Cloudy Water & Increased NO3

A

acefred

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Dec 26, 2004
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Ok I've been doing some reading and I think I might have to problem figured out, but want feedback form all of you....

I have a 45g hex tank, running just over a year now.

Stocked as follows:

1 Pleco
1 Clown Loach
1 Raphael
3 Albino Tiger Barbs
3 Cherry Barbs
2 Rosy Barbs
1 Tiger Barb
2 Albino Danios
3 Regular Danios
2 Peach Kissing Goramis
3 Neons (they are ok, big enough)
1 Black Mollie (still from cycling the tank)

Chem is:
Cl-0, Temp 75, Ph 7.4, Ammonia 0, NO3 20, NO2 0, GH 11, KH 16

I run a Fluval 304 (had a 204 until last month, leaked and the LFS replaced, I upgraded to the 304).

I have a problem since putting the new filter in and a water change at that point 25% I have white cloudy water. I thought it was a becteria bloom so tried some BClear (didn't help) Now jus did another water change yesterday and still cloudy.............I added (until now) some Proper Ph 7.0 just to try and lower my water Ph to a reasonable level from the 7.8-8.0 it is. I realize that with the GH and KH and Proper PH it could cause the cluding, but never did for the past 6 months I've used it. Now I want to clear up the tank and lower some of the GH and KH. I'm thinking of using some RO or Distilled water (the water place said basically the same thing).

So my questions:

1. Why is the water cloudy?
2. Why have my NO3 values not lowered (always has been 0-5 ppm), using Nitra Zorb in filter.....But now I am using a different test kit (could this kit be more accurate).
3. How would I go about lowing my GH and KH .
4. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME????? :confused: :eek: :D :D
 
I'll take a stab at it...
1. It probably is a bacterial bloom as you suspected (if it's an algae bloom, that's a whole different story - you can check a glass of the water against a white paper to see if it's white or green). Bacterial blooms can happen if the tank becomes unbalanced, which can happen after switching filters. Give the tank time to settle, it should resolve itself. It won't harm the fish, so don't be alarmed (unless they show signs of illness/distress).

2. NO3 test kits seem to have limited shelf life. If you bought a new kit, it's likely accurate, and the old one may have been expired - I recently bought a kit that registers 5ppm no matter what the levels are; sometimes they just wear out and start giving strange results.

3. I wouldn't worry about your GH, KH or pH. Most fish are fine with the levels you posted. It's best for the fish to have a steady pH; using chemicals tends to cause swings in pH which can really stress fish. IMO, those chemicals aren't needed. If you do want to mix your tap water, RO is what most people here seem to use.

4. This stuff happens to all of us :D You're in good company. Don't worry, the tank will re-balance soon - just be patient and allow everything to settle, and the problem should clear up on its own.
 
Thanks for the answer..........The old NO3 kit was less then 4 months old so I would have thought it was good..............I realize the value isn't too high, but after seeing it at 0-10 forever I thought something might be wrong/or right with this kit......I think I'll take a sample to the store and see what values for everything they get, good comparison for me.
Will more water changes help clear the bloom or should I just keep on my regular schedule?
 
In most cases I don't think it helps much. IME the best thing to do is, literally, leave the tank alone. Feed sparingly, don't stir up the gravel, don't clean the filter (unless it's very dirty), change the water on your usual schedule. A bloom can appear overnight and disappear just as quickly on its own.
 
Okay figured some of this out and did a miutistage water change this am...............I think I did it the way this states................Took out 14 gal replaced 10 gal.............took out another 8....Replaced 10....Took out 10 Replaced 10..........

Does this make sences to reduce levels...........Here is an article I found that I thought was describing what I did..............

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/nitratecontrol/l/aa091901.htm

I plan on doing another change like this later tonight and then check levels again..........By doing this change my NO3 went from a confirmed (by LFS) 40 to about 10-15.........I have about 5-10 NO3 in my tap water so I will only be able to lower it a bit more..............My Ph is good and this also lowered my GH and KH into a bit better areas...........And so far the clouding is gone!!

Any feedback on this proceedure would be great.....
 
my thoughts - if we follow that procedure, what difference will it make if lets say we drain out the whole tank and just refill it. whatever substance there is in that water will be reduced to minimal levels. doesn't make alot of sense to me - then again maybe i'm dense :confused:
 
The one problem with draining the whole tank is this will stress the fish through not giving them enough water.................I was very carefull in doing my change(S) in total I changed 38 gal of my 45 gal tank (85% change).........By doing this and watching the quality of the water I added..The tank is crystal clear, the nitrates are less than 10, the KH and GH went down slightly, the Ph stayed at 7.4 (my tap water is 7.4 and so is the aquarium)..............Even with all this my pleco was a bit stressed , but he quickly recovered and everyone is doin fine now.................

I would recommend changes like this for anyone with chemical or any other type of water problem.
 
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