Inconsistently cloudy water

[Marconis]

When my tank was cycling, my water was crystal clear. Ever since adding fish and plants a week and a half ago, I have never been able to get the same clarity. I feed my 5 cardinals once a day, and they consume all of the food within two minutes. Some days, my water is cloudy. Others, it is pretty clear. One thing I have noticed is that in the morning/an hour after the light comes on, the water is pretty clear. It seems like the water gets cloudy as the day goes on! I have watched my fish...they don't mess with the sand or anything. I cleaned my filter media last week in tank water in a bucket to make sure it wasn't clogging things up. What's going on here? It seems that ever since I have been in this hobby, my water is always cloudy.

 

[iceywater101]

What are your water parameters. It could just be a BB bloom since you just added fish and have been cleaning the filter media. If nothing else works try adding filter floss.

 

[Marconis]

I used to use filter floss in my canister but I remember it never did much. Ammo and rites are zero. Nitrates last time I tested were 10-20ppm. I fishless cycled so everything should be in order...

 

[iceywater101]

Your tank is still new and the water is safe for the fish so I would just give it sometime and keep up with the maintenance.

 

[BigJim]

Is the cloudiness white or green?

 

[Marconis]

White

 

[BigJim]

Is the water cloudy or is it just the glass being dirty? What kind of food are you using? Cheap stuff can cloud the water.

 

[Marconis]

It isn't the glass. While the glass is developing some algae I can distinguish between the two. Using TetraMin flakes.

 

[Marconis]

Any other opinions on the matter?

 

[Marconis]

Dxed the situation, I think. From Wed. to Fri. last week I was away from my apartment. I had last fed Tetramin flakes on Tuesday afternoon. When I looked at my tank on Friday, the water was pristine. This, to me, is evidence that the Tetramin flakes were polluting my water in one way or another. I fed them again on Friday and am returning home tonight. Today I purchased OmegaOne brand as I have heard good things about it...I used to use Kens Fish for my Africans but haven't gotten around to ordering food from them again. I miss that stuff! Let's see how the Omega works out.

 

[reefdiver]

what kind of water dechlorinator u using? i changed to prime and my tanks are crystal clear. i was using tetra aqua clear.

 

[Marconis]

Well, I always used Prime in the past, but I had to use Nutrafin or something because my local store didn't carry prime. I was finally home and was able to purchase Prime again. Haven't used it yet. Prime is the only dechlor. worth using anyway.