Cloudy 40 Gallon Tank

[40galreef]

I have been struggling with cloudy water in a 40 gallon planted tank the past couple weeks. The tank is about 6 months old and livestock is as follows: 4 Cherry Barbs, 2 dwarf cichlids, a pleco, and 4 corys. The tank for the most part is algae free, and is lightly planted. I recently cut back a lot of java moss, but this didn't help the clarity. Water changes only have a temporary effect. It is set up with a wet/dry filter, which I have cleaned and maintained through this process. All the fish seem very healthy, but the water is very cloudy. I need help!

 

[40galreef]

Any ideas?

 

[tiger terror]

Do you have a test kit? Would be helpful to see your parameters...plenty of members here who can give ya some insight on what may be going on with your tank...

 

[40galreef]

Do you have a test kit? Would be helpful to see your parameters...plenty of members here who can give ya some insight on what may be going on with your tank...

They are all good. Ph-7.2 hardness- 150

 

[Donkey Gun]

What about the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates? What color is the cloud?

A picture would be useful!

good luck!

 

[luvlife23]

If all of your levels are where they should be then maybe you can try using Seachem Purigen...it is great at polishing off water clarity. Again, this will only cover up the problem of one exists, so please check and doyble check your water parameters to ensure there are no actual.issues in the tank aside from the clowdy water itself.
Happy Fish Keeping!

 

[40galreef]

The ammonia, trate, and trite are 0. Here is a pic. I did I big WC today

 

[tiger terror]

The ammonia, trate, and trite are 0. Here is a pic. I did I big WC today

Could be a bacteria bloom,if that's the case you could be in a mini-cycle...curious are you using a liquid test or test strips?

 

[Donkey Gun]

How long do you keep your lights on?

 

[40galreef]

I use strips (I know), and the lights are on about 12 hours

 

[tiger terror]

I use strips (I know), and the lights are on about 12 hours

Ok so you know about strips&how their not trust worthy(also have a short shelf life)...also reduce your lighting between 6-8,use a timer to keep things regular as well..if you know someone with liquid test or a lfs near by I'd have em test your water for you..or even better if you purchase one(amazon $20)it would be a good start...,

 

[Rivercats]

One other quick question but on the pics is that a haze or algae around the outer parts of the java fern? Tank lights in a planted tank only need to run 6-8 hours a day. I can see the haze and if it's whitish and returns shortly after a WC then something is causing a bacterial bloom. Purgen can often fix it as can UV sterilizers can but there is something that is causing it to begin with. From what you've said I can't say what.

 

[40galreef]

Thats a haze on the java moss. I will reduce the lighting. Luckily I have liquid tests that I will use. That you for your help!

 

[40galreef]

Another question, I already have carbon in the w/d filter, will the purigen work that much better? If I get purigen should I/ could I take the carbon out? Thank you

 

[phin]

Another question, I already have carbon in the w/d filter, will the purigen work that much better? If I get purigen should I/ could I take the carbon out? Thank you

If you only have room for one, then run purigen. It lasts longer and can be recharged. But they aren't replacements for eachother. Carbon does a better job at removing metals, while purigen proportedly doesn't remove trace minerals from the water that plants require. Carbon will remove trace minerals, but will be exhaused after a short time.

I don't know what is causing your haze. Nitrates shouldn't be 0, even with a big water change, you should see at least 5ppm nitrates. If Nitrates are 0, then possibly you are having a mini-cycle and removed the ammonia and nitrites with your WC, which is why your parameters are so low. Just a guess.

What do you do when you clean your wet-dry?

 

[phin]

Another question, I already have carbon in the w/d filter, will the purigen work that much better? If I get purigen should I/ could I take the carbon out? Thank you

I think for the purigen to work best it needs to be completely submerged and have as much water flow through it as possible. I would place it right before the return pump, fully submerged with minimal bypass.

 

[Rivercats]

You can use both together if you have room in your filter but if I have to choose between using carbon and purgen I will choose purgen everytime.

 

[40galreef]

Thanks for all the advice! I will try to clean the WD filter better, and put in purigen

 

[40galreef]

Forgot to mention, I noticed a couple days ago a few of my fish had ich. I treated it with coppertone. Could there be a correlation between the 2 problems?

 

[Rivercats]

Never heard of Coppertone ich med, only Coppertone sunscreen.. lol. Some meds can make water cloudy so there is a possibility it could have something to do with it but that's only a possibility. Did you remove your carbon before treating? Most meds need to have carbon removed or the carbon removes the med before it can work in the tank.