Cloudy Tank

[Ian086]

Hi, i recently painted the back of my tank matte black. Since then the tank has looked a bit cloudy. Before i painted it i had a picture background on it secured with seaview and the water looked crystal clear. Nothing has changed with the tank. I have an Tetra EX700 running with 2 100g purigen..Would increasing the light in the tank help. I am currently getting a hood built and am planning on putting bright RGB LED strips in it...Would this help??. My water is good, A=0, N=0, N<20. My tank is under stocked; 55g, 2 platy, 3 assortted mollies, 2 swordtails, 1 Columbian Tetra, 2 Krib Cichlids...Please help..

 

[Kat767]

Sounds like a bacteria bloom. Mine did the same thing but after a few water changes it cleared up and has not come back. Do you have drift wood in it by chance?

 

[Ian086]

Sounds like a bacteria bloom. Mine did the same thing but after a few water changes it cleared up and has not come back. Do you have drift wood in it by chance?

No driftwood, although my filter was off for a few days recently as i had a leak and was waiting for a spare part. It was like this before the leak though..So you reckon a few water changes might sort it or would driftwood help or worsen this??..Ian

 

[Ian086]

No driftwood, although my filter was off for a few days recently as i had a leak and was waiting for a spare part. It was like this before the leak though..So you reckon a few water changes might sort it or would driftwood help or worsen this??..Ian

Ps..had an internal filter running while the canister was off..

 

[ezy33]

Fresh charcoal should clear it up if it's in the water. Try cleaning the inside of the glass first.

 

[Ian086]

Fresh charcoal should clear it up if it's in the water. Try cleaning the inside of the glass first.

Yeah just cleaned the glass about an hour ago, will check it in the morning..Sorry i'm a bit new to this but does the charcoal come in a pouch i put in the filter or what way do i use it?. Is it the same as carbon??

 

[ezy33]

Yes it can be called carbon. Depends on your filter, I put into a filter bag or a piece of clean pantie hose. It will "polish" your water.

 

[Ian086]

Yes it can be called carbon. Depends on your filter, I put into a filter bag or a piece of clean pantie hose. It will "polish" your water.

Thanks Ezy33, will pick some up and give that a go...

 

[Rivercats]

I see your already using purgen which polishes the water same as carbon but lasts much much longer. Carbon has a very short lifespan. If the purgen is old or discolored a brown color it needs to be replaced or regenerated. I use purgen and I just purchase new as I've always been leary of regenerating it. But people do that all the time, it just a matter of if your comfortable doing ti. Another thing, if you have live plants in your tank you don't want to use carbon as it absorbs minerals from the water that plants need.

 

[Kat767]

No driftwood, although my filter was off for a few days recently as i had a leak and was waiting for a spare part. It was like this before the leak though..So you reckon a few water changes might sort it or would driftwood help or worsen this??..Ian

Dift wood makes it worse. It leaches tannin that causes cloudiness so that's why I asked

 

[Kat767]

No driftwood, although my filter was off for a few days recently as i had a leak and was waiting for a spare part. It was like this before the leak though..So you reckon a few water changes might sort it or would driftwood help or worsen this??..Ian

I asked because drift would can cause cloudiness in a fish tank

 

[Ian086]

I see your already using purgen which polishes the water same as carbon but lasts much much longer. Carbon has a very short lifespan. If the purgen is old or discolored a brown color it needs to be replaced or regenerated. I use purgen and I just purchase new as I've always been leary of regenerating it. But people do that all the time, it just a matter of if your comfortable doing ti. Another thing, if you have live plants in your tank you don't want to use carbon as it absorbs minerals from the water that plants need.

I just recently re-charged my purigen as it's a bit more expensive over here, cheaper to re-charge. No live plants, would more regular water changes help or do i just wait it out with my normal weekly water changes(20/30%)..Also my T8's are quite old(2yrs+) and i know they need replacing but i am changing them anyway to LEDs so am not going to get new ones..Do you think the black background has anything to do with it??

 

[Rivercats]

I have painted black backgrounds on most of my tanks and they has nothing to do with it. But with black backgrounds you are able to see anything in the water better as the soild color doesn't hide anything the way a multi colored background can. Are you sure your tank was wasn't like that before and you just couldn't see it.. just a thought.

If it's a bacterial bloom extra WC's won't help as it has to run it's course. But since you don't have live plants you can add some carbon but again if it's a bacterial bloom it won't help.