I did a search and found this forum, thought maybe you could help?
I'm about to lose my mind with this cloudy/ hazy water. It's like there's a green tinted light diffuser in the glass or something.
I've tried everything. Nothing has made clear up. I even spent $100 on a UV sterilizer and after 4 days, there's been no change. Water changes, gravel vacuuming, cannister cleaning, 4 different types of algaecide. I even tried a 3 day black-out. Nothing has worked.
Here's a little history...
I bought an established 55 gal tank complete with 6-7 fish about 3 months ago. From the first day I bought the tank, I've had green water. The people I bought the tank from said they used an algaecide from time to time, and I didn't think a thing of it.
We filled a 5 gal bucket about 2/3 full of tank water, put the fish in the bucket, removed about 90% of the water from the tank, transported it home, put it on a stand, assembled the filter, filled it with water and it's been greenish/ hazy ever since.
When I first got it setup I read the directions on the algaecide wrong and gave the tank 3 X the amount I should have, I'm an idiot no question. Well, this killed every fish in the tank. I did 4 major water changes, like 40-50%, got rid of the algaecide and replaced the fish.
I now have 9 assorted cichlids and one pictus cat. The cichlids are mostly juvenile. There's one peacock that's about 3 inches long, the rest are 2 inches or smaller. The fish are all perfectly fine right now. The water levels are all spot on. Nothing is out of place. pH, nitrate, ammonia... all of it is at either safe or ideal according to the tests.
I have a Fluvall canister, I do weekly 20% water changes, and vacuum the gravel regularly. Inside the cannister I have 2 activated carbon filters on the bottom, a phosphate/nitrate/ nitrite filter in the middle under a water polishing pad, and the bio stuff on the top. I have a turbo twist UV sterilizer attached to the return line, and the water flow from the Fluval to the sterilizer is set at about 40% of capacity. I also have 2 air stones in the tank. And it's never in direct sunlight. The tank faces south. There is some indirect sunlight though. The light is never on more than 6 hours a day.
I've done a 3 day blackout, used 3 different types of algaecide, have done regularly water changes, nothing has cleared the problem. Right now, after massively cleaning the filter (with tank water not tap) the still tank has a greenish hazy tint. I also took the hoses off and cleaned all the nasty sludge out of them.
I would almost bet my house that in a couple days the tint will darken.
I'm thinking, as a last resort, of selling the tank and joining the circus. Or maybe, there's just a ton of minerals in my water? I use the water from tap to fill the tank. It's softened.
What if I added some plants?
Mommy, make it stop.
Seriously, any pro tips will be met with a great deal of gratitude!
I'm about to lose my mind with this cloudy/ hazy water. It's like there's a green tinted light diffuser in the glass or something.
I've tried everything. Nothing has made clear up. I even spent $100 on a UV sterilizer and after 4 days, there's been no change. Water changes, gravel vacuuming, cannister cleaning, 4 different types of algaecide. I even tried a 3 day black-out. Nothing has worked.
Here's a little history...
I bought an established 55 gal tank complete with 6-7 fish about 3 months ago. From the first day I bought the tank, I've had green water. The people I bought the tank from said they used an algaecide from time to time, and I didn't think a thing of it.
We filled a 5 gal bucket about 2/3 full of tank water, put the fish in the bucket, removed about 90% of the water from the tank, transported it home, put it on a stand, assembled the filter, filled it with water and it's been greenish/ hazy ever since.
When I first got it setup I read the directions on the algaecide wrong and gave the tank 3 X the amount I should have, I'm an idiot no question. Well, this killed every fish in the tank. I did 4 major water changes, like 40-50%, got rid of the algaecide and replaced the fish.
I now have 9 assorted cichlids and one pictus cat. The cichlids are mostly juvenile. There's one peacock that's about 3 inches long, the rest are 2 inches or smaller. The fish are all perfectly fine right now. The water levels are all spot on. Nothing is out of place. pH, nitrate, ammonia... all of it is at either safe or ideal according to the tests.
I have a Fluvall canister, I do weekly 20% water changes, and vacuum the gravel regularly. Inside the cannister I have 2 activated carbon filters on the bottom, a phosphate/nitrate/ nitrite filter in the middle under a water polishing pad, and the bio stuff on the top. I have a turbo twist UV sterilizer attached to the return line, and the water flow from the Fluval to the sterilizer is set at about 40% of capacity. I also have 2 air stones in the tank. And it's never in direct sunlight. The tank faces south. There is some indirect sunlight though. The light is never on more than 6 hours a day.
I've done a 3 day blackout, used 3 different types of algaecide, have done regularly water changes, nothing has cleared the problem. Right now, after massively cleaning the filter (with tank water not tap) the still tank has a greenish hazy tint. I also took the hoses off and cleaned all the nasty sludge out of them.
I would almost bet my house that in a couple days the tint will darken.
I'm thinking, as a last resort, of selling the tank and joining the circus. Or maybe, there's just a ton of minerals in my water? I use the water from tap to fill the tank. It's softened.
What if I added some plants?
Mommy, make it stop.
Seriously, any pro tips will be met with a great deal of gratitude!
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