probelms with cloudy water

[caterpillargirl]

Can someone experienced help me please????

I have a 20 GAL established tank that been set up for about 3 months. I have 4 small anglefish, 3 small loaches, 2 ramshorn snails and a pleco. The past week or two the water has been getting very cloudy/milky. I can't figure out what to do for it. I have added water clear drops, water clear tablets, added beneficial bacteria, cleaned gravel, did a partial water change and nothing has worked to clear it up. I even removed my live plants thinking that maybe the algea growth was causing a bacteria bloom but it still has not cleared up.

Does anyone have any other suggestions????

 

[FawnN]

When you say established, I assume you mean your tank is cycled. What are your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings??

Loaches and especially your pleco produce a lot of waste and will outgrow your 20 gallon fairly quickly. How often are you doing water changes? How often do you feed your fish?

I have added water clear drops, water clear tablets,

Save your money, because those drops/tablets are only temporary fixes and IMO only mask the true problems that are occuring in your tank.

The best way to clear up your cloudy water is to do 20% water changes everyday or every other day and vacumme your gravel once a week.

 

[caterpillargirl]

yes, my tank is cycled. I feed them once a day, sometimes twice. All the readings are fine except the nitrite being a little high. I thought it wasn't a good thing to do water changes so often because you are also eliminating the beneficial bacteria in the water. Should I do another water change??? I just did one a couple of days ago.

thanks.

 

[Lance M.]

Did you recently any fish? Sometimes the tank gets cloudy after you add too many fish at once, but should clear up after awhile when more bacteria grows. I don't think your choice of fish has to do with the problem. What kind of filtration do you use?

 

[FawnN]

I don't think your choice of fish has to do with the problem.

Actually it does. The pleco alone in a 20 gallon, IMO is too small because they create a lot of waste. If he is creating too much waste too quickly and your not doing your weekly water changes, it will make it difficult for your bacteria to handle.

You can do as many water changes as necessary, especially if your getting a reading for ammonia or nitrites. Most of your bacteria resides in your filter bed, gravel, and decor. If all your doing is removing water, you can do that as many times as you need to during the week and keep your vacumming of your gravel down to just once a week.

 

[grimlock3000]

"All the readings are fine except the nitrite being a little high. "

You should have ZERO nitrites in a fully cycled tank.