Cloudy Water. Help!!
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Its probably an aglae bloom. This is common on new tanks. If you run your lights I would cut the photo period back to maybe 1/2 or leave the light off entirely for a few days.
Doing this with a 20% water change should help.
Doing this with a 20% water change should help.
CRaZeeeBiTcHisH
Aquarium Advice Freak
don't worry too much about the cloudiness as long as your ammonia and nitrite readings are ok--sometimes it takes a little while for the cloudy to clear up, but it will! don't get frustrated, it is very common in new tanks, seems the bigger it is the longer it takes to become crystal clear...i have a 55 that has been setup for a little while, levels have all been fine for awhile, but it does still have a hint of cloudiness.....it seemed to take forever for my 90 to clear completely....just wait it out 
--and remember as long as levels are ok, it bugs you more than the fish!
--and remember as long as levels are ok, it bugs you more than the fish!Thanx for the advice. I will try a couple different things and let you know how it turns out. I checked the ammonia level an it was a little high, so I used some ammo lock 2 to level that out. I'll keep you updated and thanx so much for you help.
CRaZeeeBiTcHisH
Aquarium Advice Freak
well, i personally don't like to use any more chemicals than absolutely necessary--i have read that ammo lock binds the ammonia but that it still registers on the test kits, so you no longer get an accurate reading of how much free ammonia is floating around--at any rate, you do need some ammonia present so that they little bacteria have something to feed them so they can grow and divide---that said, you do want it to remain at a comfortable level for your fish, so partial water changes will help with that--check ammonia every day until you don't have it any more--presence of ammonia indicates that your tank isn't near finished cycling, so you really need to watch it closely for your little friends' health --once your ammonia drops, nitrite will spike, and although not quite as toxic as ammonia, you don't want it too high for fishee comfort either....best luck!
--once your ammonia drops, nitrite will spike, and although not quite as toxic as ammonia, you don't want it too high for fishee comfort either....best luck!CRaZeeeBiTcHisH
Aquarium Advice Freak
just a thought--at a month, you shouldn't have a lot of ammonia--do you have a high fish load?
time frame?
Would you be so kind as to give a time frame? I realize it would be a guesstimate. I don't know if a long time for a 20 gallon is a week or a month and how long did it take for your 55 and 90s?
Thanx,
Ed
I had a clear 20 gal at work and this morning (after removing a dead silverdollar) water was cloudy. It was cloudy before removing the fish too.
Thanx
Would you be so kind as to give a time frame? I realize it would be a guesstimate. I don't know if a long time for a 20 gallon is a week or a month and how long did it take for your 55 and 90s?
Thanx,
Ed
I had a clear 20 gal at work and this morning (after removing a dead silverdollar) water was cloudy. It was cloudy before removing the fish too.
Thanx
CRaZeeeBiTcHisH
Aquarium Advice Freak
well, i would be afraid to give a time frame, but with my bigger tanks, it has taken at least a couple of months for it to suit me! the 55 has probably been setup for 2 months(?) or so, and it looks clear from the front, but to look end to end, it still has a slight haze...the 90 seemed to take forever, i finally gave up worrying about it and just happened to notice one day that it was finally crystal clear from one end to the other , it's stayed that way since...as long as your ammonia and nitrite levels are good, you just have to let it achieve that balance, even when a tank has finished cycling, it isn't 'mature' for quite some time...mature tanks take insults much better, such as new fish, dead fish, or whatever challenges can be put to it , i suppose the bacterial colonies become much more widespread, increase their numbers and therefore recover faster from cleaning and such--for awhile even after the 90 cleared, after a large water change there would be a slight haze for a day or so, not now--but it's been up this time for about a year or so....i would suppose the bacterial bloom would be something akin to an opportunistic infection--in the absence of mature preferred bacteria, overgrowth of the undesirables is allowed because of abundant food and room to attach...ladies can identify--lol--think about what happens when you take a powerful antibiotic for an extended period....
I have 8 fish in my 10 gallon. I've heard the general rule of thumb is no more than one inch of fish per gallon, so I'm pretty sure that I haven't overcrowded my tank. If you think I may have let me know. Thanx for all of your help.
loganj
Aquarium Advice Addict
Fish load
Well....it really depends on what kind of fish you have. I, personally, don't subscribe to the "inches of fish per gallon" theory and here's why. It isn't so much the length of the fish in inches as it is the total mass of the fish in question. For example: What will put more bio load on a tank? Four 1" Neons or one 4" Oscar? The Oscar will because he has a much greater body mass than all four of the neons. More body mass = more waste. If, for instance, you have 8 1" fish in your 10 gal that are small, slender (Neon, White Cloud, any small tetras) bodied fish, you are probably OK although close to the limit. If, however, your fish are of the chunky variety (Goldfish, Cichlid, even Gouramis), you are probably way over the tanks biological capacity. Also, remember that many of those cute little fellas in the tanks at the pet store will grow up to be 8 inches long and eat you out of house and home. Be sure to research the fish before you buy it. One possibility for the cloudy water, especially if it happens right after a water change or after you have had your hands in the tank, is a heterotrophic bacteria bloom. I believe this was mentioned before in another post. If this is what's going on, it is harmless and will disappear as soon as the bacteria have consumed their food source.
Logan J
Well....it really depends on what kind of fish you have. I, personally, don't subscribe to the "inches of fish per gallon" theory and here's why. It isn't so much the length of the fish in inches as it is the total mass of the fish in question. For example: What will put more bio load on a tank? Four 1" Neons or one 4" Oscar? The Oscar will because he has a much greater body mass than all four of the neons. More body mass = more waste. If, for instance, you have 8 1" fish in your 10 gal that are small, slender (Neon, White Cloud, any small tetras) bodied fish, you are probably OK although close to the limit. If, however, your fish are of the chunky variety (Goldfish, Cichlid, even Gouramis), you are probably way over the tanks biological capacity. Also, remember that many of those cute little fellas in the tanks at the pet store will grow up to be 8 inches long and eat you out of house and home. Be sure to research the fish before you buy it. One possibility for the cloudy water, especially if it happens right after a water change or after you have had your hands in the tank, is a heterotrophic bacteria bloom. I believe this was mentioned before in another post. If this is what's going on, it is harmless and will disappear as soon as the bacteria have consumed their food source.
Logan J
CRaZeeeBiTcHisH
Aquarium Advice Freak
for a new tank, 8 is probably too many of any fish unless you are watching the chemistry really closely....
