Cloudy Water

[damo1953]

Please help. I have continual cloudy water and have put various filters in to combat the problem which includes 3 carbon bags. Took a sample to my fish shop and they said my ammonia and nitrate levels are fine. But there is black hair algae evident on some of the large leaf plants I thought this was a nitrate problem. Have the shop not tested my water correctly or am I barking up the wrong tree. The water cloudiness just won't go.

Can anyone help?

 

[WILDER]

Size of tank in gallons or litres.
How many fish and which type.
Water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

How long has the tank been set up.
Any plants rotting away.
How often do you maintain the tank.
Black carbon only removes med and toxins from the water.
Using black carbon all the time is a complete waste of money. It's only good for removing meds.
You need filter floss as it remove fine particles from the water.

 

[damo1953]

Size of tank in gallons or litres.
How many fish and which type.
Water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

How long has the tank been set up.
Any plants rotting away.
How often do you maintain the tank.
Black carbon only removes med and toxins from the water.
Using black carbon all the time is a complete waste of money. It's only good for removing meds.
You need filter floss as it remove fine particles from the water.

Tank is only 6 weeks old now 260L. As to water stats not sure left that to the shop to tell. Maybe best to start my own testing. As to fish they are from my previous tank and some are new. A silver shark, Angel fish, large barb, corry, platties, did put 10 cardinal tetras in at the weekend only 2 left now, suspect my angel is eating them, zebra tetras and some other kind can't remember their names and also a speckle nosed 4 " catfish.

When you say filter floss is that the what fluval call their water polishing pad? And is it okay to keep an ammonia removing filter bag or does it do more harm than good? also I have a 3 basket filter with only 1 polishing pad filter in because the shop said it may block my filter flow if I placed too many in.

Also I have no oxygen pump as was advised it was not necessary. And the filter outlet should it be at the top of the surface in the water or above the surface to aerate the tank correctly?

Out of the large barb, silver shark or the angel who would be the most likely culprit orf my mass execution of tetras over the past 2 days. Also my other large angel was killed last week and my silver shark had a gash on his rear side, would the shark be eating the small fish?

 

[WILDER]

Which fluval filter is it and how many gallons does it turn over.
Without water stats it's hard to say what causing the cloudy water.

I would invest in some liquids test kits of your own. As lfs have been known to lie.
For now I would take a sample of your water to the lfs and ask them to write the readings down for you.

Never used ammonia bags so couldn't comment on them. But once a tanks cycled you shouldn't really need to use them.
Yes the polishing pads should remove particles but there expensive so I just buy big bags of filter floss. Its alot cheaper.

Angels eat neon tetra's in the wild so they are probably picking them off.
How long did you climatise the cardinals for.

Added to many fish to soon.
Silver sharks which are bala sharks need larger tanks as they grow bigger and shouldn't be kept on there own as there a shoaling fish. You need no less than a group of 3.


The gash on the shark dosn't it look infected. Check for green marks.
Anything sharp in the tank.

Are the fish hanging at the surface of the tank or laboured breathing.