Cloudy Water

[cokers]

my water is cloudy for no reason. the tank has been in use for a long time. the goldfish in there all died from a disease that i do not know. there nare four tri colored/bala sharks in the 10 gallon tank. i use a corner filter.

http/www.csupomona.edu/~jskoga/Aquariums/Lee2.jpg

 

[muckluck]

by the looks of that filter in that picture, i'd suggest getting a newer one as it may not be cleaning the water well enough

 

[cokers]

newer one? i just bought it

 

[cokers]

and i also have one in another tnk that works just fine. and it has even less strengh than that one

 

[ALEXF]

Check with your lfs, they sell tabs that clear the water that you just drop in. Also i would recommend getting a bigger tank like yesterday before you stunt the growth of those poor sharks. That tank is way to small.

 

[Colin_T]

Box filters are pretty useless. Basically the filter is not big enough and does not work fast enough to deal with the waste from the fish. Also if it is a new filter then the bacteria won't have built up in sufficient numbers and you are probably cycling the tank. Check the ammonia and nitrite levels and do some 30-50% water changes if you have any reading. Make sure the new water is free of chlorine and has a similar temperature and PH to the tank.

Decrease the feeding. The more food going into the tank the faster the water will deteriorate and the higher the ammonia levels will get. Fish will be fine getting fed once or twice a week. You can feed everyday if the filters are fully established.

If you have filter floss in the box filter then never change more than 1/2 of it in a fortnight, otherwise you will get rid of most of the beneficial bacteria and cause water quality issues. If you have to clean the filter squeeze the filter floss out in a bucket of tank water and then put it back in the tank.
You can buy sponges for box filters and they last for years and work much better than the white filter floss/filter wool.