Cloudy Water

[EcoPit]

I know I saw a cloudy water thread recently, but I can't find it now. My tank has been getting cloudier and cloudier over the past week or so. I was treating for ich, so had 2 tsp/gal of salt in there. I thought that might be the problem (no reasoning, just a random hope). The treatment was over, so I did a 50% water change. It got cloudier. I thought maybe something had died and was fouling the water, but my fish are pretty much accounted for (I can rarely spot all of my otos at the same time), so I don't think there is a carcass fouling the water. The plants all look fairly good, so I don't think anything is melting down or anything. Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates are 0. pH is 7.4. (I think. I have 2 pH kits and I can barely read either of them. I am thinking of getting a digital pH meter so I can more accurately measure CO2 levels.) I have been dosing Nitrate (KNO3), Phosphate (Fleet), Potassium (KNO3 and NoSalt), Magnesium (Epsom Salt), Flourish (for traces) and Flourish Iron.

The tank hasn't been set up long, so my two theories now are: this is the cloudiness that I have read often accompanies the cycling process, or it is something to do with fert dosing. The tank was reading 0 Ammonia and Nitrites before the cloudiness showed up, so I am not confident in the former. I am a total beginner idiot in dosing, so I am leaning towards the latter. What do you think? I can post details on my dosing if it would help.

[rrkss]

Did the plants get damaged from the salt treatment? Did you remove them? When I salted my ich, it killed off every strand of algae in my tank sparing only the cyanobacteria. This could lead to couldy water as the algae decay.

[philip02180]

Do you have a white, hazy cloudiness or blue/greenish? If it's white then it's bacteria boom. If it's greenish then it's algae. I think in your case probably the salt killed off the good bacteria and possibly some plant? All these add to the buildup of decaying / organic matters and bacteria.

[EcoPit]

The plants didn't seem bothered by the salt at all. I asked here before trying it, and most everyone said they didn't have problems using salt in planted tanks for ich.

I say it is white, my wife says it is green. I think the slight greenish haze is just light reflecting off the plants. Here is a picture:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c320/jcashmore/55%20Gallon/01-05-06cloudy.jpg
From the side you can't see halfway through the tank.

I wouldn't think the ammonia and nitrites would be 0 if the bacteria died. I know the plants would absorb some of it, but I would think I could detect some of it.

[philip02180]

Looks exactly like what happened to my tank. I never able to get rid of the cloudiness completely, every now and then it'll come back. The only method that seems to be working for me is to keep aeration on and feed sparsely and after a few days it will clear up a lot. During those time I add stress-zyme and/or p-clear every other day or so. My own theory is, without any scientific proof of course, the cloudiness is caused by anaerobic bacteria that blooms when I shut off powerhead and air-pump during the day for my plants. But since my tank is not heavily planted it doesn't give up O2 fast enough.

[rrkss]

Get a clear glass and fill it with some tank water. Put that glass on a white sheet of paper and tell us if it is green.

[EcoPit]

Get a clear glass and fill it with some tank water. Put that glass on a white sheet of paper and tell us if it is green.
That is a good idea. I am ashamed to admit that I never would have thought of it.

And, the results are.......completely inconclusive!! She still says green, I still say no. I am sure it will only get worse, so I will post again when it is conclusive.

If it is green, it must be an algae bloom, right? Would I just treat that with a dark-out for a few days? And of course, I would need to rework my fert dosing.

If it is not green, what do you think? If it has to do with the bacteria and cycling, does that clear up on its own? If it is something else, any ideas?

[rrkss]

If its green, probably because the salt stunted the plants. Once the plants recover it should go away.

[sayembara]

What I did, was to upgrade my filter (you may use current one).
Then try several "cloud water" treatment or those "super clear" chemical that suppose to remove the tiny particles. I think I used 3 brands before the problem is gone.
Again, I try to combat biologically e.g. blackout etc but failed. As a last resort, I tried the chemical attack. I believe the bacteria is not affected, just as printed on the chemical bottles.

[EcoPit]

When it first started I replaced my filter pad for the polishing micron filter. It has only gotten worse. I am going to try a blackout this weekend and see what happens.

[blue demasoni]

How long did you leave the micron pad in for? If it was a long time it was probably established w/ bacteria. It looks and sounds baterial, and if so it should clear up on its own. I don't see any fish though and that will make it take longer.

[EcoPit]

The micron pad has been in there for four days. There are a few fish; click the link in my sig to see the list. I have it blacked out now, so we will see if it does anything.

[blue demasoni]

You've got a nice looking tank- If I were you I'd buy a diatom d1 filter, run it a few hours and if it's still cloudy it is a bacterial bloom. A diatom will clean a algae bloom but not a bacterial. So if it's still cloudy after doing that you'll have to let nature run its course(one or two weeks), or get some bio spira. Even w/ the bio spira it'll take a two or three days to clear.