Cloudy water!!

[GRaff71884]

Here is my deal. I have one green terror about 3-4 inches long in a 29 gallon tank, and he has been in there well over 3 months. I would think by now the tank would be good and established, especially since most of my gravel is out of a tank that was setup for over a year. Well, apparently it is not. My water is still reallyl cloudy. My green terror seems really happy and healthy, but my water look terrirble. All levels are good, ammonia, nitrate, and ph are all perfect, but I don't know what else to do. I am overfiltering with a Marineland Magnum 350 with 2 bio wheels, which is good on a tank up to 100 gallons. I have such a big filter because I planned on getting a bigger tank as my fish got bigger. Any ideas or suggestions as to what I can do to get my tank to clear up? Thanks!!!!

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Get some drops that clear the water.......so is there gravel or sand in there now?

Have you done any water changes lately?

 

[GRaff71884]

those drops dont do anything to the water. I have tried two different kinds. I am doing water changes once a week, but that isn't helping either. I have gravel by the way.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Did you wash the bravel REALLY REALLY good?

Have you cleaned your filter.......like down inside and everything lately?

Sometimes the drops work for me.

 

[GRaff71884]

i have cleaned my gravel numerous times taking everything out of the tank to clean really really good. My filter is cleaned everytime I change the media, about every 2 weeks, and it was just done today. I could try the drops again, I haven't used those in a while. Could it still be bacteria bloom, or is it something else?

 

[GRaff71884]

My brother has a 55gal in his room with Africans and his water is crystal clear. I can't figure out why mine is so cloudy, we use all the same chemicals and both do normal maintenance.

 

[wayne at home]

What colour cloudy?
Tank photo, details

 

[cab]

I had a similar situation with my tetra tank. It must have gotten some sunlight, because one day I came home and could hardly see through the green brown water. Water tested fine, and the fish were happy. It was a puzzle. Disovered it was an algae bloom. Someone at an aquarium store recommended "AlgaeFix" because it was safe for both fish and live plants (most aren't safe for plants). It cleared within a couple of minutes. I don't think full strength was necessary, and I only treated my tank once. Good luck.

 

[GRaff71884]

It looks the same as it does with a bacteria bloom. It is just like a white haze, almost like a fog is in my tank. I will take some pics if I can get a hold of my brothers camera.

 

[wayne]

Unless you're doing something crazy to adjust your water pH or hardness I'd have to guess a bacterial bloom - water changes and hoover the substrate well. Try 20 or 25 % every 2 days for a week and see what happens.
It isn't sunlight that causes green water - it's a build up of waste nutrients, specifically nitrate and phosphate. Water changes every week , and clean the substrate. If it was sunlight, every tank I have would suffer green water in the summer, and that doesn't happen.

 

[mandi0808]

It could be that you are going into a mini cycle every time you break down your tank. There is no need to take everything out of the tank, as doing so can cause a die off of your good bacteria. I overcleaned my tank and could never figure out why it would not clear up. Now I do weekly water changes and never touch the media in my filter unless I absolutely have to, and I don't clean my filters out. I vac only a small portion of my gravel at each change and I keep the micron cartridge in my Magnum on 24/7. My water is crystal clear. Alot of good bacteria are in your gravel and filter. Give them time to colonize properly and your tank will clear up.

 

[GRaff71884]

Thanks everyone for your help. I have been doing 20% water changes for 4 days now, and its starting to clear. The foam on the top of the water is gone too. It must just be nutrients from the food building up. I caught my GT spitting food in the corner I guess to keep from later. Anyone else have a GT that does this?