cloudy

[shock84]

I have a freshwater tank (only about 7 gallons) that I started about 4 weeks ago. It was fine for about the first week and then the water became REALLY cloudy. I have 3 small fish in there and I feed very sparingly to the point that they will starve if I feed any less. I'm just not sure why my water is so cloudy, if i do a water change the water might clear up a little for about 24 hours and then become cloudy again. what can i do to prevent this from happening? i think its just algae because the water is a green tint when the lights are off. i use ro/di water.

any suggestions? i run a bag of carbon in the rear chamber

 

[Hesselrode]

If you have any antibiotics like penicillin or amoxicillin or something crush it up real tiny, and mix with water, won't really make a solution too well, then poor into the intake for the pump or something similar. This will cause the cloudiness to go awake fairly quickly if it is a bacterial bloom in the tank. Had this happen to my 55g, two pills added and presto no problems since.

 

[Ian086]

Definitely sounds like a b.bloom. Harmless really and very common, in new tanks. Switch off the lights as much as possible, run a bubbler if you have one. Feed as little as possible, fish can easily go 4-6+ days without food. I'm not sure if i'd add meds to my tank for a bloom. The only thing I know that will clear it quickly is a UV sterilizer. This should help......

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/bacterial-bloom-237584.html

 

[Hesselrode]

Antibiotics will be noticeable after a couple hours. Should be clear in 24. I did 2 pills for a 55g.

 

[Mebbid]

First off, ro/di water is damaging to fish in a tank unless you remineralize it. Unless you add the minerals back into the ro/di water I would stop its use asap.

Also skip the antibiotics. They will likely screw up your cycle making you start back at ground 0. Bacterial blooms are 100% normal for a new tank and will end up going away on its own. They are a sign of a cycling tank when a type of free floating bacteria in the water column feeds off of the free ammonia in the water before the standard nitrifying bacteria in the tank has time to develop.

What are your water parameters?
What fish do you have in the tank?

 

[Hesselrode]

Never had a bacterial bloom due to cycling. This was on an established tank. My fish store told me about it. Didn't have too much livestock to lose so I did it. I did 25% water changes weekly just to go back just as cloudy the next day. It was cloudy for 3 months. Tried that and boom almost instant.

 

[Mebbid]

I've had them on 3 of my tanks and they all cleared up on their own. I guess it just depends on each person's individual situation.

 

[Hesselrode]

I think it depends on many things. Location, type of weather, water quality and location of water, temperature and livestock.