Cloudy water

[FloydCrook]

I am in the process of setting up a 75 gallon tank. The water was a little cloudy at first but after a few days I added some water conditioner (Seachem Prime) and Proper PH 6.5 which is supposed to set the ph level automatically at 6.5. Anyway the water became much cloudier after that and although I have used two different types of water clarifier, Crystal Clear and Mardel Laboratory's Brite'N Clear (previously my favorite), and even though I added a Rena microfiltration plus pad, the water is still as cloudy as it was when I started attempting to clear it up a week ago. I have been considering Acurel water clarifier but am not sure if this will do the trick. Anyway I believe the Proper PH 6.5 powder is the culprit, and is the cause of ph shifting, not sure though. Any advice on how to clear this tank up before I add fish this next 6/08/2007 weekend would be greatly appreciated. For a filter I am using a Rena Filstar XP3 canister filter. Maybe I should change the tank water again and just use Sera Super Peat in the XP3 as a filter media to lower my PH?

 

[neilanh]

The cloudy water is actually probably a bacteria bloom, which those clarifiers probably won't help with. It'll pass over time.

Why are you using the pH stuff? I don't recommend it, as maintaining stable pH is more difficult to do if you're adjusting it, and a stable pH is much better than an adjusted pH.

 

[LandGhoti]

How are you cycling the tank? Is there an ammonia source? Usually, cloudy water means a bacteria bloom, which signals the start of the nitrogen cycle. If there's nothing in the tank, I would guess maybe your substrate is clouding it up.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

What color is the cloudiness? If you can't tell, put some water in a white container. The color will dictate what is causing the problem. If it's white, it's bacterial and will go away over time. If it's a greenish color, it's algae.

Nix the Proper pH. It's only going to cause your pH to fluctuate unless your normal pH is 6.5. Stable is better than "perfect". Also, you can nix the water clarifiers. As you can see, they don't work. And the few times that they do work, it's just masking the problem.

 

[FloydCrook]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I will just discontinue using the Proper PH 6.5 and refill the tank with fresh water again, let it set for a week or so, and put fish in. Anyway, I still plan to use the Sera Super Peat as a chemical filter media, this should make the water as soft and slightly acidic as barbs will like it. I will update later how things turn out.

 

[neilanh]

You should really consider a fishless cycle. Have you read the articles about the nitrogen cycle and fishless cycling available at the 'articles' link at the top?