Cloudy water on new setup

[Brettyd]

Hi all

Have just started my first aquarium which is 3ft 207 lts. So I have filled it up today after washing my gravel and ornaments and the water is still cloudy after 5 hours of filtration. I'm running an aqua 1200 external canister with fine, medium and coarse layers plus 2 trays of media noodles and bio balls. I have added water conditioner and bateria starter to the water as well.

I'm just wondering how long it should take to filter a tank of this size to clear ?

Or am I missing something here.

 

[gemach7]

Hi all



Have just started my first aquarium which is 3ft 207 lts. So I have filled it up today after washing my gravel and ornaments and the water is still cloudy after 5 hours of filtration. I'm running an aqua 1200 external canister with fine, medium and coarse layers plus 2 trays of media noodles and bio balls. I have added water conditioner and bateria starter to the water as well.



I'm just wondering how long it should take to filter a tank of this size to clear ?



Or am I missing something here.

Some gravel and sand take a lot to "rinse". Once put pea gravel on the bottom of my pond after rinsing for 2 hours I still had an orange cloud for 3 days. I have since removed the pea gravel but was an experience lol.

I would just be patient the cloudiness will not interfere with the nitrogen cycle. if want to clear up faster can add a small power head or circulation pump to help push the sediment into the filter. Be ready to rinse the filter pads in a bucket of tank water once it clears though.


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[ScotJudd]

New tanks can take days to clear, not hours. This is quite normal. Just ensure your filter flow doesn't drop as the particles get trapped in the media. Just rinse the media in some removed tank water to preserve any bacteria already developed.


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[Caliban07]

The cloudy water is not debris from ornaments or substrate. It is bacteria that is suspended in the water column. This is 100% normal and as already mentioned it can take days to clear.

Happy fish keeping


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[Brettyd]

thanks for the responses.

I'm just going to see how it looks in a week like suggested.

It could be gravel sediment or bateria in the water. The filter has a duck bill on it which is blowing the gravel in the corner so this could be part of the problem. Might change this to the spreader bar.

Just reading another thread about cloudy water and another person mentioned if it's white it could be alegae, the filter is part of a second hand set up I bought which I had to clean the pipes free of alegae looking green slime. Can you test for alegae? Or should I not even be concerned with this.

 

[Caliban07]

thanks for the responses.

I'm just going to see how it looks in a week like suggested.

It could be gravel sediment or bateria in the water. The filter has a duck bill on it which is blowing the gravel in the corner so this could be part of the problem. Might change this to the spreader bar.

Just reading another thread about cloudy water and another person mentioned if it's white it could be alegae, the filter is part of a second hand set up I bought which I had to clean the pipes free of alegae looking green slime. Can you test for alegae? Or should I not even be concerned with this.

Algae is common on new setups too in the form of brown spot algae known as diatoms or green water algae which would contribute to cloudiness. If it's a white Hazey look then I am 99% sure it's bacteria. Look up bacterial blooms.


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[Brettyd]

Done a few water changes this week and that water has come really good. Thanks for all the comments on the issue.

Now to just sit back and see this cycle through.

 

[raccioppi83]

This is also a common mistake. Did you rinse your filter pad under cold water before you got it started (pending what kind of filter you have)