Finally, a water clarifier that works incredibly!!!

[afFISHionado]

Everytime I do a partial water change and/or a gentle gravel vacuuming, I have come to expect a milky haze from a bacteria bloom to cloud my aquarium for 3 to 7 days. I got to the point of frustration that I would decrease the frequency at which I would perform water changes so that I could have a week or two of clear water. I had tried Proquatics Water Clarifier in the past which did absoultely nothing. Recently I decided to try another product, Jungle's "Clear Water Tank Buddies".....again it did nothing at all. In a last ditch effort today I went out and bought SeaChem's Clarity for $12 (the most expensive one so far). 2 capfuls and 50 minutes later my water was crystal clear! I just wanted to let people know that there is one that works (at least for me). I would recommend this product to anyone with cloudy tank problems. It's safe for marine and freshwater as well as planted tanks. If anyone has experience with this product or tries it in the future I would love to know if your experience was as dramatically effective as mine was.

 

[Hypostomus]

You can also solve cloudy tank problems by being patient and not overcrowding the tank..

Then again, I had a nice film on the water and general cloudiness in a tank that only had java moss in it..

 

[Talon242]

I doesn't seem right that everytime you do a water change the water should get cloudy... The only times my tank was cloudy was after the initial bacteria bloom from first setting it up. And when I get the urge to rearrange my whole planted tank and all the stuff settled at the bottom goes flying everywhere, but that clears up in a few hours.

 

[Christmasfish]

I'd be careful with clarifiers..some can affect or kill your biological fiter.

Then the clouds will return with a vengence. My only cloudy tank was my overstock 40; everytime it got 6 seconds of sunlight it was diatom sity adn a heavy vacuum could cause particles too get suspended. But I just kept plugging away and upping my water change schedule.
Nitrates are usually present with various blooms, ,so ya might wanna start tetsing more often to keep tabs....and figure out WHY. Instead of just prettying it up like a contractor's fixer upper.

 

[lcmwest]

Anyone know which kind harm the biological filter? any particular ingredients to avoid?

 

[lcmwest]

Anyone know which kind harm the biological filter? any particular ingredients to avoid?

 

[afFISHionado]

Thanks for the input everyone. In response to Christmasfish - what is odd is that I am anal with checking water chemistry. The nitrates have never climbed past 20ppm's in part due to my heavily planted tank. I test for phosphates which are also kept in check with a phoshate absorbing resin that I replace regularly. I have been lulled into an oversecure sense of comfort with the biological filtration as my ammonia and nitrites are always at undetectable levels. I will definitely check to make sure the SeaChem Clarity hasn't disrupted my nitrogen cycle - thanks for reminding me on that - very good point Christmasfish. I have heard that clouding is often normal after a water change due to added nutrients that feed the blooming bacteria. Is this true? It happens every time with me.

 

[nguyen27]

Avoid adding any Chemical to your tank at All Cost!!!

 

[BrianNY]

My planted tanks are always crystal clear. If the tank is heavily planted, there is no need to gravel vac. What kind of filters are you running, and how many gal is the tank?

 

[afFISHionado]

29 Gallon. HOB TetraTec PF150 Dual Stage Wet/Dry & Undergravel with Dual powerheads. I only vacuum the few bare spots in the front where I can. I know plants & UGF's are a debatable issue but my plants flourish to the point where I am pruning every week due to the rapid and dense growth. I do CO2 injection and have a total of 85watts of 5500K lighting. Fish have been doing awesome for over a year now. They are all very hardy and playful.

 

[BrianNY]

OK-- I'm no expert on this so what you're getting is my opinion. I now think that you in fact do have a bacterial bloom. UGFs are effective for a time but then all hell can break loose. It is possible that all that "crap" collecting under the plates is being released back in to the tank. This is probably more apparent when the gravel is stirred even minimally. The clarifier that you're using could be a visual cover up. Nitrates won't be an issue because of the plants. I'm more concerned about harmful bacteria leaching through the water column.

Anyone else have any thoughts? Maybe this should be addressed in the planted tank section.

 

[AtodaJ]

I agree. A clarifier only clumps together particles such that they become heavy enough to fall back to the bottom of the tank. Problem is that the clumps are still there and become breeding grounds for bad bacteria unless addressed.

Clarifiers are best used in unplanted tanks where the person can gravel vacum much of the tank. Then they work great cause you can suck up all the clumps thus removing the harmful stuff.

But if you can't gravel vacum up the stuff then the clarifier will only mask the problem for a short time.

Solution - I'd run a diatom filter for a few hours after your water changes instead of using the clarifier. I think you'll be happy with the results.

Good luck!

 

[afFISHionado]

Yeah - I used to have a diatom filter and they work like magic. Problem is, I am extremely tight on funds right now - outta work at the moment.