Cloudy Tank

[nicnak]

I've got a 215litre tank that has been up and runny a couple of months now and the past 2 weeks or so the water has been quite cloudy.
The water stats are all fine and ive even cleaned the filter although it didnt really need it.
I'm not overstocked i dont think,i have 2 juvi angels,2 rams and 5 cories.
Even when i change more than half the water it still looks cloudy and ive done this just a few days apart twicw.

Any answers would be appreciated ..... thanks x

 

[shortymet55]

Keep changing the water focusing of Gravel Vaccing hard to reach places. This really helped me. I found the spots that are hard to get to accumulate alot of waste and this caused cloudiness for me. So now during water changes I pick an area around a plant that I used to miss and I clean it real good. Hope this helps. Or could be a mini cycle.

 

[rdd1952]

Is the water a milky white color or more of a green color? If it's green, you have what is called green water. It is diatoms in the water and is usually caused by direct sunlight on the tank. It can also occur sometimes in new tanks. If that is the case, it isn't really a problem for the fish (you said the water parameters were fine) but just a nuisance. If not a result of direct sunlight, it will eventually clear on it's own and no amount of water changes will help. I had a problem once and it seemed that 50% water changes daily were actually making it worse. I finally bought a UV sterilizer whick took care of the problem.

If it's not green water and is more milky white, then it could be a bacterial bloom and once again, not be an issue. The key fact is that your water parameters are good.

 

[Spishkey]

i saw a little bottle of stuff today that guarantees to turn your aquarium water crystal clear withing 24 hours?


does anyone use anything like this for their aquarium? mine water has a greenish tinge to it but just reading the above posts iguess its cause its new and it will go.

 

[nicnak]

It is definetly not milky,more of a greenish murky tinge.
Ive kept the tank lights off for most of the day and shut the blinds alot now and hope this will help.

Shorty,i have sand so i can see most of the muck and try and vacumn it up regularly.

Dont know much about the water clearing stuff but loath to add more chemicals to the water than needed

 

[rdd1952]

I woulld say you definitely have green water. It is fairly common in new tanks. Is your tank eer exposed to direct sunlight. That is a prime cause of green water and if that is the case, you will most likel have to move the tank to get rid of it. As I mentioned earlier, a UV sterilizer will clear it also. It kills the diatoms (free-floating algae) as they pass through it thus clearing the water.

As for the chemicals, stay as far from them as you can. That is only treating the problem rather than solving it. You will find that most members on here use dechlorinator and nothing else in their tanks. Some don't even use that.

 

[adamgreen240]

my tank was quite cloudy and i have recently installed a UVS tonight, i have done a review on the hardware section so we will see how it goes

Regards, Adam

 

[rdd1952]

Here is a thread I did 3 years ago after I bought my UV sterilizer. It definitely makes a very noticable difference overnight. After using it just once for the few days, I never had a problem again.

 

[nicnak]

well my tank isnt that green,yours was almost fluorescent,mines more a murky sea green.
I think i'll just keep the blinds closed and limit the time the light is and see if i get any changes that way.

So do you think im wasting my time with large water changes?

 

[Corleone]

Definitely wasting time. The stuff reproduces like wildfire. Like rdd's experience, it'll probably just grow back to its full levels overnight.

 

[nicnak]

Well i've had the tank lights off and blinds closed for about 3 days now and the tank is looking alot better... not perfect but getting there

so i think i'll start leaving the light on but keeping the blind closed which we are not bothered about in the day anyway

Thanks for everyones help x