Cloudy Water and Bubble build up

[jondub]

This is the third night for my tank to be running and yesterday I put in my betta. The water was fine alll day yesterday and was crystal clear. I dechlorified (sp?) the water before adding the fish as I let my system run for about 12 hours before inserting him. Today around mid morning my tank looked cloudy and has not changed at all. Also the bubbles from my bio wheel seem to all stay at the top and do not dissolve almost covering the entire surface area. The bubbles go away when ever I open the feeding hatch. Also, could any of this do with my filter already having growth on it from where the water runs. Thanks for the help.

 

[jjhabe]

Could your betta be building a bubble nest?

 

[jondub]

No I think it is way to large to be that plus the fact that the bio wheel produces bubbles and they seem to build up. Also, I haven't seen him do it and he loves to show off. Thanks for the help though.

 

[geekrockgirl85]

... what kind of "growth" are you talking about... is it like a white hard water deposit?

oh... and did you rinse your carbon cartidge before you ran it in the filter?

 

[jondub]

I rinsed everything before putting it in my tank, I think it may be due to the hard water maybe. It is just cloudy and when I installed my heater today it felt slimmy if that helps anything. Thanks for the help.

 

[geekrockgirl85]

what brand of dechlorinator are you using?

my guess is that is where your cloudy/slimy-ness is coming from... any kind that has a slime coat type additive will do that to your water... it will be really noticeable if you overdose it, or if your tapwater is a bit softer than average. when we were using tetra aquasafe, we were having a bit of the same problem.

the extra sliminess could also be causing the bubble buildup at the top.

 

[jondub]

I used splendid betta complete water condidtioner. Do you think doing a 20% water change will help the problem? I think I may have put a little to much conditioner.

 

[geekrockgirl85]

it couldn't hurt to do a water change... but i wouldn't worry about it too much, as long as your fishie is being his regular, show-offy self.

the cloudiness is gonna look funny, but i doubt it will hurt anything.

 

[jondub]

If I do not do the water change will my water stay cloudy forever or will eventually clear up. It seems if i keep the top semi cracked the bubbles do not build up and just dissolve. Anyone know why this is.