Cycled tank, continuous cloudy water

D

Dan06

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Jan 22, 2006
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29gal tank. Houses two fig8 puffers with less than 1.1 salinity.

It has been fully cycled since March. About 2 months ago the water became crystal clear for the first time. All spring/summer after the initial cycle, ammonia/nitrites were never detectable. Nitrates would sometimes get to 10ppm and with a simple 25% water change it would drop to undetectable levels. I also vacuum the gravel with every water change, or more depending on how much CRAP is on the substrate.

For about 3 weeks roughly 1 month ago, the tank became CRYSTAL clear and the tank looked very very nice. It wasn't until then that I had realized my tank had been cloudy. I figured since the tank looked beautiful it would be safe to perform a 25% water change...and then...for the past month now, the tank has been cloudy. It's not much of a cloudyness but it's definitely enough of a haze to make the Puffers uneasy.

They are fed once every 2 days, a very small amount of frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp. Fed VERY VERY slowly and nothing ever hits the sand substrate and goes to waste.

I've bought several complete testing kits to make sure the water parameters truly are what they've read. Ammonia is 0, Nitrites is 0, Nitrates is 0. However, the tank still has a haze. Let's not forget I have a DUAL Whisper filter with a 300GPH rating & it is on full blast 24/7. The water is NOT green. Water is changed once a week @ 25% each change. :thud:

During the 3 weeks of clarity, I did not perform a *single* water change, it was the only thing I haven't tried besides chemicals. I am not thrilled to think about not changing the water for more than a week, as I've read Puffers are very sensitive to Nitrates and they will be allowed to build up since I don't have a planted tank.


What's the deal?????
 
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try using distilled water and adding R/O right. i think the problem may be phospahtes. any kind of membrane filtered water should do. just make sure your kh never gets below 3
 
Just a quick note on distilled water, how will it help if I do a water change and for a couple hours the tank DOES appear clearer than before?

What is R/O Right?

Also, phosphates has been something I've read about a little during my research.

I appreciate your response. Thanks.
 
CaptnDan said:
No ammonia and no Nitrites says that the biological colonies are in place.

Nitrates staying at zero suggests that something is 'consuming' those Nitrates, and that suggests plant life, algae, and the like.
Click to expand...

Algae? I see none in the tank. However, if I take a clear glass cup and remove some water, it has a very very very faint green hue to it. What do I do to remedy this, without buying an overly expensive UV Sterilizer? I was sold one through e-bay, however it is for a Canister filter and the seller did not inform me of this. :rant2:
 
phospahtes are in the water, plants use them to grow.

r/o right is a mixture of salts and solids that dissolve to raise the gh/ kh of the water.

phosphates are in ALL tap water the R/O will lower those amounts
 
kcooley said:
phospahtes are in the water, plants use them to grow.

r/o right is a mixture of salts and solids that dissolve to raise the gh/ kh of the water.

phosphates are in ALL tap water the R/O will lower those amounts
Click to expand...

So you figure phosphates are the culprit to my cloudy tank?

I also recall the fire hydrants being flushed down the street from me a couple days before I did the last water change before skipping for 3 weeks. I don't know if that could have helped the water parameters better for a brief moment?

Can I find it at local aquariums or do I have to order it on the internet?
 
Dan06 said:
Algae? I see none in the tank. However, if I take a clear glass cup and remove some water, it has a very very very faint green hue to it. What do I do to remedy this, without buying an overly expensive UV Sterilizer? I was sold one through e-bay, however it is for a Canister filter and the seller did not inform me of this. :rant2:
Click to expand...

You have a nice low bio-load, so there probably isn't much in the way of nutrients for the algae, which is why there is such a tiny amount of it. So though Nitrates could be a player, you don't have that much being produced to begin with.

The next place to look would be Phosphates. My personal preference is to not add any kind of chemical additive to the tank. Since the introduction of the phosphates is probably through the tap water, I would prefer to take care of it at that end - but that isn't practical for most people.

Next best thing in my opinion would be something like Phos-Zorb - a phosphate absorbing resin that you could add to your filter. Occasionally you would need to clean and recharge the resin, which is a pretty simple task. You can get it at most LFS's. Cost is usually under $10 around here.

BTW: Why don't you PM me about the UV sterilizer - maybe we can work something out. (I have a canister filter and I am thinking of adding UV)
 
Thanks for your help...

I'll see what I can find for phosphate absorbants at the store.

PM SENT
 
Just a FYI.....

I went and picked up a Phos-Zorb pouch for a 55gal tank. I put it in the tank Friday night, it's now almost 5:30 the next day and the tank is almost completely clear. I think I have finally found the answer!

Thanks to everyone that has helped... I'll check back in as soon as the tank fully clears. :dance:
 
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