REALLY cloudy water during cycling

[laurelhed]

I'm cycling my 20 gallon tank which has been up and running for a while, but I am finally cycling it properly (no fish). I added ammonia up to 4ppm, nitrIte was 5.0ppm, nitrAte at .5ppm. Today it is cloudy as heck and getting cloudier! Ammonia was down to 1ppm, so I dosed back up to 4ppm like I read you're supposed to do. My tank is currently at 84 degrees and gets bright indirect light through a window with opaque film on it. No major algae problem. Hardly see any at all, so light doesn't seem to be an issue right now. I'm guessing I've got a bacterial bloom? Could it be something else? Should I do a water change or try to stop it? Or is this part of cycling?

 

[librarygirl]

Is it a milky white? If so, it's normal. Most cycling tanks get this bloom (mine never did though), it'll clear up on its own.

 

[mohican]

Do you have new substrate added to the tank? This can add a lot of cloudiness too.

 

[Grape]

Mine has just started getting cloudy as well. I had added some aragonite, to help stabilize the pH..but that was about a week ago. Mine's a 20 gal. as well.

If you can, post a photo.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

It sounds like a bacterial bloom. Harmless.
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/246850-bacterial-blooms-explained/

 

[laurelhed]

Yes, milky white. I guess it's just a bacterial bloom. I read the article from the link Mumma of Two sent, and it explained it very well. I'll just sit tight and wait for it to settle down.
Thank you all!

 

[laurelhed]

All Right!!! Tank is fully cycled! Hooray! Now, can I add fish with this bacterial bloom going on?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I would wait until its cleared and then you can be positive it's stable for the new fish.

 

[librarygirl]

How long have you been cycling with ammonia? Did the nitrite rise and fall? Is ammonia falling to 0 after 24 hours? It seems like it happened fast so I was just wondering although maybe you've been cycling longer than you implied in the post. How high are your nitrate?

You could do a 100% water change with dechlorinator and keep dosing ammonia for a few days. That might help with the cloudiness too. If ammonia and nitrite stay at 0 and the tank stays clear then do another large water change, drop the heater down, and get some fish.