Clarity of Water

Can you please post your Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate readings. The #1 cause of cloudy water is high ammonia.

The test kit should be fine but it could be expired. Take a glass of tank water and put it against a white sheet of paper. Tell me if it has a greenish tint.

Its a large amount of bacteria in the water. If your cloudyness is bacteria related, filtering with activated carbon (to remove organics) and increasing airation should clear it up in a couple days. Airation is important since the bacteria consume lots of oxygen. The more oxygen you give them, the faster they do their work and the quicker your problem will be solved. 50% weekly waterchanges with gravel washing (using the syphon to clean the gravel thoroughly) will work as a preventative. Cloudy water is caused by a buildup of wastes that get released in the water column. It is most commonly seen in newer tanks since the substrate has not been properly established and this allows the organics to accumulate and not be broken down as they do so. Usually these problems clear up as the tank ages given a proper maintanance cycle. If I see cloudy water in an older tank, the first thing I do is test for ammonia.

I have been trying to clear cloudiness by adding an activated carbon filter (to the one I already have) and doing water changes and all it seems to do is make it worse. I have read on other threads that no filter can catch the free floating bacteria. Just wondering?

That is why I did not reccommend the water changes except via routine maintanance. This just disturbs the bacteria which are trying to establish themselves.

I would not do the hydrogen peroxide. Yes it will clear up the water but it is a strong oxydizing agent and can easily be overdosed. Hydrogen peroxide can destroy gill tissue and can kill nitrifying bacteria. Both are disasters that can be avoided. Just wait it out, the cloudyness will go away. You can cut feeding to 1x a day to speed things up if you are not already feeding 1x a day.