Cloudy Tank? Or A Layer Of Fat?

[Radiculous]

ok a few days ago i recycled a new tank

all lvls readings was Zero
i think nitrates or nitrite was 10

when i added a PH buffer on it
the water became cloudy.
for acouple of days(3)
but i didnt know what was wrong
so i stoped my Filter...
and see what was wrong
within 2 mins or so
the cloudy stuff that looked like fat
went to the bottom of the sand bed?
anyone know what may caused this...

i forgot to clean the tank when i cycled the tank

i did clean it
just didnt use Soap
and i know one of my friends was using it for his own use
and may have gotten animal fat on it by mistake

 

[Radiculous]

More!
the white stuff looks like clear lard fat
but it only happens when i add the PH buffer
my normal PH was 8.9?

and i used ACI or a brand that makes PH go down to 7.5

 

[nmonks]

Do not, Do Not, DO NOT use a "pH down" produce to adjust the pH of your aquarium.

This is NOT what they are for; pH buffers are used to fix the pH, usually after reducing the hardness, specifically, the carbonate hardness. There are NO situations where you would use a pH-down product WITHOUT lowering carbonate hardness first. If you think a pH-down product will help lower the pH, then you have completely misunderstood their function.

So let's go back to basics.

Brackish water fish want hard, basic water conditions; 15+ degrees dH, and at least 5 degrees KH. Normally, adding marine aquarium salt mix at a dose of at least 6 grammes per litre will automatically raise the general and carbonate hardness levels adequately without you needing to do anything else. Marine aquarium salt mix has much higher amounts of hardness than real sea salt, which is crucial to maintaining a steady pH in a marine aquarium (natural seawater tends to experience a pH drop quite quickly).

If you have a pH above 8.5, then you likely have non-zero ammonia levels. It is unusual for tap water to have a pH above 8.5 even if it is very hard. In any case, pH test kits can be unreliable, so it is much more important to check your ammonia level, your general hardness, and ideally your carbonate hardness as well.

Ammonia should be zero.
General hardness should be at least 15 degrees dH.
Carbonate hardness should be at least 5 degrees KH, and the higher it is, the more stable the pH will be.

Most low-end salinity brackish water fish will do best at a pH of 7.5, while higher-end salinity species need between 8 and 8.5. Assuming you're using a proper marine aquarium salt mix, you should get close to these values just by using the right amount of marine aquarium salt mix (5-6 g/l for the low-end species, and upwards of 9 g/l for the high-end species).

Cheers, Neale

 

[Radiculous]

i have a Sand Bed i forgot to tell u guys
which my LPS said that that may be my problem.. of a hard PH lvl
Edit: and the buffer i used was
Proper PH 7.5
made by API

Buffer & water Condtioner

Automatically sets PH to 7.5
removes chlorine
o.o so this is my problem?
of the cloudy water?

i did a 40% water change and it seems to get cleared a little

EDIT:and it wasnt really 8.9 PH
it was in the range of 8.5~8.9
but after i got the cloudy water checked in my LFS the water became 7.6

 

[nmonks]

I repeat (and won't do this again) there is no reason to change the pH. If you're trying to change the pH without changing the hardness first, then you don't know what you're doing and you will very likely end up killing your fish. This is why fish magazines often don't like to talk about altering water chemistry. Too many beginners rush off and buy pH potions, and then end up with dead fish.

Cheers, Neale

PS. Please use full sentences! You aren't making your problems any clearer to me by writing only in sentence fragments.

 

[Radiculous]

im sorry about that.so do u know the cause of the Cloudy layer ?
and i wont use the PH buffer anymore if my PH changes to 8.6 or higher then ill start to worry...
but how do i lower my PH hardness?

 

[nmonks]

Cloudiness can be caused by a variety of things including silt (which will go away with water changes and replacing the mechanical filter media layer with new or clean media) and diatoms (common in new tanks, and go away after a few weeks). Silt is usually obvious as a milky cloudiness, and there's usually some scum or foam on the surface, debris on the bottom of the tank, and gunk in the filter. Diatoms don't normally create scum or foam, but do make the water off-white to golden-brown in colour.

If you're keeping brackish water fish there's no reason to soften the water. Softening is done by mixing hard tap water with a certain amount of rainwater or RO water. Typically, a 50/50 mix of RO or rainwater with tap water works well. You can't soften water once it's in the tank; at least, not safely and predictably.

Cheers, Neale

im sorry about that.so do u know the cause of the Cloudy layer ?
and i wont use the PH buffer anymore if my PH changes to 8.6 or higher then ill start to worry...
but how do i lower my PH hardness?

 

[Radiculous]

i see
just that my LFS told me to do so cause PH was too high
guess i wasted money on that store