Cloudy Water
- Thread starter mrmoog
- Start date
Hi there,
Your profile says new but how new? Also how cloudy, like soup or just a bit misty.
Have found in a lot of the tanks I set up that quite a few times within the first 3-4 months the water loses some of its crystal clearness and goes a bit misty everynow and then. This is generally down to a bacterial bloom as the tank gets used to coping with its bioload in the tank.
Depending on how long that tank has been up, you have a fair number of fish in there so your tank my not be 'mature' enough to cope. Have you tested the water recently for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate? Always useful when trying to work out causes of problems.
If it is a bacterial bloom then chances are it will just clear up in a few days, I've run the lights a little less whilst its on, however I have tended to be more lightly stocked than you are so you may need to increase filtration to cope with the numebr of fish you hve in there.
Interesting to see other peoples comments and hear about the details on your water and the cloudiness from you....
Your profile says new but how new? Also how cloudy, like soup or just a bit misty.
Have found in a lot of the tanks I set up that quite a few times within the first 3-4 months the water loses some of its crystal clearness and goes a bit misty everynow and then. This is generally down to a bacterial bloom as the tank gets used to coping with its bioload in the tank.
Depending on how long that tank has been up, you have a fair number of fish in there so your tank my not be 'mature' enough to cope. Have you tested the water recently for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate? Always useful when trying to work out causes of problems.
If it is a bacterial bloom then chances are it will just clear up in a few days, I've run the lights a little less whilst its on, however I have tended to be more lightly stocked than you are so you may need to increase filtration to cope with the numebr of fish you hve in there.
Interesting to see other peoples comments and hear about the details on your water and the cloudiness from you....
All my tanks have been up for a while too. I change water often, always clear.
If you're properly treating the new water properly you can change it as often as you like, imo.
I just started a five gallon tank with one ghost shrimp in it. I'm using a small filter that I kept running as an extra on my Goldfish tank just to keep it seasoned. Used a bit of "seasoned" gravel from the Goldfish tank too. No cycle. Because I initially used raw, aqueduct (river) water to fill it with I've been changing 2 gallons every other day. Crystal clear.
My advice; when in doubt, do a water change. As often as necessary. And treat it properly, of course.
If you're properly treating the new water properly you can change it as often as you like, imo.
I just started a five gallon tank with one ghost shrimp in it. I'm using a small filter that I kept running as an extra on my Goldfish tank just to keep it seasoned. Used a bit of "seasoned" gravel from the Goldfish tank too. No cycle. Because I initially used raw, aqueduct (river) water to fill it with I've been changing 2 gallons every other day. Crystal clear.
My advice; when in doubt, do a water change. As often as necessary. And treat it properly, of course.
Sometimes I find my tank to be cloudy out of the blue, I would normally expect a water change to help but my friend, a previous petsmart fish employee, told me that too frequent of water changes can cause cloudiness as well...try some nitrate remover if these levels are high, the stuff seems to work as the cloudiness goes down when I use it for high levels
I usually stir the gravel in my tanks once a week or so with a spatula real well, so that the filter can pick up all the tiny detritus that my vacuum misses. The water clears in 20-30 minutes. If it doesn't, I'd say more filtration is needed. The water should turn over 5 times per hour, 3 times minimum. Just my opinion.
I did 50% water changes every day for two weeks when my 20 gallon was cycling. Always clear. I do 40% changes every other day on a cycled 5 gallon tank with two ghost shrimps in it. Water is clear.
I did 50% water changes every day for two weeks when my 20 gallon was cycling. Always clear. I do 40% changes every other day on a cycled 5 gallon tank with two ghost shrimps in it. Water is clear.