55 Gallon Tanks Help

[thebigguy1]

Hello everyone!!
 
this is my first time being a part of this forum and i am extremely excited as it looks legit and very knowledgeable. however lets move on to some questions about my good ole 55 gallon freshwater tank. i bought this tanks about 3 months ago from my local pet store but i am having some trouble keeping the water clear. i am not new to having the a tank as i had a 15 gallon for a year and a half and kept it in tiptop shape. i know about the bacterial cycle and that the levels nitrates and ammonia and all nonsense has to be right (which i know is cause i got it test by my pet store) so now i have a very thick green murky haze throughout my water so i did what all good fish owners do i went to get help, and i came back with all kinds of chemicals that my pet store recommended me to use. but these didn't work........ whyyyyyyyyy???!!!!! so after about a month of the this water being all green and murky and gross i decided i should take the whole tank down and restart the cycle so i did i took out all of my artificial plants and decor and rocks and steamed them all. i cleaned the whole inside of the tank and then started it back up ran the cycle with bacteria started then added my fish however it stayed clear for about a week i have a biowheel filter that is good for 60 gallons of water and i changed the filter. but  the water is still not clear!!!!!! i have tried everything to moss balls to snails anything that i found could help. whats going on??  oh yeah i don't have more than 13 fish with a pretty good size angel fish with a couple of mollys a clown louch and 5 or 6 tiger barbs. so i know that i am not over populating my tank
 
do you guys think you can help?
 
thanks in advance

 

[snazy]

Do you mean green water algae? Or is the water just dirty with floating bits?
If it's green water, then it's ammonia and light related mostly.
Normally you are better off with a filter that is rated twice the size of your tank the least.
What type of media is in the filter? Sponges, ceramics?
Is the tank cycled at the moment? What are the readings for ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte?

 

[This Old Spouse]

Did you invest in a liquid test kit for yourself? Most of us have found that having the LFS test the water isn't a great idea, unless you have them write down the actual numbers. API, Nutrafin or Salifert make good test kits.
 
How long are your lights on each day? We recommend 5-6 hours a day, tops.
 
How much and what are you feeding your fish? 
 
All these things can contribute, including the items snazy listed.
 
Glad you're on the forum! 

 

[thebigguy1]

i do not have kit and id say the light is 7 hrs a day

 

[frapadoodle]

Do you have live plants? They compete with algae for nutrients.
How much are you feeding? Excess uneaten food becomes food for algae.

Okay as a side note on stock. Clown loaches get fairly big, so really need a longer tank than a 55gallon. Also they should be kept in groups.

 

[thebigguy1]

i have no live plants and i dont really over feed them

 

[frapadoodle]

Then I agree cut back on the lighting period.
Also what is the filtration? Flow, media, turnover? What is your cleaning cycle?

 

[thebigguy1]

i am using a 60 gallon filter its a biowheel and i would say ever 2 weeks i do everything cleaning the tank cycling the water changing the filter. i heard i could buy a bigger filter but i dont wanna drop more money on a filter if i dont have to 

 

[This Old Spouse]

i am using a 60 gallon filter its a biowheel and i would say ever 2 weeks i do everything cleaning the tank cycling the water changing the filter. i heard i could buy a bigger filter but i dont wanna drop more money on a filter if i dont have to 

Can you describe "changing the filter" please?

 

[frapadoodle]

As for cleaning, I do a 25-30% waterchange each week with a substrate cleaning, using dechlorinated water.
As for filter cleaning it is once a month. Swish media in used tank water. I only replace media when it falls apart and then no more than1/3 at a time.
I get greenspot algae in the 10 gallon, due to tank placement, it gets a lot of light from a close by table lamp. So only have tank lights on a couple of hours during feeding. I go with a much longer lighting period in the 55gallon, but the lighting is a bit low.
As for overfeeding. In the 10 is a single betta, so he is fine with fasting a couple of days a week.
At present the 55 only has two adult cory, a 3 month old cory, and three, that I have found so far, newborn fry. So they get fed everyday, but just enough for them to gobble up in a couple of minutes.