Freshwater tank kind of cloudy white

[Markeydsl]

Hello; I have never had this issue before and cannot figure it out. It seems that it started about 2 weeks after I put a female guppy in my tank because I wanted some babies. (50 gallon tank, bottom gravel filtering, eco system) Well, the tank has had a kind of cloudy look since. I wonder if her having babies is the culprit? I can now see the babies, they are so small, maybe the size of mama's tail.
Can her baby production cause the cloudy water? I always change out water on a weekly basis, taking about 2 to 5 gallons out and putting fresh water. with the cloudy water I have been do this a couple of times per week. the fish do not seem to be suffering in anyway, infact they are acting just like they always do, snails are very active, the alge eaters are very happy. I just can not figure out this cloudy water.

Thanx in advance for any help

 

[FreshyFresh]

Welcome to the site! 2-5 gallons per week is not nearly enough water being changed. Tell us more about what you've got in the tank and what type of filter other than the under gravel filter.

Just as an example for water changes, on any of my tanks, I never do less than a 50% weekly water change on the tank. Some even more.

I probably wouldn't do a massive water change all at once on your tank if you could avoid it, you'll have to gradually build up to it.

Use a good water treatment/dechlor product like seachem prime or the granular form Safe and order an API master test kit if you don't have one to test water parameters.

 

[Markeydsl]

I actually have a 50 gallon tank with 4 Platy, 3 adult guppies, now 3 baby guppies, one plecostomus, 2 apple snails and 6 neons. Not very many fish for such big space. I also have about 4 inches of gravels and 2 pumps to pull the water through the gravel, no other filters. there are also the plastic plants, some rocks and hiding spaces for the fish. I have been running this tank for 15 years like this. It started getting cloudy about a month ago, when I added the 3 adult guppies (2 boys and 1 girl) and since it has never done this before I am not sure what is going on. I always understood that unless I have my tank heavily stocked I should only change out about 10 to 15% of the water on a weekly basis, so that is about what I do give or take some. I do test the water for PH, and do have a testing kit, But don't use all the tests. with each change of water I also add one teaspoon tank salt per gallon of water. As far as I can tell there is no ich, or anything visible on the fish and like I said they act as if there is nothing in the water, they are very active, eating well, finishing all their food in about 2 minutes, even the babies are big enough now that they are chasing the food.

Welcome to the site! 2-5 gallons per week is not nearly enough water being changed. Tell us more about what you've got in the tank and what type of filter other than the under gravel filter.

Just as an example for water changes, on any of my tanks, I never do less than a 50% weekly water change on the tank. Some even more.

I probably wouldn't do a massive water change all at once on your tank if you could avoid it, you'll have to gradually build up to it.

Use a good water treatment/dechlor product like seachem prime or the granular form Safe and order an API master test kit if you don't have one to test water parameters.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Are you able to remove debris from under the UGF?

Saying you've been told 10-15% WWC is enough is kind of meaningless. There's too many variables at play for a one size fits all. That sounds like a fish store recommendation, where their focus is to sell you more fish.

The only way to know if you are changing the proper amount of water for your particular setup is to measure for nitrates in your tank. Keeping fish in high nitrates won't necessarily harm them right away, but it can be thought of as being similar to a 2 pack a day smoker. It's most likely going to lead to health issues and an early death.

You should test your tank for nitrate in PPM. It should ideally not exceed 20ppm.

Water changes don't only dilute nitrates. They also maintain a consistent mineral content, GH and Kh to name a few.

There's nothing wrong with measuring your tank's pH, but the goal should be to keep it where your tap water pH is. Keeping the GH and Kh inline with your tap water should help keep the pH the same.

 

[Markeydsl]

I do use a clear tube when I remove water, to sort of vacum the gravel. In June I took the whole tank appart to clean under the Filter. I have been doing that about once per year for about 15 years. But still I wonder. I have had this tank running like this for about 15 years, with out any issues, Until just recently. I am not doing anything different than I was doing for the past 15 years. I have never had a high mortality rate in my fish. The last thing I changed about a month ago, was adding 2 male guppies, one famale guppy and one additional plastic plant, those are the only changes I have made, over the past year. About 2 weeks after adding them the water started to get cloudy. I do have algae growth but the snails and the plecostomus seem to keep it in check. I do wonder if the female could be creating the cloudy environment.... she has been having babies, so over the past month she added about 7 babies, although now that they are a little bigger there are only 5 of them.
per your request, I tested the water with my testing kit. (API freshwater, master test kit), I tested for Nitrite NO2, and Nitrate NO3, and both came back as 0 ppm. all other tests are normal range (PH and Ammonia NH3/NH4)

Are you able to remove debris from under the UGF?

Saying you've been told 10-15% WWC is enough is kind of meaningless. There's too many variables at play for a one size fits all. That sounds like a fish store recommendation, where their focus is to sell you more fish.

The only way to know if you are changing the proper amount of water for your particular setup is to measure for nitrates in your tank. Keeping fish in high nitrates won't necessarily harm them right away, but it can be thought of as being similar to a 2 pack a day smoker. It's most likely going to lead to health issues and an early death.

You should test your tank for nitrate in PPM. It should ideally not exceed 20ppm.

Water changes don't only dilute nitrates. They also maintain a consistent mineral content, GH and Kh to name a few.

There's nothing wrong with measuring your tank's pH, but the goal should be to keep it where your tap water pH is. Keeping the GH and Kh inline with your tap water should help keep the pH the same.

 

[FreshyFresh]

If N03/ nitrate came back with a 0ppm reading, either the tank is uncycled, the test wasn't done properly or there's something wrong with the test kit.

When you say you cleaned the tank, what did you do with the gravel during the process? Most of your beneficial bacteria will be on the surface of the gravel. If that was washed/cleaned improperly, it could wipe out the colony of BB you need to process ammonia in the tank.

 

[Markeydsl]

yes, I cleaned the tank, I took everything out and rinsed off the gravel to remove any accumulated waste that has collected that I did not remove from the gravel with the Suction tubing, but only rinsed them off, no cleaners or anything other than tap water. I put it in a large container and ran water through them while using my hand to stir the gravel, once most of the waste was removed and the water was semi clear, I returned it to the tank. Same with the items in the tank, rinse with a light scrubbing to remove excess algae. I am aware of the bacterial process because I also have a Koi pond that I monitor very closely. I have been raising Koi for 25 years in an outside setting. I understand the importance of the environment and Benificial Bacteria. Still you have not answered my question, why do you keep avoiding providing an answer to my question. Could it be the female guppy?
Also the Ammonia in the tank is also 0ppm. the test kit is brand new, and I followed the test instructions and processed them 2 times just to make sure the results were the same. Again, this tank has been fine for 15 years. I have followed the same proeces's for 15 years and have never had this happen before. Any other thoughts? also keep in mind that I have on 11 very small fish in a 50 gallon tank. with these small fish I doubt there would be an accumulation of any of these item, Nitrate or otherwise. Also as I indicated there is a good amount of green algae on the plants and items in the tank, this could be the reason the nitrates are so low. Plant material will eat up the nitrates and break them down.

If N03/ nitrate came back with a 0ppm reading, either the tank is uncycled, the test wasn't done properly or there's something wrong with the test kit.

When you say you cleaned the tank, what did you do with the gravel during the process? Most of your beneficial bacteria will be on the surface of the gravel. If that was washed/cleaned improperly, it could wipe out the colony of BB you need to process ammonia in the tank.

 

[FreshyFresh]

I'm asking questions to try to help you. You can have 40yrs of "experience" and still be doing things improperly.

If you rinsed the entire contents of your tank in chlorinated tap water, you wiped out most, if not all your beneficial bacteria. This will cause water parameter issues and can cause cloudiness. Doesn't matter if you've been doing it this way for 15yrs. It's how this works. Could you have gotten by without issues? Absolutely. But it's unlikely.

You could also have an algae or diatom bloom going on. One female guppy having a batch of fry in a 50g tank almost certainly did not cause this.

I wish you luck.

 

[dougall]

Unless you are on a well, you likely rinsed with chlorinated water (or such) meaning that it is treated chemically to kill off any bacteria that may reside there.

certain bacteria are beneficial to the aquarium to handle the nitrogen cycle and such.

the symptom sounds like a bacterial bloom in the water, my suggestion would be to get a second opinion on your water test, and see what the readings are at a pet store or similar. Just because a test kit is new,it does not guarantee accuracy, either because of the reagents used, nor for potential operator error.

 

[dougall]

One female guppy having a batch of fry in a 50g tank almost certainly did not cause this.

Adjusting feeding as a result of extra fry may potentially be an issue though