What is the likely cause of this perpetual cloudiness?

[KyleBradley]

I've met other people with aquariums that are several years old, and the water is crystal clear! One lady I met had a gorgeous clear aquarium that had a power filter hanging on the back, but she had removed the filter media and bio-wheel because she said they were too expensive, and she couldn't afford it! The water was gorgeous and clear, but when we drained the tank to move it, the stuff in the gravel was like toxic sludge!! But the tank appeared healthy as anything before we disturbed it.

However, my 20-gallon hex that is several years old and has an Emperor 280, rated for tanks up to 50 gallons, and it's just perpetually cloudy! I don't have algae, or anything, but this purplish haze is annoying.. Any ideas? I've already cleanded the glass under the light, just in case it was mineral deposits causing it. I just want clear water, but then again I know that lakes aren't clear, and that's the natural habitat....

 

[FroggyFox]

wow this sounds familiar I had a hex almost exactly like that that I had a ton of hazy issues with. I finally sold it because I couldn't get it to clear up. I think it came down to the fact that it is an awkward size of tank to filter...no matter how big your filter is...there seem to be dead spots in the aquarium.

If you are in love with the tank, you could try a product called P-Clear. That is the product that I finally found that made the water clear up, but I had to treat the tank maybe once a month or every other month because it would continually come back. I normally wouldn't suggest using any type of a chemical, but if its not green water and you aren't doing anything to disturb your bacteria colonies (like changing filters all the time or washing your filters out in chlorinated water regularly) then thats what my suggestion would be.

The suggestion also has a lot to do with the shape of the tank. In another tank I might suggest repositioning the filter or trying some live plants etc...but on a hex...usually there is one choice for the filter placement and usually just not enough light for plants to thrive without some serious DIY lighting solution.