Cloudy Water

Jamie

Jamie

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Jul 27, 2003
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I performed a search on the subject but didn't really find out anything. My 150g tank has been running for a few days w/o fish...only gravel, decorations and water. The water is pretty cloudy. I put a couple of bags of carbon in the sump to clear it up but it didn't do too much. Any comments/suggestions as to why this is and how to deal with it?
 
What color is the cloudiness? Gravel type? Was it rinsed? Any rocks that could be dissolving (seems silly, but I knew of a guy who had cloudy water that ultimately came from a stalactite he'd added)?
 
It is probably an algae bloom caused by excess ammonia freed up when you dechlorinated/dechlorminated 120 gallons of water at once. It should go away when your tank cycles.
good luck
:)
 
The cloudiness is sort of like a white haze. I have rinsed flourite as the substrate, three lg pieces of malaysian driftwood(the heavy stuff that sinks from the get go), and some larger rocks from the local landscaping place. I tested the rocks with vinegar to make sure they were not reactive...but maybe they're the culprit. I didn't think it was an algal bloom - i thought that would take a few days to happen - this haziness has been here since I added the water.
 
I suspect that it is not a bacterial bloom, nor an algae bloom, but rather particulate from the substrate. Trust me--no matter how good you think you've rinsed, there will always be plenty of dust that comes out when you add water.

I would give it a few more days. Keep the water moving--moving water sheds particulates quicker than calm water. Avoid having water directed at the substrate, as this will stir it up as soon as it settles. I wouldn't try to remove it (though you can--mechanical filtration, or a water polisher will pull it out), because those small particles are excellent media for bacteria to colonize. Once the tank has cycled, they will be covered with bacteria and less prone to being suspended in the water column.
 
I had the exact same cloudiness (along with a slight smell) for 2 weeks recently, then after my last water change it disappeared finally. I tried numerous clearing and anti-algae chemicals, but after a day or two free of cloudiness it would return.

Think my cure had something to do with not siphoning for 3 weeks, I gave my bateria time to settle in the substrate (and didn't keep stirring it up). In your case, it sounds like there was enough bacteria present, and no 'balance', to help aid in the bloom.
 
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OK, let's see if we can detail the possible causes of hazy (white) water. I'm excluding green cloudy water because that's generally indicative of an algae bloom.

One cause can be suspended particulates, often seen when a tank is first set up. This is especially a problem if one uses a sand-based or calcareous substrate (e.g., crushed coral). You generally don't see cloudiness from the substrate if you're using epoxy-covered colored aquarium gravel or a well rinsed natural gravel (e.g., pea gravel).

Another cause can be a bloom of plankton or other microbes that inhabit our tank. There are many microorganisms that live in our tanks, and as a tank matures, their populations fall into a balance such that one population controls another, or is limited by the ammount of food available to it. When a tank is new (or when something changes dramatically in a tank's upkeep) these populations can become unbalanced and the overpopulation is seen as haze. These organisms are NOT the same organism that we hope to cultivate as our biofilter. Those bacteria are firmly attached to surfaces; they don't free-float in the tank as a rule.

Other causes of white water that I'm missing?

Jim
 
Originally posted by JSchmidt
Other causes of white water that I'm missing?
Click to expand...

Slimy water? :cool:

You covered all the variables I learned about in the past weeks...
 
Is it only gravel in the substrate? I made a home made substrate mixture of clay, peat, compost (see tank specs below) and it took a couple of weeks before it cleared and it wasn't until it cycled completely until it fully cleared. I was told that suspended clay matter in the water column will never settle on its own, it needs bacteria to clear it up which occurs during cycling. I used a floculant to clear up the cloudiness but it didn't do very much.

Is particulate cloudiness harmfull to fish?
 
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