Cloudy water

[jemmabubbles]

my tank has gone cloudy, I have a 3ft tank (100 litres)the temp is 24 degrees Centigrade, I have 2 angel fish, 6 guppies, 3 corydoras,3 loaches, 2 small plectomus and 3 upside down catfish. I've added "Accuclear" to the water but this doesn't seem to have worked, have I got a parasite or is there anything else anyone could suggest?

i feed them aquarian tropical flakes and tertatabimin bottom feeder food and cucumber, i have a fluval 3 and aeration from two pumps with one 12in air stone and one 1in airstone

[Faramir]

How long have you been set up? Is this green cloudy or white cloudy?

[jemmabubbles]

white cloudy, it's been set up best part of a year

[Faramir]

And what are you using for filtration? It sounds like a bacterial bloom, which is usually associated with a biological filtration problem.

I take it you've done tests on the water. I imagine we're talking about typical southdown chalk water here - pH up in the clouds somewhere and fish needing a hammer and chisel to swim through it?

[Pootspete]

Cloudy water in your tank is normal and usually is caused by dust or particulars within the water. If you have new gravel that was not rinsed, that could cause your tank to become hazy, or just stirring up the gravel while cleaning. I have had the same problem in my tanks, and I have learned that in time it will go away. I have used products such as Aqua Clear and Sparkling Clear at times to help the process along. But, I find if you can be patient and wait it out, that is the best route to go for your tank to clear up.

[jemmabubbles]

the tank was crystal clear yesterday, no new gravel, i change the filter pads every day, i use stress coat and stress Zyme, but i did introduced the angel fish about two three days ago, with stress Zyme

i feed my fish frozen blood worms, Aquarian tropical flakes, tetra tabimin bottum feeder food and cucumber

i have a fluval 3 and 2 air stones, one large one small attached to different pumps, a rena heater and i always condtion the water

[Faramir]

By filter pads do you mean the foam insert? This would be expensive and unnecessary. All it needs is a light rinse in aquarium water whenever it starts to get clogged and the flow rate drops.

Your tank is at the top end of the range for what the Fluval 3 is rated for. It may be that your fish load has now exceeded what a daily cleaned filter can cope with. You've just added some angel fish, and we will have to go with the hypothesis that this addition is what has been too much.

So, first of all, stop changing the filter media! If the tank isn't planted I'd suggest some plants, because these will assist in keeping the water livable in whilst things sort themselves out.

http://www.hagen.com/uk/aquatic/manuals/fluvic13.cfm has an exploded picture of a Fluval 3 - can you tell us exactly which part no. you are changing daily?

[jemmabubbles]

yes it's the foam inserts i was refering to, i wash them daily one pair soak whilest the other pair are in the filter, you think i should get a fluval 4?

i do have some plants in my tank, 4 big plants, do you think i should get some more?

[Faramir]

Right. The cause of your problem is cleaning the foam insert. Don't. As I said before, just rinse it in aquarium water when ir becomes so clogged that the flow is impeded.

The thing is, it's not the foam that does the work (it only pulls out large particles of matter); it's the bacteria that live on the foam. Or, rather, the bacteria you are washing off daily before they can get established. I suspect that up till now more fish waste is being metablised by the plants and the bacteria on the gravel than in the filter! Adding a couple more fish has tipped the balance.

Don't worry about it! You need to get those bacteria, currently in your gravel, into the filter foam, and leave them there. So (and this is off the top of my head, others correct me if this is a crap idea!) perhaps you should try syphoning some water from near the bottom of the tank, picking up some surface detritus (we don't want the deep stuff because that may be anaerobic). Rinse the filter sponge in this water to pick up the bacteria-containing goo, then put it back in the filter. This may give you a kick start.

In the meantime, monitor levels of ammonia and nitrite and if these get into the danger levels (i.e. measurable ammonia or > 10ppm nitrite) then do a partial water change.

This link http://faq.thekrib.com/filters.html explains what is going on here.

I don't think with your fish load you need to upgrade your filter at the moment, (as long as you leave the bacteria alone!) :), and four large plants will certainly help.

[jemmabubbles]

Thank you, so i'm over cleaning, eventhough i'm adding stressZyme, i'm still losing my good bacteria?

bother

okay, i will leave the filter foam where it is, thank you

so i haven't got any nasty parasites?

[Faramir]

No. Doesn't look like parasites. You don't need the stressZyme either - I've never used it. If it's one of those "bacteria in a bottle" things, then opinion's divided about whether they do any good whatsoever.

[Edit - just checked, yes it is 'bacteria in a bottle'...]

I think your tank will be healthier by you saving yourself work cleaning the sponges and money by leaving out the stressZyme :) The best work you can put into maintaining your aquarium is regular water changes.

[jemmabubbles]

okay will leave off the over cleaning, and try to sit tight on this one.

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by Faramir
No. Doesn't look like parasites. You don't need the stressZyme either The best work you can put into maintaining your aquarium is regular water changes. Yes, water changes are very important - and - keep the 'new' water and existing water temperatures the same. Do a 20 - 30% water change weekly, maybe at most every other week.. :)

[jemmabubbles]

i think it is slowly going green, or more cloudy, i've reduced the number of fish in the tank and am going to get some more plants and a more powerful fluval filter at the weekend, i've added clear water treatment again, but no change, it is worse than it was yesterday, am i going to lose my fish, the angels are worth a bit, not iin money terms, but to me they are priceless

[Faramir]

Don't bother with the clear water treatment - it won't do anything for a bacterial bloom, and may upset the water chemistry.

If the water's turning green now, reduce the lighting.

Water changes are now your friend, as are water test kits - I'd say you need kits for ammonia and nitrite. And if you're upgrading the filter, run the new one with the old one still in place for a while, or at least squeeze the sponge from the old one into the new. New raw filter media are not going to help you at this point.

[wetmanNY]

You're getting good mentoring from Faramir, so I was just lurking...

but, if your cloudiness is developing a green tinge (in a white garbage can is where I notice it first ) you are somehow encouraging algae/euglenoids that make "green water."

Cut the number of hours your lights are on (photoperiod) to under ten a day. Get a timer if you don't already have one. Don't reduce the intensity of your lighting though. Have you added anything (besides fish flakes) that contained phosphates? a conditioner perhaps?