Cloudy Fish Tank

lillori123 · 08-24-2006, 06:45 PM

Hello all,
I am new to the forum, and I have a problem. I have had my tank set up for three years and about three weeks ago; the water got cloudy. I tested the water and everything checks out all-right, but the water is still cloudy. I have done multiple water changes, and nothing helps.

Nitrate-40
Nitrite-0
Hardness-150
Alkalinity-180
P.H.-Between 6.8-7.2 (The shade of pink is in between the two, so I'm guessing 7.0)
Ammonia- I don't have a test for this, but the lady at the pet store said that it was 0.
My fish consist of:
3 Parrot fish
2 Plecos
3 Bleeding Heart Tetras
1 Black Fin Tetra
2 Angel Fish
4 Cory Cats
1 Head Tail Light Tetra
I have a 46-gallon Bowfront, and I am planning on getting a smaller tank to put the smaller fish in soon. I realize I am overstocked, but if this were the case wouldn't my readings give bad water quality? Thank you for the information.

LI HxC · 08-24-2006, 07:07 PM

your probably over feeding the fish, that is a common cause of cloudyness, i highly doubt its anything fungus or bacterial or anything of that nature

ahill3780 · 08-24-2006, 07:09 PM

Welcome to FishTankForums!

It could be several things. Bacterial bloom, calcium precipitation, or maybe even a snail population spawning in the tank.

Where do you get your water from? And are there a lot of snails in your tank?

You could try running a fine-micron filter media to try and filter the water clean. This is best done with a cannister filter since many fine-micron filter pads are manufactured to fit them.

Other possibilities of reducing the bloom would be to make use of a U.V. Sterilizer, or switch to using conditioned RO/DI water.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LI HxC

your probably over feeding the fish, that is a common cause of cloudyness, i highly doubt its anything fungus or bacterial or anything of that nature

This is a great place to start.

lillori123 · 08-24-2006, 07:47 PM

I am on city water. There are a few snails on the filter media when I change them. I have a Tetra-Tec PF300 power filter. I have never used a cannister filter, but I have thought about upgrading. How difficult are they to use and are they better than the power filter?

lillori123 · 08-24-2006, 07:54 PM

Could you explain calcium precipitation, I have never heard of this

ahill3780 · 08-24-2006, 08:39 PM

Well, calcium precipitation is not likely your issue unless your city water supply has high levels of calcium present. That is more a condition for saltwater setups and I just included it as a way of explaining the different issues that could cause cloudiness.

Most cannister filters are more efficient than the filter you currently have, and while they require just a little more effort to set up they give you the ability to filter the water for many different things and can act as strong powerheads when extra filtration is not needed.

How long has it been since you changed out your current filters media?

Jay · 08-25-2006, 08:18 AM

Hi Lillori

Your readings are giving you an indication of poor water quality!

Have you taken a little of the cloudy water and put it in a white coffee cup to see if the cloudy may be slightly green?

A nitrate level of 40 (Way too high

) in an freshwater unplanted tank also indicates a high level of (TDS also not good). Green or White you have a bio bloom (explosion of algae or other single cell protozoa) going on.

A bio bloom will not go away with water changes or with most filtration. I think it was mentioned you would need a micron (diatom) or UV to deal with it quickly. But it will come right back!

You deal with a bio bloom by finding the source of excess nutrients which are feeding the bloom, and starve it to death. You know you are overstocked, you have fish which produce large amounts of waste, you are probably overfeeding and the little single cell creatures love you. They are opportunistic and will take over in a heartbeat given the chance.

Jay

lillori123 · 08-26-2006, 05:11 PM

I changed my filter media last week. On my test kit, it shows 40 for Nitrates to be in the safe range, so I assumed this was alright. I put some water in a white coffee cup and it seemed to be white, its hard to tell though. I have just put three plants in there, will this help, or make the problem worse?

ahill3780 · 08-26-2006, 05:19 PM

The plants will help with your nitrates.

Nitrates at 40 ppm are considered by many to be too high, but in truth they are not that harmful - after all, nitrates are 75% oxygen and 25% nitrogen, both of which are non-harmful to fish except in very high doses.

Jay · 08-26-2006, 05:24 PM

Safe means it will not kill your fish

40 ppm nitrate means that your bio filter is working hard to overcome waste in the tank, including ammonia (urea) generated from overfeeding. A reading that high indicates a nutrient level high enough to feed a bio boom. It is also and indication that TDS (total dissolved solids) or dissolved organic compounds are also high.

This will feed single cell creatures.

Look into it.

Jay