Cloudy Water

[waterdrop]

My water is cloudy(not very, just a little). Its a pale milky haze, as if a little milk had been added to the water. The tank is only on Day 9 of fishless cycling. The look seems familiar to me from new tanks years ago. I've seen mention here on TFF of new water clearing up after about 2 weeks. I'm curious about how common this is and whether there is a general explanation for it or whether the causes are too numerous for that.

Tank stats:
28G/106L Day9 of fishless cycling. Temp 88F
Ammonia - keeping betw 2-6ppm
Ammonia itself: clear, non-foaming
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - not measuring during FC
pH - 7.2
Tap water was very clear.
Tap stats: 0,0,0,
dechloraminated w/ Stress Coat
Filter media well rinsed prior.
No gravel/substrate. No plants.
2 airstones during day hours.

(Yes, just dreaming up questions to ask you guys while FC )
Seriously, any thoughts?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[andrew84uk]

Yes, as far as I know its called 'Bacteria Bloom'. This means bacteria is in the tank. Mine is cloudy now too.

 

[waterdrop]

For Real? You can actually -see- the bacterial bloom??

 

[andrew84uk]

For Real? You can actually -see- the bacterial bloom??

Well, you can't see the bacteria because it is that small but there is lots of it. This is from what I have been reading but someone can correct me if I am wrong.

 

[waterdrop]

Thanks Andrew!

Anyone else?

(hey andrew, where are our scientists when we need them? )

 

[andrew84uk]

Now this I can't answer, probably infront of chemical kits testing and re-testing and writting down results!

 

[backtotropical]

Hi,

This is quite common in new set-ups, especially fishless cycle set-ups.

The cloudyness is a bacterial bloom as Andrew said. This is caused by the high concentrations of ammonia creating an ideal breeding ground for the bacteria. At this point, the bacteria reproduce so quickly that you can see them floating around in the water column (thats what the mist is) usually until the ammonia drops and the reproduction slows. This is because they reproduce so quickly, they don't all get a chance to attach to the biological media in the filter quickly enough to prevent a bloom. After the slowed reproduction when the ammonia level drops, the bacteria will slowly get caught up in the filter as they manage to attach to the biological media, and the water clears.

The fact that you have a bacterial bloom suggests that your ammonia should start dropping very soon if it hasn't already.

Cheers

BTT

 

[Stonefish]

Blooming marvelous I say

My water has exactly the same but over the last few days it has started to clear up nicely

 

[waterdrop]

Thanks BTT (& Andrew again),

I see now you must be right. I've done some searches and this is a frequent question and gets answered the same way as you've said.

Interesting to think there are enough to be seen by the naked eye and yet the nitrite measurement is still zero (as expected.) Isn't it interesting that the ammonia can be spawning all these bacteria and yet the normal behavior is for it to keep going on quite a bit and then suddenly there is a nitrite "spike". Is there an explanation for that?

It would stand to reason that our practical sequence of events in fishless cycling (getting it down to a simplified sequence is wonderful and the whole point of a practical technique that can be easily explained to others) is however a set of snapshots of a more complicated process with bacterial colonies, right?

So, hmm, these two bacterial tidbits are interesting and I don't understand the reason for them yet:
1) It's expected that there will be period of no nitrite production even though a bloom can be seen, then there will be a nitrite spike!
2) It's expected that the second colony, the ones that eat nitrite and produce nitrate will generally take -longer- to develop, right? Do they just happen to have a slower doubling rate?

(Gee, see how much fun one can have with an "empty" tank? )

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Sea Turtle]

Try using this product. It is abslutely amazing!!!!! It will make your water absolutely clear within a minute ot two. It is called Crystal-Clear Water Treatment.

here is alink to the product.

http/www.cheappetstore.com/Fish-Aquarium...REATMENT-21609/

You will not believe it. Trust me.

 

[waterdrop]

Try using this product. It is abslutely amazing!!!!! It will make your water absolutely clear within a minute ot two. It is called Crystal-Clear Water Treatment.

here is alink to the product.

[URL="http/www.cheappetstore.com/Fish-Aquarium...REATMENT-21609/"]http/www.cheappetstore.com/Fish-Aquarium...REATMENT-21609/[/URL]

You will not believe it. Trust me.

Oh, you misunderstand me Sea Turtle, I have no interest in clearing up the cloudiness at this point, I was just interested in what it was! The tank is fishless cycling and has no plants or gravel. I know once the bacteria settle into the filter and I do the 90% water change at the end of the process, I should be back to crystal clear.

Interesting looking product though, I wonder what the chemical is.

waterdrop

 

[andrew84uk]

The page, http/www.cheappetstore.com/Fish-Aquarium...REATMENT-21609/, does not exist.
Please feel free to browse our site for ...

hmm?....