Cloudy tank won't clear up

[FishyWarrior]

Ok...so which did you buy? If in pots, how do you have them in your tank now?

Oh, sorry i think i misread your question earlier. I don't think the plants i bought came in pots, maybe something around the roots but i removed that, snipped the roots and put them in the substrate.

It may have something to do with using plant substrate and dosing flourish twice per week. Is your sister's tank similar in this regard? Excess nutrients can feed bacteria and algae; and could be contributing to the bloom. I'm not sure you need twice weekly flourish (assuming this is flourish the fertilizer and not the carbon supplement) with a plant substrate.

My sister's tank is definitely not having the same problems as i am. She had the issue with slime a few weeks back but never cloudy water outside of the first few days the tank was up. Right now it's crystal clear for her.

I dose the fertilizer and the carbon supplement. With excel i dose that everyday, is that too much? I was doing the same with my 40 gallon and right now that is going through a surge of hair algae that i had to go through and rip out a hand full of. I can cut down on the flourish if that's what's causing it, and should i only dose excel every other day instead?

 

[myswtsins]

Keep dosing excel daily, it helps fight algae, it can actually be used as an algaecide. Flourish only provides trace nutrients which you only need in trace amounts so cutting that back is a good idea. Do you dose anything for macronutrients (nitrogen, potassium, phosphates NPK)? With a newly setup tank I find adding ferts is not necessary because the plants are adjusting and transforming not taking in a ton of nutrients for new growth yet. I always start with lower light, low nutrients and increase both as I see my plants needing them.

 

[FishyWarrior]

Keep dosing excel daily, it helps fight algae, it can actually be used as an algaecide. Flourish only provides trace nutrients which you only need in trace amounts so cutting that back is a good idea. Do you dose anything for macronutrients (nitrogen, potassium, phosphates NPK)? With a newly setup tank I find adding ferts is not necessary because the plants are adjusting and transforming not taking in a ton of nutrients for new growth yet. I always start with lower light, low nutrients and increase both as I see my plants needing them.

Alright, good to hear about the excel then! I'll keep that going. How often should i dose the flourish if at all?

 

[trigiver01]

While you have new plant substrate in that tank you may not need flourish [fertilizer] at all. I like FishyWarrior's advice in holding it and once you notice plant growth (new leaves, new roots) you may start dosing it weekly at first and go up from there if needed. Hopefully by then your water will have cleared up.

Definitely keep the excel going daily. That's a carbon source that algae cannot use/have a difficult time using (as opposed to CO2) so plants preferentially get the benefit and theoretically starve algae of other nutrients needed to grow. If this bloom is algae it may help and shouldn't hurt if the bloom is non-cyano bacteria.

 

[dougall]

Excel is more than just a source of carbon. It's based on Glutaraldehyde which is more of a disinfectant used in hospitals of all places...

(Read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutaraldehyde if you want a little more info... you can also read through http://unclenedsfishfactory.com/BulletinBoard/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=7103 for more fish specific information.. I'm not sure if the source on facebook is publicly viewable.. I think the AGA is a closed group so you would have to join)

But I would say it should be fine to use as advertised, and if it's algae based (or maybe otherwise) would be of benefit, and shouldn't harm anything. I'm not sure how many nutrients you'd be getting from the substrate without knowing exactly what it is (Looks like Stratum at a guess)


I would add plant nutrients based on the need of the plants you're keeping, and their volume. Maybe balance plants so that you have a bunch that have similar requirements.

 

[trigiver01]

That may be true (and in high concentrations doesn't just kill bacteria but all cells), but in concentrations obtained by standard aquarium dosing it can't be considered a disinfectant...or else it would kill off cycle bacteria and lead to ruin.

 

[myswtsins]

You can stop the flourish for now, resume as needed (may never need it with a small plant load and if you have traces coming in through water changes). You will most likely need to supplement macros before trace since they get used up in larger quantities but again sometime you get enough through fish waste all depends on plant load/naturally occurring nutrients/foods fed/fish load/light provided etc etc etc.

 

[dougall]

That may be true (and in high concentrations doesn't just kill bacteria but all cells), but in concentrations obtained by standard aquarium dosing it can't be considered a disinfectant...or else it would kill off cycle bacteria and lead to ruin.

Trying to say to not underestimate it... it's not just a source of carbon; I would personally be pretty careful with it.

I don't see anything that would need carbon in the water, but I could be wrong, I'm not in favor of adding chemicals of any kind without a specific need to do so.

 

[FishyWarrior]

I don't mean to change the subject here but i don't really want to start another thread and i noticed this on one of my rainbows that's kind of concerning me. I couldn't get the greatest picture so here's the best i could get. It's basically a redish/purpleish bump right near the tail. When i look at it from the side it has that pinecone effect that dropsy has in just that area. She still seems to be eating and hanging around the others most of the time, but she is swimming a little bit slower and is sometimes hiding in the plants until i come around.

Thanks for all the other advice though for my betta tank, i will take it all into consideration and hopefully it will clear up soon!

 

[fishorama]

It could be an injury. It may hurt to move her tail. The pineconing could be from slight swelling underneath. Do you have any sharp décor or nippy fish?

Keep an eye on it & do lots of water changes. If it gets bigger, redder or ulcerated looking consider an antibiotic. I'm thinking you don't have a quarantine tank...