Cloudy water help?

[Ndefil]

Hi everyone I have a twenty gallon long tank with an aquacleaar filter packed with filter floss and purigen fluval econo bright led strip and can't seem to get the water crystal clear like it was with live plants? Do weekly fifty percent water changes test water everything's spot on ph is 7.0 I have 1 bristle nose pleco 3 Cory's 1 cardinal 2 dwarf rainbow fish and 5 harlequin rasboras what can I do to make my water crystal clear??

 

[Ian086]

Hi everyone I have a twenty gallon long tank with an aquacleaar filter packed with filter floss and purigen fluval econo bright led strip and can't seem to get the water crystal clear like it was with live plants? Do weekly fifty percent water changes test water everything's spot on ph is 7.0 I have 1 bristle nose pleco 3 Cory's 1 cardinal 2 dwarf rainbow fish and 5 harlequin rasboras what can I do to make my water crystal clear??

Have you tired turning off the bubbler for a few days. Worth a try. The bubbles will keep any debris circulating, especially if it is close to the substrate. Try it, you might even notice a difference over night.....

 

[Ndefil]

I've read some stuff I think from your threads and I took it out from under the gravel about a week ago then I thought I was feeding them too much so I cut down on that every two days now

 

[Ian086]

I've read some stuff I think from your threads and I took it out from under the gravel about a week ago then I thought I was feeding them too much so I cut down on that every two days now

Even after doing that, it is still slightly cloudy??.

 

[Ndefil]

Yup I just took that picture

 

[Ian086]

Yup I just took that picture

When you clean the filter media, are you using 'old' tank water??

 

[Ndefil]

I haven't cleaned it in a week since I put the floss abd purigen in

 

[Ian086]

Sorry for all the questions but had you got the bubbler in there when you had the live plants???

 

[Ndefil]

Please ask away I did have it in had a canister co2 too with a bubble ladder on it

 

[Ian086]

Please ask away I did have it in had a canister co2 too with a bubble ladder on it

There's two things you could try.
1. Turn off the bubbler for a day or two or have it at least an inch from the substrate. Turning it off will NOT harm the fish in anyway.
2. Check to see if the floss is too tightly packed in your filter. Packing it too tightly will reduce the flow and might be causing the water to not filter properly.

 

[Ndefil]

The floss is definitely packed tightly I'll unplug the bubbler today abd see what happens the fish don't need the air?

 

[GreenLily]

If you have a filter, like a HOB (it looks like you do in the picture), you should be fine. It agitates the water enough to give the fish adequate o2. I really like your aquascape, by the way.

 

[Ndefil]

Thank u very much! I love it! Well I'm gonna unplug the bubbler and see what happens?

 

[Ndefil]

I unplugged the bubble wand just put the air hose in the tank and added 5 neons and one more Cory

 

[Ian086]

Just check that the floss is not too tightly packed in there. If it is, sometime the water will flow around/over it and not get properly filtered. Just have it in that's it's filling the space but is kind of loose, if that makes sense.

 

[Ndefil]

I'll do that on Sunday when I do my water change don't wanna mess with it too muh now since adding fish and no more bubbler .. Thank you it makes total sense I think it is too tight if it is and discolored should I just toss it and try again the water is back flowing into the tank are u familiar with these filters from the intake tube it goes to the media basket and out now it's found half to the basket and half over the intake tube overflow and back into the tank? Does that make any sense?

 

[Ndefil]

By the way the background of the tank is black. So you can really see how cloudy the water is

 

[Ian086]

I'll do that on Sunday when I do my water change don't wanna mess with it too muh now since adding fish and no more bubbler .. Thank you it makes total sense I think it is too tight if it is and discolored should I just toss it and try again the water is back flowing into the tank are u familiar with these filters from the intake tube it goes to the media basket and out now it's found half to the basket and half over the intake tube overflow and back into the tank? Does that make any sense?

That does make sense. So it's only filtering half the water at a time. When mine gets dirty because it's so cheap, i just toss it. I use cheap bed-pillow stuffing, 100% polyfill, NO additives(fire proofing). I had the same problem when i first used floss. I just don't pack it in there so tightly anymore and it solved the problem. Don't worry about the bubbler and the new fish. Good PWC's will keep good levels of oxygen in the water. You do 50%, right. You'll be absolutely fine....

 

[Ndefil]

That's the same stuff I use the problem is I like the look of the bubbler too lol. I an very ritualistic about my water changes never missed one in 5 years! So if I toss it out will I lose the beneficial bacteria and start a mini cycle?

 

[Ian086]

That's the same stuff I use the problem is I like the look of the bubbler too lol. I an very ritualistic about my water changes never missed one in 5 years! So if I toss it out will I lose the beneficial bacteria and start a mini cycle?

Well if turning off the bubbler gives you the water you desire, you might have to consider positioning the bubbler/airstone. It doesn't have to be removed, just moved. When i had my bubbler, i solved the same problem by raising it 1.5/2 inches above the substrate.
You shouldn't rely on the floss for BB anyway, so tossing it won't make any difference because you are using it as mechanical filtration. You have your Bio media there already for the BB, so you won't have any issues or mini cycles....