Particles floating throughout tank

[luckypenny]

Set my 75 gallon tank last weekend and have a Aquaclear 300 filter and a Under gravel filter with two powerheads. I have 10 cichlid's and two clown loaches in the tank. The water was crystal clear for a coupla day's and now I have many particles floating in the water??? I did have three plant's but they ate one --so I took out the other three. I figured that some of the particles are of the plant??

How should I clear this up?? I only feed twice- three times daily in small meal's??
I also have a aquaclear 150---should I run this filter also or just get a bigger filter altogether?? The aquaclear 300 says in turns the water over 300 gallons per hour?? Say's it's sufficient for a 100 gallon but recommend for a 30 gallon???

Please help me clear the water?? The water isnt cloudy--just alot of particles floating?

 

[Lateral Line]

I presume the gravel bed and filter were from an established tank or similar, if not the first question would be how the tank was cycled and what your water parameters are.

The particulates could be the remnants of the plant, but I'd expect a correctly set up AquaClear to have removed those?

The AquaClear is big enough under normal circumstances. Cichlids are messy though and you don't say what kind or what size they are. You may want to ask the cichlid keepers, but again, many cichlids move the gravel around and disturb undergravel filters.

 

[yhbae]

Personally, I would get rid of that under ground filter, and beef up your overall filtering capacity. Given that you want to build the tank around cichlids, I would keep that AC300 and add another canister filter (such as Eheim 2217 or Filstar XP3 or even ViaAqua750/650). If your budget doesn't meet that, then you could go with either Aqua Clear 500 or Emperior 400 in addition to your AC300. Try one of the online store - some of them have specials on right now for some of the above mentioned filters...

Good luck!

 

[bartender_in_ny]

sounds like a bacteria bloom since you just set up new tank...always happens......its wil clear up, but i would go w/ a bigger filter, i use 2 penguin 330's on my 55, always crystal clear!!!

 

[yhbae]

Do you actually see particles floating around, or are you seeing milky water? If milky, are they grey/whitish or are they greenish?

I currently have a slight floating algae problem with one of my tank, and it sure sounds similar....

 

[luckypenny]

Well initially it was small particles floating now the water is a whitish cloudy color??
How long does a cycle process take so the water will clear up?

 

[Lateral Line]

Whitish cloudy sounds like a bacterial bloom. Cycling can take several weeks depending on how you are doing it. You certainly have picked some unusual fish to cycle with, I doubt they will all survive.

 

[bartender_in_ny]

i cycled my 55 w/5 white clouds + 5 zebra dianos all made it, amonia went to zero round 28 days, feed lite as well, the food creates the bacteria bloom as well, but is nessasary, just dont over feed..PATEINCE!!!! it will clear up soon