Please help Very Cloudy Water
- Thread starter smokey2957
- Start date
Bacterial blooms and cycling generally occur at the same time but are not actually linked together. Bacterial blooms are the explosion of a free floating bacteria/protist. Nitrifying bacteria are sessile most of the time (attached to surfaces) and do not cause cloudy water. These explosions of bacteria are common in new tanks as the organisms colonize the tank. The OP has not started off a new "cycle". In a planted tank it is very common to have 0 nitrogen detected as plants can use ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate all directly.
There is an imbalance of nutrients in your tank at the moment. Do several large water changes (50% a day for 3-4 days) to remove most of the free floating bacteria/protist. Then begin with your fertilizer regimen. You may need to increase your dosage if your nitrate levels are that low. For a planted tank you need to attempt to keep your nitrates at 10-20ppm in order for you plants to grow well.
There is an imbalance of nutrients in your tank at the moment. Do several large water changes (50% a day for 3-4 days) to remove most of the free floating bacteria/protist. Then begin with your fertilizer regimen. You may need to increase your dosage if your nitrate levels are that low. For a planted tank you need to attempt to keep your nitrates at 10-20ppm in order for you plants to grow well.
What did you mean by the OP has not started a new cycle. I was told that doing that much of a water change would only make the problem worse. And would I do the water changes every day. Also would a black out get rid of all the algae that I have on the glass and wood. Would using Seachem Flourish help increase the nitrogen. Also would adding a large bio wheel HOB help filter out the particles.
So I have done two 50% water changes as per advice from here, one yesterday and one today added my ferts and stability today. After doing the water change the water became cloudy within minutes although not as bad as it was before am I headed in the right direction.
yes you are heading in the right direction. Adding in filtration is almost never a bad idea but it is not necessary in this situation.
After adding in your ferts did you test the water? You may not be dosing enough. Try to keep the nitrates between 10 to 20 ppm for best plant growth. Also there is generally no reason to add in stable just dechlor.
The best thing to do is maintain a regular weekly 50% water change and dose to the needs of you tank. Giving the tank time to adjust also helps. Usually these things clear up once you have the balance right. It can take some time to get it there though.
After adding in your ferts did you test the water? You may not be dosing enough. Try to keep the nitrates between 10 to 20 ppm for best plant growth. Also there is generally no reason to add in stable just dechlor.
The best thing to do is maintain a regular weekly 50% water change and dose to the needs of you tank. Giving the tank time to adjust also helps. Usually these things clear up once you have the balance right. It can take some time to get it there though.
No I did not test the water after adding the ferts. I will do so in a little while and let you know what they were. So will dosing the flourish be enough to bring up the nitrogen or do I need to go by nitrogen. The only reason I was doing the stablility was to help establish the bio filter.
Tested the water and all parameters are 0 except PH which is 7.0. I know I need to increase the nitrogen but do not have the money to purchase any of the Seachem Nitrogen. What can I do to increase it with out having to spend a lot of money.
look into purchasing some dry ferts online. you can get most of a years supply for $20 plus shipping. There are a few places online that sell them. The micro macro mixes will work for a beginner in fertilization.
aquariumfertilizer.com and bobs tropical plants are places I've ordered from.
The liquid ferts that you purchase at the pet stores are almost all water.
aquariumfertilizer.com and bobs tropical plants are places I've ordered from.
The liquid ferts that you purchase at the pet stores are almost all water.
The macro and micro mix that I am using came from Aquariumfertlizer.com. It is mixed with water per the instructions on the package, nobody has been able to tell me how to dose it dry. I am new to dry ferts that is why I got that one because I thought it would be everything I needed. Do not have the extra money to spend on getting new ones at this time. The only store bought one that I got was the Seachem Floursih and I only got that because it has stuff in it that I was told my plants needed and that my mix did not have in it and it was easily gotten. I do not have a problem with dosing seperate ferts, just do not have a clue as to what ones I need when I get the extra money to purchase them or how to dose them when I do get them.
I completely understand your confusion. It is pretty difficult yo learn how to fertilize correctly. Based upon my past experience you'll need between 1/3 to 1/2 tablespoon every other day of the dry mix to maintain the correct amount of fertilizer. The first time I did this my wife gasped at the amout I put into the tank.
