water clarity problems

[pdw1731]

My water parameters are spot on perfect yet there is a, well my water looks dingy or a tad less than the preferred "crystal" clear. I haven't done anything other than a couple of pwc's since I added fish. I am presently running an Aquaclear 50 with 2 sponges and 1 bag of rings and a TopFin 40 with just the white filter floss, no carbon (I was under the impression this would be ok for water polishing??????) I am VERY reluctant to add any water medications to my water other than Prime. The buckets i use for my pwc's have never had anything in them other than water going INTO the tank; i use another old bucket for outgoing water. When i vac, i lightly vac the top1/4 inch of gravel...i'm just trying to give as much info upfront as possible...my water has been like this for a couple weeks now and, well, it's irking me to no end!

 

[librarygirl]

Is there any real driftwood in the tank? If so perhaps it's leeching tannins which can color the water.

Can you explain "dingy?" Is the entire water affected or certain spots? Is it a certain color (green, milky, etc)? What is your water change schedule?

Do you notice little bubbles in the water? Sometimes the HOB filters and/or air stones can cause very tiny bubbles which can make the water look a bit cloudy.

 

[pdw1731]

Is there any real driftwood in the tank? If so perhaps it's leeching tannins which can color the water.

Can you explain "dingy?" Is the entire water affected or certain spots? Is it a certain color (green, milky, etc)? What is your water change schedule?

Do you notice little bubbles in the water? Sometimes the HOB filters and/or air stones can cause very tiny bubbles which can make the water look a bit cloudy.

Nope, no "real" anything in the tank other than fish and rocks. Everything else is plastic. The one big rock i do have i got from Petsmart and I washed the heck out of everything first. There were times during my cycling that my tank was empty yet my water was pristine...go figure

Dingy as in it's not cloudy, no where near cloudy but not clear either. It doesn't have a color. slightly, barely foggy? It's the entire tank and i do a wc every Friday morning...50% wc. I'm a bucket user so is it possible that putting new water in could be the culprit? I'm pouring it over the highest rock so to minimizes displacement of my decor.

I gave that some thought at first but when I was doing my cycle, the only area that resembled that scenario is right where the bubbles were coming from (right above airstone, right under filter waterfall). This is an all over effect.

I dunno. I'm due for a wc tomorrow. I may do a slightly larger one just to see what happens

 

[librarygirl]

If it's micro bubbles from water changes they should dissipate in time, not remain all the time. Maybe try turning off your filter for a bit and then the air stone, etc and see if things clear up; it may be too much agitation from one causing bubbles to form from the other. Just to rule those out at least.

You could also try swishing your filter media in old tank water during a water change, just to remove any loose particles/debris that may have built up and are somehow getting back into the water. Also do you vacuum the substrate regularly? A lot of uneaten food, waste, etc bulds up very quickly and can be kicked up by the fish causing it to float around the water.

 

[pdw1731]

If it's micro bubbles from water changes they should dissipate in time, not remain all the time. Maybe try turning off your filter for a bit and then the air stone, etc and see if things clear up; it may be too much agitation from one causing bubbles to form from the other. Just to rule those out at least.

You could also try swishing your filter media in old tank water during a water change, just to remove any loose particles/debris that may have built up and are somehow getting back into the water. Also do you vacuum the substrate regularly? A lot of uneaten food, waste, etc bulds up very quickly and can be kicked up by the fish causing it to float around the water.

I just did a pwc and i vacced the top 1/2 inch or so very good and lifted stuff and moved around stuff...man fish are a nasty lot!!!! A half eaten algae wafer, pieces of the fish my lobster offed, uneaten food (do they know how much food costs!?!?!) poop and other whatnots. I also swished my filters a tad to loosen things up. Hoping this clears things a bit

 

[pdw1731]

Looking at my eater this morning and it looks much much better! Who knew a fish tank is pretty much a watery version of a teenagers bedroom

 

[Reygan2]

I'm having the same problem now. My parameters are great, yet my tank is still just a tad cloudy. This happened before but it cleared up. I just did a significant pwc and thorough vacuuming 2 days ago, so I don't know. It sure is frustrating. I wish I knew what cleared it up last time. I don't even have an airstone in my home tank anymore, just 2 hob's.

 

[Greenphantom]

I have a 120 gallon breeder which I have clarity problems with I had the best luck by leaving my light off for a few days more then likely you are having an algae bloom I ve heard of people completely blacking there tank out with garbage bags and tape but leaving your light off should take care of it

 

[pdw1731]

I'm having the same problem now. My parameters are great, yet my tank is still just a tad cloudy. This happened before but it cleared up. I just did a significant pwc and thorough vacuuming 2 days ago, so I don't know. It sure is frustrating. I wish I knew what cleared it up last time. I don't even have an airstone in my home tank anymore, just 2 hob's.

I swished my filter around a couple three times, it seems to have helped