Hi, I have a 40 Gallon Bow tank which contains 4 Oscars, 2 Jack's (non of which are bigger than 1.5 inches and yes they will all graduate to 90 gallon and 75 gallon tanks) when I initially set up my 40 gallon bow tank 4 weeks ago, I had an Aqua Clear Aquarium Filter (200 Model) and an airstone, but my water remained awfully dirty and cloudy and for the life of me I could not figure out how to clear this thing up, so I decided that maybe the filter wasn't good enough since I always saw food and waste floating around the tank, This past Sunday I purchased a Penn Plax Cascade Canister Filter 700, now the food and waste from the fish are certainly gone, however the water is still cloudy, I began to change 20% of the water this past Saturday and today I was going to change another 20% of the water, can someone give me some direction here, what am I doing wrong? I know my tank shouldn't be this cloudy, I have used chemicals to clear up the water, but that only makes a small difference and from what I have read on other post, it will only mask the problem, not really fix it......Can someone give me some help here? How can I clear up this cloudy tank?
Put on New Filter, Still have Cloudy water
- Thread starter MichaelC427
- Start date
Just about everyone here will be able to tell you better than I, but in my short experience, this is what I have found:
Leaving the tank light on for too long, OR having the tank in direct sunlight for a long period of time will cause cloudiness.
Give the filter some time. I had cloudy water, did a WC and STILL had cloudy water. I did change filter media and the next day the water was crystal clear.
OR
Clean your tank's glass.
Leaving the tank light on for too long, OR having the tank in direct sunlight for a long period of time will cause cloudiness.
Give the filter some time. I had cloudy water, did a WC and STILL had cloudy water. I did change filter media and the next day the water was crystal clear.
OR
Clean your tank's glass.
Osacars are extremely messy fish, so that is going to put a lot of strain on any filter. It is not unheard of to have to clean up after them after EVERY meal. One of my fish books reccomends nothing but bare-bottom tanks for Oscars to make cleaning the tank easier. Also, try feeding the fish less. If there is food floating around the tank that your filter has to remove, you are feeding the fish WAY too much. In addition, bacterial blooms (often near the end of a cycle) and algae blooms (too much light, too much nitrates from insufficient water changes) can both cloud water.
In any case, pull any Activated Carbon out of the filters and replace it with filter floss (a.k.a. sheets of thick polyester quilt batting from Wal-Mart or a fabric store). That may help some.
If you still have a problem look into getting a Diatom filter. These are super-fine filters made to run no more than a few hours a week in order to "polish" the water.
SirWired
In any case, pull any Activated Carbon out of the filters and replace it with filter floss (a.k.a. sheets of thick polyester quilt batting from Wal-Mart or a fabric store). That may help some.
If you still have a problem look into getting a Diatom filter. These are super-fine filters made to run no more than a few hours a week in order to "polish" the water.
SirWired
MichaelC427 said:
And there's most likely your problem. If you only set the tank up 4 weeks ago, it most likely isn't cycled. The fish you have in there are way too much bioload for cycling the tank.
What you are probably seeing is a bacterial bloom. The bacteria hasn't had a chance to establish itself yet. Since you have just changed the filter, you have basically started over from scratch. It isn't the water that cycles, it's the filter.
To confirm this, you need to post your parameters. Most importantly, the levels of Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and pH.
From what you said about food particles and other debris, my guess is that Ammonia and Nitrite are sky high right now with zero Nitrate.
Can you guys suggest a good test kit? Because the 3 different ones I got from PetSmart don't make any sense, The test strips of course don't match the color code they give you on the box and the instructions never tell you exactly what to do if your colors are different when you test the water (meaning how to adjust each ph/nitrates/amonia up or down to what they are supposed to be) Is there an idiot proof test kit?
Get the Aquarium Pharm. Freshwater Master Test Kit. Just print out the price from the PetSmart website, take it into the store and they will price match. As far as whtat to do:
To adjust pH: Don't. Seriously, unless it is COMPLETELY out of whack, just about anything from 6.5 - 7.something should work for most fish. The key here is stability, not absolute value.
To adjust Ammonia: This should be ZERO in a properly cycled tank. (However, there may be some trace amounts on the test kit if you have Chloramine-treated water.) If you have ANY at all more than a day or so after a water change, do another water change, the bigger the better. (50-75%) This is really the only good way to reduce these. There are chemicals keep it from killing the fish, but changing the water is really much better. Anything much over .25ppm is possibly harmful, or deadly, to your fish.
NitrItes: Same as Ammonina. (Should be ZERO) Change the water.
Nitrates: Anything over 20ppm... change the water. A 50% change will of course cut them in half.
SirWired
To adjust pH: Don't. Seriously, unless it is COMPLETELY out of whack, just about anything from 6.5 - 7.something should work for most fish. The key here is stability, not absolute value.
To adjust Ammonia: This should be ZERO in a properly cycled tank. (However, there may be some trace amounts on the test kit if you have Chloramine-treated water.) If you have ANY at all more than a day or so after a water change, do another water change, the bigger the better. (50-75%) This is really the only good way to reduce these. There are chemicals keep it from killing the fish, but changing the water is really much better. Anything much over .25ppm is possibly harmful, or deadly, to your fish.
NitrItes: Same as Ammonina. (Should be ZERO) Change the water.
Nitrates: Anything over 20ppm... change the water. A 50% change will of course cut them in half.
SirWired
IF your water has Chloramine and you use a water treatment that only deals with Chlorine / Chloramine, you will release Ammonia into the water. Make sure that you get a treatment for Chlorine, Chloramine, AND Ammonia. That'll still make your test readings all out of wack, but all will be fine. Those Ammonia reducers turn Ammonia into Ammonium. The regular test kits still read Ammonium as Ammonia.
MichaelC427 said:
If the color doesn't match exactly, you have to pretty much 'guesstimate' the actual value. This is really hard to do with dip strips. Besides, they are not that accurate anyway.
I use the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals brand Master Test Kit (For freshwater). As Sir Wired suggested, be sure to print out the web page from PetSmart, or you will end up paying way too much for it - like almost double.
It has two pH tests, but odds are that you will only need the normal one, not the high range test.
The color changes between different values on this test are much easier to see.
Be sure to follow the directions for each test carefully. Not that they're complicated, but some of the reagents have to be shaken before use, etc. Just take it a step at a time, you'll be fine.
Ammonia and Nitrite should be zero. If not, change water.
Nitrate should be less than 20ppm. In the test, 20ppm is red. Red is a signal to change water. Any shade of orange or yellow is OK. This is a bit oversimplified, but you get the idea...
Your pH is probably a bit on the low side right now. Don't sweat it. As you do water changes, it will come up gradually. If it doesn't, then we'll want to check out the tap water, but for now don't worry about it. Still test it though - just keep track of it for now. Adjusting pH is a roller-coaster ride that too many people get involved in. Whatever you do, please resist the urge to use some chemical to balance pH. It never works right, you always end up like a dog chasing your tail, and it's really hard on your fish. A steady 'wrong' pH is better for your fish than a pH that fluctuates wildly.
Just follow the directions, take your time, and you will do fine. Write down the results from each test. Keep a little diary of results, and water changes so you can see any trends until you get over this hump.
You don't need an idiot proof test... after all, you found this group and asked intelligent questions. Proof that you're no idiot.
City Water, actually NEW ORLEANS city water, which probably isn't fit for any living animal......(just a reality of post Katrina life)