Cloudy water after cleaning!

[faysalals1]

I did a full cleaning by removing big objects out of the way, then vacuumed all the gravel. ALOT of stuff came out, and the water in the bucket was black! During the process I did a 50% water change too.

But for some reason, my aquarium is now very cloudy, even after the full cleaning and 50% water change! After 2 days I add Seachem clarity and pristine, and its still cloudy!

Im wondering if its because I moved the gravel around and all the dirt got released? or is there something wrong with my tap water?

 

[Andy Sager]

I did a full cleaning by removing big objects out of the way, then vacuumed all the gravel. ALOT of stuff came out, and the water in the bucket was black! During the process I did a 50% water change too.

But for some reason, my aquarium is now very cloudy, even after the full cleaning and 50% water change! After 2 days I add Seachem clarity and pristine, and its still cloudy!

Im wondering if its because I moved the gravel around and all the dirt got released? or is there something wrong with my tap water?

Most likely from all the disturbance you created. The particles may be too small for your filter to remove. Try using a filter pad for polishing the water ( there are a number of brands that carry them) before adding more chemicals.

 

[m.j.gomez]

I did a full cleaning by removing big objects out of the way, then vacuumed all the gravel. ALOT of stuff came out, and the water in the bucket was black! During the process I did a 50% water change too.



But for some reason, my aquarium is now very cloudy, even after the full cleaning and 50% water change! After 2 days I add Seachem clarity and pristine, and its still cloudy!



Im wondering if its because I moved the gravel around and all the dirt got released? or is there something wrong with my tap water?

Hello, check water parameters. If there is any ammonia or it hasn't slightly dissipated in a day or 2 it's probably a bacteria bloom. This is a sign of over cleaning tank.
Your tank has enough bacteria to handle the bioload your fish produce. No more no less. It grows on everything in tank. If you take out to much it tries to catch back up. This is the cloudiness you see. I suggest you break up deep cleaning substrate. Do a 1/3 - 1/2 at a time. Then skim over rest to look presentable. Hopefully this helps!!!!!

 

[Joe_D]

You can try an aquarium water clairifier

The problem is what makes water cloudy are often particles that are too small for your filter to filter out.

A water clairifier will clump these tiny particles to big enough particles for your filter to eliminate them .
So, initially they will make you water seem a bit more cloudy before making it very clear.

 

[Caliban07]

It’s called a bacterial bloom and you sucked out a whole myriad of beneficial organisms residing in the substrate.

Are you seeing any issues with livestock?

 

[huma-huma]

With Andy here. 2 possibilities. 1) micro particles that your filtration just isn't snatching up. Could either try running a polishing filter setup or altering your existing filtration to include a polishing pad. 2) bacterial bloom from wiping out too much beneficial bacteria. I would never personally deep clean the entire substrate in 1 go. Break it up into 3rds. If it is in fact a bacterial bloom, your best bet is to simply be patient and wait it out... your tank will catch back up and even out. Getting into dumping more chemicals in the tank usually leads you down a bad road imo