Cloudy water

[Mogurako]

I know allot of posts have been to this effect but my tank should be cycled it's been running for about a year plus I just moved it from the previous owners house to mine.

My levels are

PH: 6.6
NH3/NH4 : 0-.25 ppm
NO2: 0 ppm
NO3: 0-5.0 ppm

I have done two 25-30% PWC and one 50% PWC ( doing another 30-50% as we speak) over the past week With out any results. My filter isn't the best ( Getting an Eheim 2217 on sat) Penn-Plax cascade but the previous own didn't seem to have any water clarity issues. Did I disturb something in the bio of the tank when I moved it?!

Any help wont be great I'm going insane over this.

 

[GoneFishing]

Did you take all the decor and substrate from the previous owner? If so did you let the decor/substrate dry out completely? also with the filter, was there any pre/post move cleaning done on it?

 

[Mogurako]

All decor was from the tank before the move, it did get dried out a bit that may be my issue now that I think about it. I didn't do any cleaning in the filter the owner had just clean it not long before I bought it.

 

[GoneFishing]

Well I was thinking that maybe the decor and substrate dried out causing some of what bacteria was in the tank to die off (not sure if that's instant or if it takes time). Also, I hope the previous was smart about cleaning the filter, a large amount of beneficial bacteria lives in the filter media, so if they "cleaned" it under running tap water that bacteria is gone. Maybe your tank is going through a mini cycle? do you remember what the filter media looked like when you got the tank or were setting it up at your place?

 

[Mogurako]

I believe some of the good bacteria died off when I moved it, I texted the old owner and he said he always "cleaned" it with tank water but I'm not sure how much i trust that. He thought a iridescent shark could live in a 90 gallon.

 

[GoneFishing]

What is currently stocked in the tank?

 

[Mogurako]

Same thing as when I got it from the previous owner, 3 blood parrots, 2 four-Line cat fish and an iridescent shark that will be going to the LFS shortly.

 

[GoneFishing]

I would continue doing your pwc and monitoring your tests for improvement. To me it sounds like a mini cycle, but I could be wrong.. keep posting here so others can see your progress and suggest what to do!

 

[Mogurako]

Will do, just finished filling the tank back up I'll post readings in the am.

 

[Mogurako]

So this morning after I did my I would say 30-40% PWC My levels are:

PH: 6.6
NH3/NH4 : 0-.25 ppm
NO2: 0 ppm
NO3: 0 ppm

Water is still cloudy after about 8-10 hours, should I be doing 50% PWC everyday? I'm getting a 2nd filter Saturday hopefully that helps.

 

[GoneFishing]

Recommended levels:
NitrAte (no3) is fine if it's less than 40ppm
NitrIte (n02) should be 0ppm at anytime
ammo up to .25ppm is tolerable, but 0ppm is best

I would just let the water run through the filter. I could just be debris that hasn't settled. My water takes some time to clear up after pwc as well..

 

[Mogurako]

Ok I'll lay off the PWC for now and keep an eye on the lvls.

 

[Mogurako]

I added a Eheim 2217 to my tank on Sunday and the water has started to clear up quite a bit but my water parameters are still driving me crazy. I got and moved the tank around 3 weeks ago almost had it for 4 weeks.

I did a 50% water change at around 8:30pm 5/3. At that time my levels were.

Ammo: .50 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
NitrAte: 0-5pmm

Today when I got home I tested the water again and these were the levels:

Ammo: .25-50 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
NitrAte 0-5 ppm

I am concerned because as the cloudiness goes away my Ammo keeps spiking but I haven't seen any rise in nitrates which is also strange.

 

[Aquachic4545]

I use a product by Florida Aqua Farms and it's really nice. It's called "It's Clear" and seems to make the water go back to sparkling clear. I picked it up at our local smaller LPS. They use it in their tanks. Here's a link for it if you can't find it where you're at:

Product Listing - WATER_TREATMENTS