I have had such a headache with my new tank.. it is a 37 gallon and i have had it 4 months... at first it was fine.. the last 2 months i have been battleing ammonia spikes and now bacterium blooms.. I have had 3 of them now... they last about 5 days.. tank gets VERY cloudy and then it goes back to perfectly clear... Today i come home and have another one started... I do a 15% water change once a week... what could be causing this?
How do i get rid of bacterium blooms?
- Thread starter Jeffd1979
- Start date
jeffd1979, can you tell us what your water parameters are, inhabitants filtration etc.
IMHO, 15% water change seems quite low and may explain the bacteria blooms.
IMHO, 15% water change seems quite low and may explain the bacteria blooms.
How often do you check the water parameters? And, when you do the water changes, do you also change the filter media?
It sounds like something is happening that is throwing the tank back into a mini-cycle and a bacteria bloom.
It sounds like something is happening that is throwing the tank back into a mini-cycle and a bacteria bloom.
I had a similar problem a while back. Someone (serveral..) here and on another website mentioned getting a Vortex XL diatom filter. It worked. The persistant, slightly cloudy water was impossible to get rid of.. I still blame the tap water here, but the Vortex solved that problem. This was before I got an R/O De-ionized water system for my Discus. I still use the Vortex shortly after water changes.
My water became cloudy coinsidently when I changed flake food brands. I went back to the original food, and did water changes, but the cloudiness would reappear after a day or two. Everybody that I talked to suspected it was a bacteria bloom.
As the guy at the LFS said, "how bad do you want to get of it?" I bought a UV sterilizer and within 1 hour the water was crystal clear. I'm not sure how small they make them, and if you have the ability to run one on your system, but it's a guaranteed solution to a bacteria bloom IMO.
The other thing I did was buy a RO/DI filtration system off eBay. It hooked up under my kitchen sink in about 30 minutes, and that has really made a huge difference in all my tanks.
Good luck, it can be frustrating.
As the guy at the LFS said, "how bad do you want to get of it?" I bought a UV sterilizer and within 1 hour the water was crystal clear. I'm not sure how small they make them, and if you have the ability to run one on your system, but it's a guaranteed solution to a bacteria bloom IMO.
The other thing I did was buy a RO/DI filtration system off eBay. It hooked up under my kitchen sink in about 30 minutes, and that has really made a huge difference in all my tanks.
Good luck, it can be frustrating.
(I'll probably get beat up for this)
I had the same problem for quite some time. While I never really found the source of my cloudy water, I most definately found a cure.
About a month ago, I tried this stuff called "Accu-clear". It's available everywhere.
I put a few drops in my 36 gallon tank. Came back an hour later, and my water was incredibly clear for the first time in months.
I have yet have to add any more drops, and my water has been clear ever since.
Worth a try for about $3.00
I had the same problem for quite some time. While I never really found the source of my cloudy water, I most definately found a cure.
About a month ago, I tried this stuff called "Accu-clear". It's available everywhere.
I put a few drops in my 36 gallon tank. Came back an hour later, and my water was incredibly clear for the first time in months.
I have yet have to add any more drops, and my water has been clear ever since.
Worth a try for about $3.00
if its white coloured then its a case of waiting. its happened with a couple of my tanks after i did a large water change. In fact, you could hardly see a thing!
gave it a few days and its all cleared up, fingers crossed
gave it a few days and its all cleared up, fingers crossed
The problem I see with those clearing up solutions is that if they are killing all the bacteria in a bacterial bloom then they are probably also attcking the good bacteria in your filter. This could lead to an increase in ammonia in the tank. If you use this type of product then make sure to test your water over the next couple of days.
this is all good info but if your having bacterial blooms then you have to get to the route of the problem - which is that the bloom is occuring because of either excess or high levels of ammonia which the bacteria is feeding on and blooming in high portionms from - you can get all the toys you want to control the problem but IMO it doesnt solve the problm in full - lets try to figure out why you have a lot of ammonia coming into the tank - once your tank cycles and you have that first bloom then you shoulnt be getting anymore IME - unless of course you have a huge ammonia spike - but why the spike in the first place? you shoulnt be getting a spike in ammonia anymore or a bloom once your tank is cycle
