Cloudy Water.

[Sharknado99]

I am setting up a new tank (Juwel Rio180L). I am cycling it at the moment without any fish but there is an apple snail and plants in there.

I washed everything before putting in the tank but a few hours after I added water etc, the water turned extremely cloudy. I read that this was due to imbalance and bacterial bloom but it's been 2 weeks already and most of the articles I read said that it will clear up in days... I've done 25%-50% water changes but this doesn't help. I tried adding seachem Clarity and that didn't help either. Should I completely empty the tank and start again? It's really frustrating me...

The other question I have is about the filter. It's the one that came with the Juwel aquarium. I'm really crap at DIY jobs so setting up this tank was a real mission. Is there any way to check if the filter pump thing s working properly? I don't know if I set it up right. The water looks pretty stagnant. I can hear whirring sounds etc. I just don't wanna put fish in it and find out later it doesn't work.

 

[rms]

Hi there and welcome. 
 
Bacterial blooms generally clear up in a few days, but that's not a hard and fast rule. It does sound like your tank is experiencing one and it's not going to do any harm at all. A case of sitting it out.
 
In terms of your filter you can check if it's working by placing your hand over the outlet. If you can feel the water flowing then it should be fine. When you say stagnant is there like a slightly gunky film on the top? If so there could be a number of reasons for it. Was the tank bought new or second hand? Did you give it a good clean before filling? 

 

[Sharknado99]

Hi there... Thanks for your reply.

There is stuff at the top and it seems to be staying there. That one snail laid like a million eggs and all that slimy stuff floated to the top and just stays there. I thought the filter would clean it up but it just sits there. I did a massive water to get rid of it.

I can feel the water coming out of the outlet so at least that's good. The tank is brand new.

I did clean the tank as much as I could too but I thought the mechanical filter would get rid of any excess I missed...

OK I'll wait out the cloudiness and wait for it to clear. Thank you

 

[rms]

Did you wash everything else you put in the tank? Like your gravel etc? Also did you just use tap water and no detergents? I would be a little concerned about the gunk, especially if everything is brand new. 
 
It's doubtful you'll get rid of the snails to be honest and they can over run your tank, unless you stock with snail eaters.

 

[Sharknado99]

Yeah i washed the gravel, driftwood, decorations etc. and no, i'm very careful not to use detergents.
 
Yeah i too am wondering why that slimy stuff is at the top. I managed to clear most of it out but that was why i was thinking maybe the filter wasn't working properly. 
 
I'll persevere a bit longer with the cloudiness and see what happens...thanks

 

[WILDER]

Give the filter head a clean with a tooth brush and clean the impeller/
 
Just float some clean filter floss on top of water to remove the slime.
 
Smell the water to see how it smell. If it smells like rotten eggs, or sulphur you have 
bad bacteria running rampant in your tank.

 

[Sharknado99]

Give the filter head a clean with a tooth brush and clean the impeller/
 
Just float some clean filter floss on top of water to remove the slime.
 
Smell the water to see how it smell. If it smells like rotten eggs, or sulphur you have 
bad bacteria running rampant in your tank.

 
Thank you. I have no idea what filter floss is but I'll find out hehehe...
 
The water smells fine. No bad smell at all.. I managed to clear out most of slime with water changes but they were mainly snail eggs I think.
 
Can snails reproduce on their own or do they need a mate... If they cant reproduce on their own, I think I'll just keep one.

 

[WILDER]

Your filter must be working well as if it wasn't the water can start to smell awful.
 
Filter floss, or matting is what you add to the filter to collect fine particles from the water.
 
Sorry I can't answer the question on snails. As I have never wanted to keep them, or learnt about them.
Hopefully another member on the board can answer your question on smails.

 

[thefishnoob]

I think apple snails will need a mate.
 
Filter floss:
http/www.bigalspets.com/filter-floss-10-sq-ft.html?utm_source=Google+Products&utm_campaign=Google+Products+Datafeed&utm_medium=Comparison+Shopping&gclid=CJjatvrG2b0CFRFp7Aodyk0Aag

 

[Essjay]

Female apple snails can store sperm just like guppies, mollies etc. Getting just one snail doesn't mean there won't be eggs if you buy a sperm-carrying female.