Cloudy Water

[mokoni]

Will someone please help me figure out how to clear my cloudy water? My 10g aquarium was doing fine until I had to move the tank for a couple days while I had carpet installed. Because the tank was too close to the window I ended up with green algae water in a day. I was able to get rid of the green water through water changes but it's still cloudy and I can't figure this out. Here's what I have done so far:

50% water change - partially cleared up water for a day;
48 hours later, 30% water change - same effect;
48 hours (or so) later, changed filter and 30% water change - no change;
Last night, 50% water change and treatment with Tetra Algae Control (removed activated carbon from filter) - slightly less cloudy right now but still cloudy.

My readings are all good; I tested for ammonia (0), nitrites (0), nitrates (low reading which is typical for my tank); and PH (normal). Am I missing something? The two fish are acting fine (a Pink Convict and Dempsey Cichlid). Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[mokoni]

I just had a thought - is it possible that my water could be cloudy from using too much Aquasafe during my water changes? I always estimate on the side of using more rather than less.

 

[Jay]

Is it cloudy green or cloudy white now?

 

[mokoni]

Cloudy white. The green seems to be gone although it's a little hard to tell because the walls around the tank are light green, unfortunately. It was definitely green when this whole mess started.

Also, when I tested today, the nitrites were slightly elevated (between 0 and .25 ppm on the color card; definitely closer to the color of 0 than .25) and the nitrates were the same as before. So, I did another small water change tonight (about 20%).

I was definitely adding too much Aquasafe during my previous water changes. Do you think that could be the cause?

 

[Jay]

I don't know about aquasafe, an od may cloud your water. You have surely introduced a lot of variables, water change, chemicals etc. I would do another 50% water change and leave it alone for a while.

I think the root of your cloudiness is algae, and you need to review what you are doing to feed a green water bloom. The sunlight exasberated it but there was an underlying nutrient problem. I would look there.

Jay