cloudy water

hmt321

AC Members
Nov 21, 2005
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I have a 40 gal (wide) with cloudy water, (it's more of a haze) how do i fix it?

water test as of 5-7-06

ph 7
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10, its just starting to show color

I do a 30% water change every week

filter

2227 eheim wet dry
1 small air stone
1 power head

fish

3 sunfish -- 1.5" (long-ear i think) (native to NA, they get about 6" or so, temperament like an Oscar)

5 sail fin shiners -- 1.5" (native shiners they get to be about 3")

1 mad tom -- 2" (they get about 3")

2 ottos -- algae control

I feed

a pinch of flake 3 times a week
floating pellets 2 times a week
1 square of blood worms a week
1 square of frozen baby brine shrimp a week

I keep my temp about 72 - 73 (heater is shut off right now)

tank is heavily planted, 1watt per gal from 8 am to 8 pm

my water seems fine, and they take the food down right away (except for the blood worms, they tend to have 2 hunt for them)

this started about a month or so ago, until then i had the sponge over the intake for the eheim, so i took it off and now use the strainer.

any advise would be app
 
How long have you had the tank set up? It could be because the tank hasn't cycled completely, you're feeding too much, or you're over stocked.
 
chinnp said:
How long have you had the tank set up? It could be because the tank hasn't cycled completely, you're feeding too much, or you're over stocked.

I did a fishless cycle in February, it was finished around 1st of March
My test results indicate that the tank is cycled

My feeding routine is listed I do not think it is too much.

As for over stocking, the fish are very small (only the sunnies will get bigger and only one will remain in this tank) also if it was over stocked I think that my water parameters would reflect it.

I will check the water color in a glass when I get off work.

Thanks
 
looked at a glass of my tank water, very hard to see anything it that ammount of water, when i look through the tank longways it has a slight greenish tint, but it is heavily planted, so i am unsure. I have had both bacteria and algae blooms this is much more subtle. thanks
 
The slight greenish tint is probably an artifact of the tank being glass. If it were acrylic, there would probably be no color.

If the tank is heavily planted, the cloudiness it is most likely not biological in origin. Ergo, one-time use of a water clarifier, such as a diatom filter or filter floss will probably solve your problem.

You could chuck an HOB filter on there and jam it full of filter floss (non-treated polyester pillow stuffing) and let it run for a few days, or you could borrow someone's diatom or micron canister filter.

When I want to clarify my tank water (both fresh and salt) and I don't want to use diatomaceous earth, I use filter floss.
 
thanks man, I have several old hob that i can run on it for a day or so, but the way my hood is built i would have 2 take it off (the shiners jump)
I may pick up a used canister filter and fill it with filter floss and let it run a few days and see what happens

thanks
 
no it stays the same no matter what time of day or how long the lights have been on

thanks
 
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