Cloudy fish tank water

[JaredShope1]

I am not sure what this cloudiness is in my aquarium. I did an 80% water change and the water was clear for a day, and then became cloudy again. This is a relatively new tank and still have ammonia readings. An up close examination made me see that it looks like very very fine dust like particles in the water, so I don’t know if it’s my water (it’s well water, quite hard), dirty water (waste buildup), or just bacterial bloom. When I first set up the tank with no fish, there was no cloudiness.

[SaraB]

Could be a bacterial bloom. How big is your tank did you add all the fish at once?

[JaredShope1]

Originally Posted by SaraB

Could be a bacterial bloom. How big is your tank did you add all the fish at once?

It’s 10 gal. And yes. 4 fish to be precise. 2 platys and 2 juvie mollies. I’m gonna maybe add more platys later but my tank is not cycled yet.

[SaraB]

Ok, getting your tank cycled will be the first step to clearing the cloudiness from your tank. Don't add any more fish for now. Keep up with the water changes as needed and test your water often.

[Leeatl]

100% to what Sara B said....

[King Fisher]

Change out 1/3 to 50% of the tank water everyday as a precaution. Unless you are willing to test your water daily.

[JaredShope1]

Originally Posted by King Fisher

Change out 1/3 to 50% of the tank water everyday as a precaution. Unless you are willing to test your water daily.

I usually test it every other day. Ammonia usually never goes above 0.50 PPM. If it hits 0.50 PM I change it.

[lenticular]

Adding fish before cycling is cruel and can cause long term damage to their internal organs. I would reccomend removing the fish from the tank. If you want to do the fish cycle method use snails which are a lot less sensitive to ammonia.

[King Fisher]

Originally Posted by lenticular

Adding fish before cycling is cruel and can cause long term damage to their internal organs. I would reccomend removing the fish from the tank. If you want to do the fish cycle method use snails which are a lot less sensitive to ammonia.

I'd beg to differ. You can absolutely create a safe environment with a fish in cycle. Most people just aren't dedicated enough to put in the work. I'd go as far as to say probably half the people who keep fish in a cycled tank do not do the maintenance required to keep a healthy environment for the fish.

[lenticular]

Originally Posted by King Fisher

I'd beg to differ. You can absolutely create a safe environment with a fish in cycle. Most people just aren't dedicated enough to put in the work. I'd go as far as to say probably half the people who keep fish in a cycled tank do not do the maintenance required to keep a healthy environment for the fish.

Anything more than 0.5 ppm of ammonia can cause long term damage. But it takes double the time to cycle with ammonia under 2-3. Also with a heavy bioload you will need to do water changes every two or one day.

[King Fisher]

Exactly my friend.

[JaredShope1]

Originally Posted by lenticular

Anything more than 0.5 ppm of ammonia can cause long term damage. But it takes double the time to cycle with ammonia under 2-3. Also with a heavy bioload you will need to do water changes every two or one day.

Well I’ll definitely make sure to keep the ammonia under 0.5PPM. I have a test kit and I care about these fish. Also, I have no where else to put them. So removing them isn’t an option. I won’t add any new fish though until the tank is cycled obviously

[King Fisher]

Keep the water at .25 ppm ammonia. Do a water change if it goes over this. Remember, if you got .50 ppm you need to do a 50% water change to get it down to .25 ppm. Be diligent with the water changes and you'll be fine.

[JaredShope1]

UPDATE: All I can say is WOW. I used some water clarifier and it cleared up my water. Must’ve just been some free floating particulate matter. It’s crystal clear. Cleaned out my filter and it was packed with debris