2-3 weeks.. As far as the driftwood one is a log and the other is a small tree like thing so I cannot boil them Idt... They have been in the tank now for over a month idk if it still would need boiling after being submerged for that long... Or would it?

 

[gravereaper0]

Yea those are a nightmare, my 20 gallon came with an aqueon and those things would clog in a week.
Since the wood has already been in for a month just leave em in. I would highly recommend the can filter asap, and run it and your HOB at the same time so the bacteria can colonize the new media.
Just do water changes for now to get rid of the tannins.

 

[Mustangman11224]

Ok thank you And yea I'm ganna hopefully get it in a week or so.. Since my tank is in-cycled I have been doing 40% water changes every two days. So hopefully it will go away lol.

 

[Ian086]

Don't bother with carbon, I only use for odors and removing Meds. Only vac your gravel weekly, one half one week and the other the next week. For your HOB, polyfil is brilliant for keeping your water clear, although it will NO effect on a bloom.. The only thing that removes a bloom is a UV filter and personally I don't use them. Even water changes won't fix a bloom. Apart from the UV, only time will fix a bloom. It'll 'burn' itself out in a about 2wks. Nothing to worry about, it's very common in a new tank.....

 

[gravereaper0]

His driftwood is still leeching tannins, carbon removes that

 

[Ian086]

His driftwood is still leeching tannins, carbon removes that

I thought his issue was cloudy water??

 

[gravereaper0]

Haven't read the whole thread did ya

 

[Ian086]

Haven't read the whole thread did ya

No, I was just answering his original question....

 

[Mustangman11224]

Ok well thank you everyone for the help this is greatly appreciated and definitely helped me understand what my options are!!! Thanks