Cloudy Water

[eowyn]

For the past two weeks the water in my tank seems a little cloudy. It's a 16gal with 2 albino corys, 2 peppered corys, 5 glowlight tetras, and 3 sunburst platies.
The water stats are good.
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20
pH 7.8
There's one filter for the tank. Don't know the kind. It was an aquarium kit I received as a gift. I think I need to increase the water circulation, but how? Do I add another filter or an air stone?

Thanks.

 

[fatheadminnow]

What color is the cloudy water?

White or green, or is it some other color?

Yes, another filter will increase the water circulation, as well as an air stone.

Also, a power head is best use to circulate water around your tank.

-FHM

 

[eowyn]

The water is white cloudy. I'll pick up another filter and air stone this weekend. The water doesn't circulate much with the filter I have. Thanks for the advice.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Okay, have you cycled your tank?

Just because it could be a bacterial bloom.

-FHM

 

[eowyn]

The tank is cycled. What would cause a bacterial bloom? How do I fix it?

 

[fatheadminnow]

The tank is cycled. What would cause a bacterial bloom? How do I fix it?

If your tank is cycled, than it is not a bacterial bloom.

It could be possible to have had an ammonia spike, in which case could of lead to a bacterial bloom, but not likely.

Can you give us your current water stats?

EDIT: Have you added anything to the tank, sand or anything else?

-FHM

 

[eowyn]

Water stats:
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 20
pH 7.8
Sand substrate with a layer of flourite underneath. I haven't added anything to the tank recently.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Have you checked to see if the inside of your glass is dirty?

Sometimes people mistake dirty glass for cloudy water.

Also, how long has the tank been established?

And, what kind of filter do you have?

-FHM

 

[eowyn]

The tank is about 5 months old. The glass is clean. If I look down into the tank from above, it's still cloudy. 30% water changes weekly and I wipe down the glass. I think it's an Aqueon filter. It was an aquarium kit. I've also noticed that every week the filter cartridge is covered in brown sludge that I rinse off in the tank water I've drained into a bucket.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Do you know what size your filter is?

Also, is it a cloudy like milky color cloudy?

-FHM

 

[eowyn]

Not sure about the filter size. It came with my 16gal tank. It's like a milky cloudy.

 

[backtotropical]

If your tank is cycled, than it is not a bacterial bloom.

Not true. Bacterial blooms aren't really connected to whether the tank is cycled or not.

It could be possible to have had an ammonia spike, in which case could of lead to a bacterial bloom

Again this is wrong. Ammonia spikes don't cause bacterial blooms. It's actually the other way round.

Try having a read of the pinned bacterial bloom thread. There is a link to it in my sig below. It should clear up your misconceptions about blooms.

Eowyn, you should have a read too. It sounds like what you are experiencing probably is a bacterial bloom, and it should help you out with how to fix it and how to avoid it happening again in future.

Cheers

BTT

 

[fatheadminnow]

Okay, so then the next question I should ask is, do you clean your substrate with a gravel vac when doing water changes?

Also, do you have any dead or decaying plants?

-FHM

 

[eowyn]

Thanks, that sounds a lot like what I'm seeing. I still think my filter is total crap so I'm replacing it this weekend. I try not to overfeed the fish so I'll be a lot more mindful of that, as well.