cloudy water

[Meg0000]

Hi, my water is still cloudy it has been running for now 2 or 3 weeks (not so sure) and for the first few days I could almost not see the back of the tank and now it has improved but still far from perfect. I did a water change today and now I feel like it is worst, there is some paricule of I don't know what in the water that I don't know where they come from. Is it also possible for a tank to have to much oxygen? My filter does tiny bubbles that goes everywhere in the water and big bubbles but they go directly at the surface so should I put more water in the tank to have less bubble or is this good? What do you guys think could be clouding my water? Here is how the water looks from very close ( im not sure if you can really see it but anyway there is tiny particule of whatever that is and tiny bubbles) :

 

[Byron]

You will have to give us more info on just how this tank was set up. Starting with the substrate material and how you rinsed it, the decor (I cannot see any! But it may be in there). Filter, and how it is placed. The filter should not be spewing bubbles into the tank unless the return is above the water, or there is air trapped inside the filter, or entering somehow from the air. Also parameters (GH, pH, temperature).

Also, run a glass or jar of tap water and hold it to the light and see if it is cloudy or has suspended particulate matter. Snow melt and rain can wash sediment into the reservior, depending where it is located, and cause cloudy tap water. Several years ago this happened in Vancouver; after each week's water change I couldnot see the back of the tank for almost 2 days. Harmless if it is just sediment.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Could be a bacterial bloom. Do large water changes

 

[Meg0000]

You will have to give us more info on just how this tank was set up. Starting with the substrate material and how you rinsed it, the decor (I cannot see any! But it may be in there). Filter, and how it is placed. The filter should not be spewing bubbles into the tank unless the return is above the water, or there is air trapped inside the filter, or entering somehow from the air. Also parameters (GH, pH, temperature).

Also, run a glass or jar of tap water and hold it to the light and see if it is cloudy or has suspended particulate matter. Snow melt and rain can wash sediment into the reservior, depending where it is located, and cause cloudy tap water. Several years ago this happened in Vancouver; after each week's water change I couldnot see the back of the tank for almost 2 days. Harmless if it is just sediment.

I washed the substrate in a bucket and I was pretty impatient but as I remember, it was not really dirty, I also washed the rocks and scrubbed them with a tooth brush. I have this filter but the outflow is not touching the water of the tank so it is pushing air in the water. I tested and my tap water is clear. GH: I don't remember exactly but you told me it was soft to very soft, PH: 6.8-7 temperature: 78 or 26 °c

 

[Meg0000]

Could be a bacterial bloom. Do large water changes

I try to do some everyday but maybe I don't do large enough water change so I might try that

 

[Byron]

I washed the substrate in a bucket and I was pretty impatient but as I remember, it was not really dirty, I also washed the rocks and scrubbed them with a tooth brush. I have this filter but the outflow is not touching the water of the tank so it is pushing air in the water. I tested and my tap water is clear. GH: I don't remember exactly but you told me it was soft to very soft, PH: 6.8-7 temperature: 78 or 26 °c

That explains the air bubbles. They are harmless, but you might want to decrease the space by raising the water (probably easier than somehow lowering the filter). A disturbance on the surface, sort of ripples on the water, is all you need for the gas exchange.

The cloudiness may then be a bacterial bloom. I wanted to eliminate other possibles before getting to this. Organics are in the tap water, no matter how clear it is or how much they disinfect it, it is really amazingly full of dissolved organics. When this is placed in an aquarium, especially if dechlorinated, the bacteria that feed on organics multiply very rapidly, making the water cloudy or hazy. This can last several hours, several days, several weeks. Water changes often make this worse, because they are simply bringing in more organics.

If you have no fish in the tank, you could fill it with non-conditioned tap water. If you only have chlorine in your water, this will dissipate out in 24-48 hours anyway. If you have chloramine, that needs a conditioner. If you do decide to refill, place a bowl and run the water into this so it overflows, stirring up less of the substrate. The bacteria (if that is what this is) will still appear but more slowly in chlorinated water.

Blooms can be bacterial, diatom or organic. I had the latter in my 90g tank for over two years. It was always hazy, variable from slightly to more, obvious because the other tanks in the fish room were crystal clear. I never did track down the cause, but the organics level in that tank was quite high. I considered it might have been the wood.

 

[Meg0000]

That explains the air bubbles. They are harmless, but you might want to decrease the space by raising the water (probably easier than somehow lowering the filter). A disturbance on the surface, sort of ripples on the water, is all you need for the gas exchange.

The cloudiness may then be a bacterial bloom. I wanted to eliminate other possibles before getting to this. Organics are in the tap water, no matter how clear it is or how much they disinfect it, it is really amazingly full of dissolved organics. When this is placed in an aquarium, especially if dechlorinated, the bacteria that feed on organics multiply very rapidly, making the water cloudy or hazy. This can last several hours, several days, several weeks. Water changes often make this worse, because they are simply bringing in more organics.

If you have no fish in the tank, you could fill it with non-conditioned tap water. If you only have chlorine in your water, this will dissipate out in 24-48 hours anyway. If you have chloramine, that needs a conditioner. If you do decide to refill, place a bowl and run the water into this so it overflows, stirring up less of the substrate. The bacteria (if that is what this is) will still appear but more slowly in chlorinated water.

Blooms can be bacterial, diatom or organic. I had the latter in my 90g tank for over two years. It was always hazy, variable from slightly to more, obvious because the other tanks in the fish room were crystal clear. I never did track down the cause, but the organics level in that tank was quite high. I considered it might have been the wood.

I will raise the water in the tank, I hope my wood is not causing the bloom but I do have fish in my tank so I can't do what you said tought. Thanks for your help, I will see how it evolves

 

[Metalhead88]

If this is a new (and uncycled tank) cloudy water is very common.